9 teams that made biggest position upgrades in offseason
Brian Murphy
@Spokes_MurphyIdentify your weaknesses and do what you can to fix them. That's what every MLB club tries to do during the offseason. The nine teams below did it better than most via free agency and the trade market.
Their FanGraphs WAR was lacking at a certain position last year, but because of the move(s) they made, each of these teams is forecast to get substantially more production from that spot in 2025, according to projected WAR totals from FanGraphs Depth Charts.
Designated hitter: Rangers
2024 WAR rank: 29th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 5th
The Rangers have received below-league-average production from the DH spot for five straight seasons, but last year's minus-2.7 WAR was a new low. Only the Reds were worse in that statistic, and Texas' 15 home runs by a designated hitter tied for the second-fewest in MLB, ahead of only the Angels' 11.
So the Rangers went out and signed Joc Pederson, the best designated hitter on the open market this winter, to a two-year deal. The 32-year-old Pederson is coming off a season with the D-backs in which he hit 23 homers and posted a career-best 151 wRC+ -- tied for 10th among hitters with at least 400 plate appearances. He finished with 3.0 WAR and is projected to have a 134 wRC+ and 2.0 WAR in 105 games for Texas this year.
First base: Astros
2024 WAR rank: 28th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 6th
While the Rangers hope Pederson can be a difference-maker at DH, their in-state rivals are looking to another former D-backs slugger to solve their problem at first base. The Astros have been the worst team by WAR at that position since the start of 2022 (minus-2.0). Enter Christian Walker, who signed a three-year contract with Houston in December and has recorded 10.4 WAR over the past three seasons, fourth-best among first basemen.
Walker crushed at least 25 homers and registered an .800-plus OPS in each of those seasons, and he should help Houston in the field as much as at the plate. A three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Walker recorded the second-most outs above average last season among first basemen (13). Would you like to guess which team had the fewest OAA at first base last year? Yeah, it was the Astros, with minus-13.
Second base: Red Sox
2024 WAR rank: 30th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 9th
Who is Boston's second baseman? FanGraphs projects that it will be Bregman, which is a big reason why the club's 3.6 projected WAR is inside the top 10 at that position. However, this is an undecided issue. The team would prefer for Bregman to play third base, his natural position, but Rafael Devers appears unwilling at the moment to move off of the hot corner. No matter if Bregman is at second or that position is claimed by someone in Boston's current three-man competition for the job, it will likely represent a significant upgrade from last year. Red Sox second baseman compiled a .532 OPS, a 45 wRC+ and minus-2.3 WAR in 2024. That was the worst WAR by any team at any defensive position (not including designated hitter) last season.
Beyond Bregman, a name to watch in Red Sox camp is Kristian Campbell, MLB Pipeline's No. 7 prospect for 2025. He is projected to have 1.2 WAR at the keystone position as a rookie.
Starting pitching: Dodgers
2024 WAR rank: T-20th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 1st
Even if the Dodgers hadn't made a headline addition to their starting rotation during the offseason, their projected WAR would've still been pretty good just based on the number of arms they are getting back into the fold this year. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow missed large chunks of last season due to injury and are now healthy. They will also get back Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Shohei Ohtani, none of whom threw a pitch last season. Ohtani should return to two-way duty in May. Clayton Kershaw re-signed with the club and may be able to contribute around midseason. Bobby Miller is another weapon assuming he bounces back from taking a line drive off his head during a Spring Training game last week.
But the Dodgers did insert two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki into this group, giving them the ingredients for a possible all-time great rotation. It is projected to be the best rotation in baseball, and it's not particularly close. The Dodgers' projected starting pitcher WAR of 17.9 is a full win ahead of the No. 2 team, the Phillies.
Right field: Mets
2024 WAR rank: 20th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 2nd
Hmmm, did the Mets add a star right fielder to their team this winter? Not sure we heard too much about that.
OK, all jokes aside, Juan Soto is projected to accrue 5.9 WAR as a right fielder this season. That would surpass the combined WAR from Mets right fielders over the past three seasons (5.7). Their leading contributor last year at that position, Starling Marte, had a .397 slugging percentage in right, and the team received only 14 home runs from that spot, the fifth-fewest in MLB.
By comparison, Soto is projected to bash 34 homers and log a .529 slugging percentage this year. The only right fielder with a higher projected slugging or WAR is Soto's former teammate, the Yankees' Aaron Judge (.590 slug, 7.0 WAR).
Relief pitching: Yankees
2024 WAR rank: 19th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 3rd
Soto wasn't the only prominent Yankee who bolted for the Mets in free agency. Clay Holmes did as well, and although he lost his job as the Yankees' closer late last season, the departure of a two-time All-Star reliever left the Yanks with a clear void at the back end of their bullpen. They took care of it with two notable trades.
They struck a deal with the Reds that included right-hander Fernando Cruz, who posted a K rate better than 35% in each of the past two seasons. But the real coup was the swap that landed closer Devin Williams from the Brewers. Williams, MLB's No. 1 relief pitcher according to "The Shredder," has logged a .139 opponents' batting average and a 39.5% K rate over the previous three seasons. He will take over in the ninth inning for the Yankees, moving Luke Weaver into more of a fireman role. He and Williams could form one of the league's most dominant late-inning duos this season.
First base: Nationals
2024 WAR rank: 23rd || 2025 projected WAR rank: 10th
The Yankees are also projected to make a big leap at first base, where they ranked 27th in WAR last season. This year, they are projected to finish 11th. But the Nationals are expected to make nearly as big of a vault at that position after bringing Nathaniel Lowe aboard in a trade with the Rangers. The lefty-hitting Lowe has compiled a 127 wRC+ and 8.6 WAR since the start of 2022. Although his 16 homers in 2024 were a four-year low, that still exceeded the dinger total from all Nats first basemen last year (14, tied for the second-fewest in MLB).
Lowe has also worked hard on his defense, and he is seeing the results of that. After posting minus-10 OAA at first base in '22, he has tallied 12 OAA over the past two seasons.
Starting pitcher: D-backs
2024 WAR rank: T-20th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 8th
Fresh off their run to the 2023 World Series, the D-backs' starting rotation looked formidable on paper entering last season. National League Cy Young finalist Zac Gallen headed a group that included Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt and two key free-agent pickups in Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery.
But almost nothing went as planned. Gallen and Kelly missed significant time due to injuries. Rodriguez and Montgomery did too, but they also produced a 5.96 ERA over 154 combined innings. Part of the top-10 projection for Arizona's rotation is based on the assumption that those veterans will simply be better in 2025.
Oh, and then there is Corbin Burnes. The top starting pitcher available in free agency surprised the baseball world when he agreed to a six-year deal with the D-backs. Burnes, who has finished inside the top 10 in Cy Young voting in five straight seasons, is projected to have 3.7 WAR this season, matching his total from 2024 with the Orioles.
Second base: Blue Jays
2024 WAR rank: T-11th || 2025 projected WAR rank: 3rd
Second base wasn't a huge weak point for the Blue Jays last season. But with the acquisition of Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez in December, Toronto could be elite at that position in 2025. The winner of three Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove, Gim¨¦nez is a magician in the field. He led all players with 21 OAA last year, and his 51 OAA at second base since the start of 2021 is the most at the position. That defense combined with Gim¨¦nez's plus baserunning -- he has notched consecutive 30-steal seasons -- is why he ranks fifth among second basemen in WAR over the past two seasons despite a 90 wRC+.
The big question is whether Gim¨¦nez can return to being the hitter he was in '22. That season, he slashed .297/.371/.466 and recorded a 141 wRC+ over 557 plate appearances. If he rediscovers that form, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette play up to their potential, Toronto will undoubtedly boast one of the most productive infields in the Majors.