The MLB season is starting very soon, and well, it has been a very interesting offseason. One thing for sure is that this season is probably the most important season the MLB has seen in a very long time with players being traded to different condensing teams, free agents getting paid the most any baseball player has ever seen, the league and players not agreeing on how the season will play out, and probably the biggest factor: Covid-19 and how will it affect the season.

Starting off in the NL East: The Washington Nationals were coming out of the 2019 season where they had just won the World Series; however, they ended up not even making the playoffs in the 2020 season. With this, they had to make some changes to improve their team. One major signing that they made was outfielder Kyle Schwaber. Schwaber came off a decent season by putting up 11 home runs, 24 RBI, and batting .188. Schwaber will help make the Nationals outfield look very dangerous and can help them when it comes to clutch opportunities. Besides that, the Nationals didn’t add a lot more help. The Miami Marlins surprised every baseball fan by making the playoffs after finishing at the bottom of their own division for the past 5-10 years. With this exciting future for the Marlins, they didn’t really add many players besides improving their bullpen with arms like Dylan Floro, who had an all-star-like season with the Dodgers last year. The Marlins also added hitter Adam Duvall who hits home runs left, right and center. The Marlins also hope that a lot of their international signings will help the team once again become champs. The Philadelphia Phillies had an interesting offseason since they had a lot of players that had to resign including stars, J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gergorious. This signing made Realmuto the highest-paid catcher in history. They also added a bullpen arm in Archie Bradly which they really needed seeing how they had the worst bullpen ERA in baseball history last year. The Atlanta Braves had themselves an offseason with signings like Charlie Morton and re-signing outfielder Marcel Ozuna. Morton has had a really great career with helping not only one team, but two, to make it to the World Series. The Braves could use more depth in pitching and Morton has consistently given 5-7 innings of great work every start. Ozuna really was the biggest free agent that they needed to resign because without him, their offense wouldn’t be as explosive. Ozuna put up amazing numbers last year, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 63 runs while also keeping a .338 batting average. The last team, The New York Mets, is probably the most interesting team this offseason. The Mets and their new owner, Stevan Choen, have made a mediocre team amazing with additions like Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carssco in trades. Lindor and Carssco aren’t just great players but also box office hits, which can help them win back New York City over the Yankees. The Mets are definitely going to be a threat this year.

NL West: The Los Angeles Dodgers just came off winning the World Series and ultimately just got better. The Dodgers re-signed 3rd baseman Justin Turner but really put their money into free agents. They made their bullpen even better by adding Cory Knebel and Blake Treinen, but ultimately got one of if not the number one free agent in Trevour Baur. Baur just came off being the NL CY young (which is like the MVP for pitchers), and with that, he is now the highest-paid player in baseball history with 40.9 million dollars per year. The San Diego Padres ultimately had themselves an offseason by adding huge pieces to their young but very talented team. They added pitchers in Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, and Joe Musgrove. They also added talent in their field by signing Japanese star Ha-Seong Kim. The Padres have been really making a push to compete with the Dodgers and the other teams in the West like the Giants, Rockies, and Diamondbacks. Besides that, the only other surprise that happened was the Rockies trading away one of their best players yet, third baseman Nolan Arendo. 

The NL Central had a very quiet offseason besides the Cardinals. The Cardinals had a very exciting offseason by trading for star third baseman Nolan Aenado who will definitely help them in the season. The Cubs signed star outfielder Joc Pederson, but also ended up trading away or losing players to free agency. The Reds, Brewers, and Pirates all had a very quiet offseason.

AL East: The New York Yankees had themselves a steady offseason with resigning star second baseman DJ Lemahieu, as well as signing pitchers like Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon, and Darren O’Day. The Baltimore Orioles also had a very quiet offseason with only signing Infielder Freddy Galvis, Felix Herandez, and Matt Harvey. From what it looks like, the Orioles are still sticking to their rebuilding roots. The Boston Redsox signed infielder Keke Herandez and acquired pitcher Adam Ottavino. The Rays didn’t add any players this offseason but acquired some prospects in trading Blake Snell to the Padres. But the Rays still have their team together to help them win it all. The Toronto Rays were able to sign and resign many big players to help them compete. Marcus Semin, George Springer, Robby Ray, Tyler Chatwood, and Steven Matz were all players that were acquired this offseason. 

AL Central:  The Chicago White Sox had a very eventful offseason by acquiring pitcher Lance Lynn and Liam Hendricks who both are one of the best at pitching. But they also acquired outfielder Adam Eaton to help in the outfield. The Twins, Indians, and Royals have kept their teams pretty much the same.

The AL West: The Angels, Astros, Athletics, and Mariners have all made little moves this offseason. The Angels acquired a couple of pitchers and The Mariners have also done the same. Besides this, all of the AL West teams look very similar to last year.

The 2021 regular season is sure to be interesting and we shall see what happens next.