OLD INTRO:
I didn't make any New Years Resolutions this year, but if I had, one of them would likely be to post more to this blog. And the start of a new year is the perfect time to get started than with a project I like to do every year: making baseball lineups out of the players who have been acquired by a new team (either via trade, free agent signing, waiver claim, or otherwise) during the offseason. Since there are still several big chips yet to come off the free agent board and many potential trade possibilities, so I will maintain two posts as ongoing lists, this one comprising the players acquired by American League teams, which I'll update at semi-regular intervals (i.e. whenever I feel like it).
AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-ACQUIRED DEPTH CHART
CATCHERBrian McCann - 1,203 (9.3) - HOU
Welington Castillo - 1,117 (9.9) - BAL
++Wilson Ramos - 1,577 (12.0) - TBR++
The Astros replaced a pitch framing specialist (Jason Castro, signed with the Twins) with an offensive-minded backstop when they convinced Brian McCann to waive his no-trade clause to come to Houston. McCann should share time behind the plate with re-converted catcher Evan Gattis and at first base with Marwin Gonzalez, Yulieski Gurriel, etc. Another bat-first catcher, Welington Castillo, provides a good opposite-handed backup option until Wilson Ramos returns from his knee surgery.
FIRST BASEEdwin Encarnacion - 2,420 (15.1) - CLE
Mitch Moreland - 1,159 (7.9) - BOS
Steve Pearce - 845 (9.9) - TOR
Even though EE's deal with the Indians hasn't been formally announced on the MLB transactions page, and he spent the majority of last season as the Blue Jays DH, he's the best player with first base eligibility, so at first he goes. Of course I would have preferred to see Encarnacion on this list because he went to Oakland, but it's only right and proper that the team who made the deep playoff run the year previous reaps the rewards of the free agency bounty, rather than a team whose stadium is a literal toilet bowl. Either Moreland or Pearce would make a good backup, depending on whether you want opposite handedness or some limited defensive versatility, respectively.
SECOND BASEDanny Espinosa - 1,325 (8.4) - LAA
Adam Rosales - 764 (7.3) - OAK
Yoan Moncada - 2,011 (19.0) [minors: A+ / AA] - CHW
The Angels struck another blow to field an entire infield made up of ex-Washington Nationals when they brought in Danny Espinosa to play on the same diamond as his former teammate Yunel Escobar. Espinosa played mostly shortstop last year in DC, but there's no way he's supplanting arguably the game's best fielder in Andrelton Simmons. The only action Yoan Moncada saw in 2016 came at third base, but now that he's out of Boston, where he was blocked by Dustin Pedroia, MLB's new top prospect should move back to his natural position.
THIRD BASEDanny Valencia - 1,342 (10.3) - SEA
Luis Valbuena - 900 (10.0) - LAA
Trevor Plouffe - 851 (10.1) - OAK
UPDATE: The majority of the AL west experienced turnover at the hot corner this offseason. If you go by MLB's newly-released fantasy player preview for 2017, you'll find that new A's third baseman Trevor Plouffe is the top-ranked player of the bunch (365 to Valencia's 425 to Valbuena's 449), but since the former A's third baseman had the most productive 2016 season according to my preferred fantasy point system, Valencia retains the top spot here.
SHORTSTOPTaylor Motter, SEA
The Mariners banked a lot of resources on Jean Segura's breakout year with Arizona, sending a potential future top of the rotation starter (Taijuan Walker) to the Diamondbacks (among other players) for his services. The former All-Star with Milwaukee played mostly second base in 2015, but he did also qualify at short, where he will form the left side half of a double play combo with Robinson Cano in Seattle.
LEFT FIELDBrandon Moss - 1,331 (10.4) - KCR
Matt Holliday - 1,176 (10.7) - NYY
Nori Aoki - 1,048 (8.9) - HOU
Colby Rasmus - 865 - 8.1 (TBR)
Jorge Soler* - 689 (8.0) - KCR
Reddick and Holliday are perfectly suited to platoon in left field, given the former's inability to hit left-handed pitching and the latter's inability to play in the outfield for a whole season. Even though these two players have both played for the Athletics in the past, only Holliday is guaranteed to not make an appearance with his former team due to some unconventional no-trade protection. Aoki was acquired by the Astros via trade before the Reddick signing, and while they appear to play similar roles (left-handed hitting corner outfielders), Houston elected to tender Aoki an arbitration contract, so they should both be around next year.
UPDATE: In my last version of this roster, I had switched Josh Reddick and Jorge Soler's position so that the former could platoon with Matt Holliday in left and the latter could add to the depth in right. But Brandon Moss's new two-year contract with the Royals makes him the odds on favorite to play every day in left (even though he spent the majority of his 2016 at first base), possibly ceding at bats against tough lefties to his former Cardinals teammate Holliday or even Cameron Maybin (see below).
CENTER FIELDRajai Davis - 1,542 (11.5) - OAK
Cameron Maybin - 1,190 (12.7) - LAA
Jarrod Dyson - 1,023 (9.6) - SEA
Ben Revere - 726 (7.0) - LAA
Maybin and Revere are imperfectly suited to platoon - since the one you want getting the majority of at-bats is more vulnerable to the more common right-handed pitching - but that's nevertheless what they're slated to do in Anaheim. Of course, they will be sharing time in left field due to the presence of Mike Trout in center, but each is fully capable of captaining an outfield.
UPDATE: Rajai Davis was heavily platooned during the 2016 postseason with Cleveland, despite the fact that he led the American League in stolen bases, and it's this elite speed that prompted me to give him the starting gig in center field. Meanwhile, the right-handed hitting Maybin could still play a useful role if healthy (see above), and defensive whiz Jarrod Dyson is an ideal fit as a reserve outfielder.
RIGHT FIELDCarlos Beltran - 1,870 (12.4) - HOU
Seth Smith - 1,181 (8.6) - BAL
Josh Reddick* - 1,095 (9.5) - HOU
Matt Joyce - 910 (6.5) - OAK
Beltran spent most of his 2016 as a DH, but in order to get the most out of this lineup, he will have to play in the outfield, at least the majority of the time. Joyce and Soler are good platoon partners behind him on the depth chart, but each would likely function as All-Acquired Triple-A depth if we were actually building out a roster.
DESIGNATED HITTERKendrys Morales - 1,708 (11.1) - TOR
If we made a team based on this list, top All-Acquired free agent Edwin Encarnacion would get a chance to hit in front of the man who replaced him in Toronto, Kendrys Morales late of the Royals. It's a good thing for the sake of this list that the Blue Jays moved quickly to replace their former top slugger before waiting for his market to (fail to) develop, because they were clearly willing to spend more than the Indians did to keep Encarnacion in Toronto. Of course, the A's were also willing to outspend the Indians, but a fat lot of good that did them... But this paragraph is about Kendrys Morales, so... he's a switch hitter? That's a thing about Kendrys Morales.
STARTING PITCHERChris Sale - 2,444 (76.4) - BOS
Drew Smyly - 1,096 (36.5) - SEA
Nathan Karns - 659 (29.9) - KCR
Derek Holland - 541 (24.6) - CHW
Andrew Cashner - 521 (18.6) - TEX
RESERVES
Yovani Gallardo - 440 (19.1) - SEA
Charlie Morton - 137 (34.3) - HOU
Reynaldo Lopez - 306 (27.8) - CHW
Jose De Leon - 1,168 (73.0) [minors: AAA] - TBR
The blockbuster trade that sent Chris Sale from the south side of Chicago to Boston represents the only movement of a proven rotation workhorse to an American League team. Derek Holland has had an injury plagued last three seasons, but the White Sox took a flier on him to replace some of Sale's innings, if not his elite level production. Andrew Cashner has struggled recently after a solid run with San Diego, and Texas took a similar flier on the beard aficionado having a bounceback year. Charlie Morton missed most of last year due to a non-arm related injury, and the Astros are hoping he will return to health for 2017. And Reynaldo Lopez is one of the prospects netted by Chicago AL in yet another blockbuster, whose main centerpiece will be discussed in the NL version of this list.
UPDATE: When last we saw this rotation, it consisted of one bona fide ace and a bunch of fifth starter candidates. Since then, the starting staff has gotten some reinforcements, thanks mostly to three separate trades involving the Mariners. With Seattle acquiring Drew Smyly from the Rays (for a package involving a player who was acquired from the Braves just hours earlier), the lefty will slot in as the clear SP2 behind Chris Sale. Nathan Karns should stick in the Royals rotation after being traded for the aforementioned Jarrod Dyson. And Yovani Gallardo (traded for the NOT-aforementioned Seth Smith) will likely have to battle for a spot with the rest of the value plays on this roster.UPDATED UPDATE: If I had been more closely following MLB Trade Rumors this Sunday instead of paying attention to the Super Bowl, I would have seen that Kansas City has signed Jason Hammel, whose 2016 points earn him the SP2 slot, pushing everyone down and intensifying the fifth starter competition. Further complicating matters is the fact that Hammel's addition to the Royals could likely push Nate Karns out of the rotation altogether, calling into question my practice of relying on 2016 fantasy stats rather than projected 2017 performance...
CLOSERAroldis Chapman - 1,975 (33.5) - NYY
Even though Chapman played for the Yankees last year, he technically counts as a new acquisition because he was dealt to the Cubs in what could be the most historically significant transaction in the history of one of baseball's most famous curses. Chapman reportedly turned down more money from the Marlins to return to New York, which is good news for this hypothetical team.
BULLPENSantiago Casilla - 1,405 (22.7) - OAK
Tyler Thornburg - 1,355 (20.2) - BOS
Matt Belisle - 446 (11.2) - MIN
Jesse Chavez - 449 (7.2) - LAA
Boone Logan - 456 (6.9) - CLE*
Shawn Tolleson - 367 (9.9) - TBR
RESERVES
Marc Rzepczynski - 368 (5.3) - SEA
J.P. Howell - 322 (5.0) - TOR*
Logan Verrett - 298 (8.5) - BAL
Kirby Yates - 275 (6.7) - LAA
Tyler Thornburg, a former starter, got some closing experience with Milwaukee in 2016, but he'll likely play second fiddle to Craig Kimbrel in his new home of Boston. Marc "Scrabble" Rzepczynski was one of three left handed relievers to ink pretty significant contracts this offseason, and he'll likely function as a LOOGY type for Seattle. The Angels are reportedly going to look at Jesse Chavez as a starter, the role he had with Oakland in 2014 and '15, and Logan Verrett has started his share of games for the Mets, so these two could be part of the starting pitching conversation as well, for what that's worth.
UPDATE: As of New Years Eve, this bullpen had several key pieces in place (an elite setup man, a lefty specialist, and a couple of long relief candidates), but things have filled out significantly. Santiago Casilla joins Tyler Thornburg as a second former closer who will likely have to be content with setup duty this coming season. Neither Boone Logan nor J.P. Howell's deals had been officially announced as of Super Bowl Sunday, but they should both give Rzepczynski a run for his money. Jesse Chavez remains as the top long man candidate, but Matt Belisle and Shawn Tolleson should help provide some quality in-between innings.Now you've seen how the top American League acquisitions have evolved over the first two months of the 2017 calendar year. Next, I'll be updating the National League's post!
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