All-Acquired 2019-20 - American League

With the 2019-20 MLB offseason moving quicker than the last two combined, the New Year's Day update of my All-Acquired rosters features more complete teams than I expected. With the calendar recently having flipped to a new decade*, let's start by taking a look at the top players acquired by American League teams (new teams only) after the conclusion of the 2019 World Series:

* Some might say the new decade won't technically start until 2021, but I think I made a pretty good argument for starting baseball decades with year zero when introducing the previous version of my All-Decade Teams project.

The most impactful free agent signing of the offseason was also one of the most predictable. Many assumed that the presence of bona fide ace Gerrit Cole on the open market would prompt the Yankees to return to the "financial powerhouse" status that they displayed in the G. Steinbrenner era, and they did not disappoint. Coming off a season where he probably should have shared AL Cy Young award honors with his former Astros teammate (and eventual winner) Justin Verlander, Cole signed a record deal for a pitcher, in terms of both overall guarantee and average annual value. Following Cole in the All-Acquired rotation is Korean lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, who signed with the Blue Jays, meaning AL East teams have acquired the the ERA leaders from both leagues: Cole paced the junior circuit with a 2.50 mark, while Ryu led the NL with a pristine 2.32 while pitching for the Dodgers. Sticking with Toronto for a second, Canada's only remaining team completely revamped their rotation, also signing Tanner Roark, trading for Chase Anderson, and scooping up Shun Yamaguchi from the Japanese League (you can see his NPB stats on the next image).

Going by 2019 MLB fantasy points, the next pitcher on the list would be onetime Braves future ace Julio Teheran, who signed a one year deal to play in Anaheim, after they missed out on Cole, a southern California native and known Angels target. The Halos also picked up Dylan Bundy via a trade with the Orioles, although he's unlikely to make a hypothetical All-Acquired starting five. Another organization that went for multiple value adds, rather than one big ticket acquisition, is the Twins, which snuck under the end-of-year deadline by signing righty Homer Bailey and lefty Rich Hill in the same day. (This feature doesn't count Minnesota's re-signings of Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda.) The Rangers were also active on the free agent market, picking up Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles for their rotation, but their biggest acquisition (in name brand value, if not 2019 production) was a steal of a trade for Corey Kluber from the Indians. The two-time AL Cy Young winner had a lost 2019 after a fluke line drive broke his forearm in May, but he was not very effective when healthy, and who knows if such a key body part for a pitcher will make a clean recovery, but the price was right from Texas's perspective to take a shot.

The White Sox signaled that their rebuild is coming to an end in six distinct ways this offseason, but the two that involve the pitching staff center on veteran lefties Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez. Keuchel was famously a victim of the great 2018-19 free agent freeze, as qualifying offer-related draft compensation prevented him from signing a contract until June, but he made up for his long stay on the market with a three year deal (plus an option) heading into 2020. The last starter of note to change teams before the new year was the bargain-basement signing of Martin Perez by the Red Sox... unless you count the Mariners' pickup of Kendall Graveman, who signed a two-year deal to recover from Tommy John surgery with the Cubs, who surprisingly cut him loose after just two minor league rehab appearances.

The market for starting pitchers has moved a lot quicker than that of relievers, with Tyler Clippard being the most experienced setup arm who has changed teams, when he signed a one-year deal with the Twins. However the award for the most upside has to go to Emmanuel Clase, the main return for the Indians in the Corey Kluber trade. While a reliever might seem like a light return in exchange for an ace... it is, even given that this reliever throws a nasty 101-mph cutter. The Rangers replaced Clase in their bullpen with Joely Rodriguez, a former Ranger who spent most of the last two seasons as an elite pitcher in Japan. The only other notable relievers to change hands this winter were both acquired by the Mariners and both share names with their fathers: multi-inning threat Nestor Cortes Jr. (traded from the Yankees) and former Cubs World Series contributor Carl Edwards Jr.

Starting with the infield, we have the third win-now move made by the White Sox: the signing of first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion. EE has been one of the premier power hitters of the last decade, but it's generous to call him anything other than a bat-first player at this point, which makes this move all the more curious, since the Sox also extended defensively-limited slugger Jose Abreu. If you don't trust Edwin in the field, you could always hand 1B over to C.J. Cron, who will be playing for his fourth team in four years, having bounced from the Angels to the Rays (via trade) to the Twins (waiver claim) to the Tigers (signed after being non-tendered). I did most of my research for this feature using this extensive article from MLB.com, although it's curious that Mike Petriello did not include an entry for the Indians signing Cesar Hernandez after he was non-tendered by the Phillies. I would pick Hernandez over Jonathan Schoop as the All-Acquired starting second baseman, even though it would be a nice story to have the right side of the infield filled with two players who moved from the Twins to the Tigers.

While I tabbed Cole as the most impactful free agent signing this winter, he's closely followed by the Angels' pickup of Anthony Rendon, fresh off a World Series win with the Nationals. As an A's fan, I must say I'm worried about what the Halos are capable of doing with a true superstar to plug into the lineup next to Mike Trout - I'm not counting Albert Pujols (who was past his prime at his signing) or Josh Hamilton (whose success was a bit of a flash in the pan). Behind Rendon on the depth chart is Maikel Franco, another infielder to latch on with an AL Central team after being non-tendered by Philadelphia. But the wild card here could be Travis Shaw, who had two great seasons with the Brewers before falling flat in '19 and signing a make-good deal with the Blue Jays to play first base. Shortstop is the weak spot on this team, with the only fantasy eligible all-acquired player there being light-hitting Jose Peraza, who was brought in by the Red Sox in case Dustin Pedroia's injury troubles continue.

If shortstop is this team's weakest link, the outfield is a close second, with barely enough players to fill the three spots. Left field belongs to Hunter Renfroe, a defensively gifted power hitter who was acquired by the Rays (along with a prospect) for a superior but more expensive outfielder Tommy Pham (and another prospect). The only qualifier in center field is Delino DeShields, the other piece that Texas sent to Cleveland for Kluber, although it's unlikely Delino Jr. will be anything more than a fourth (or fifth or sixth) outfielder for the 2020 Tribe. In right field we have the second-to-last big acquisition by the White Sox: Nomar Mazara. The lefty swinging former top prospect had run out of time to prove himself with the Rangers, but will look to capitalize on his potential on a promising Chicago team that just locked up their future centerfielder Luis Robert to a long-term extension today. I should also mention Yoshitomo Tsutsugo along with the outfielders, although based on what I've read about the Japanese slugger, he's best suited for DH duties.

To round out the lineup - and to cap off the White Sox's winter shopping spree - we have Yasmani Grandal, who wasn't just the best catcher available on the open market this year, but is arguably the best catcher in baseball right now. He can hit for average, hit for power, provide good defense behind the plate (unless it's with the Dodgers in the playoffs), and can even play a little first base, although he's unlikely to get a lot of time there based on Chicago's other moves. There's a plethora of catchers on the depth chart behind Grandal, headed by Austin Romine, who will vacate his spot behind Gary Sanchez in New York to back up a decidedly less exciting catching contingent in Detroit. There's also Alex Avila (who replaces fellow left-handed-hitting backup Jason Castro in Minnesota), Sandy Leon (a defensively-oriented backup to defensively-oriented starter Roberto Perez in Cleveland), Dustin Garneau (a bargain-basement signing by the reigning AL champion Astros), and Austin Allen (acquired by the A's based on his prodigious power in Triple-A).


Apart from a couple of slugging corner infield pieces, starting pitching ruled the day for the American League's pre-New Years acquisitions of new players. We'll see if that's enough to win the day in a potential exhibition series against the National League's All-Acquired team, which I will explore sometime in the future.