DALLAS — Because the MLB winter conferences got here to an in depth on Wednesday, it was clear that some groups walked out of the Hilton Anatole higher than they have been after they arrived within the Lone Star State.
On the flip aspect, there have been a few groups that did not have the perfect luck or come out of Dallas with the participant they needed.
With that in thoughts, listed below are the winners and losers from this 12 months’s winter conferences.
Winners
Texas Rangers
The hometown crew not solely reportedly inked Nathan Eovaldi to a three-year deal to solidify its rotation, but additionally landed Jake Burger in a commerce with the Miami Marlins. Burger will present some good pop for the Rangers and shake up a lineup that underperformed final season after reaching the World Sequence the 12 months earlier than.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals had the Thirteenth-best odds of touchdown the highest general decide within the 2025 MLB draft, but skyrocketed all the way in which to the fifth-best spot due to the luck of the ping pong balls. St. Louis hasn’t picked as excessive as quantity 5 since 1998 when the franchise chosen J.D. Drew.
In an offseason the place the Cardinals have parted methods with Paul Goldschmidt and are reportedly in talks to commerce Nolan Arenado, having a shock excessive decide in subsequent 12 months’s draft is not less than a constructive for St. Louis.
Losers
Miami Marlins
There have been loads of questions concerning the Burger commerce, together with why the Marlins would half methods with a participant who was underneath crew management via the 2028 marketing campaign and was far and away the house run chief for Miami final season (Burger had 29 homers whereas a pair of gamers completed tied for second with 18). Moreover, the preliminary ideas on the return for Miami were underwhelming.
Additionally, Miami was tied with the Colorado Rockies for the perfect odds to get the highest draft decide in 2025 (22.5 %), however plummeted all the way in which to seventh. Pair these two occasions collectively and it wasn’t a number of good days for the Marlins.
Baltimore Orioles
For a crew that’s going to be preventing for the highest of the American League East once more this season, the duty obtained a bit more durable for the Orioles throughout this 12 months’s winter conferences. The New York Yankees picked up Max Fried and the Boston Pink Sox made a commerce for Garrett Crochet, so the extent of pitching within the division went up.
Throw in that the Orioles are nonetheless attempting to deliver again Corbin Burnes or discover his substitute and there are abruptly extra questions on Baltimore’s pitching than two of their high rivals. That places Baltimore at an obstacle because the winter conferences break up.
