The 2022-23 MLB offseason is going to be wild.
On the plus side, at least they don't need to sign a new collective bargaining agreement this year. Thus, we can be confident there won't be another lockout that leaves us wondering if there will even be baseball in the spring.
However, between Aaron Judge, Jacob deGrom, Trea Turner and other multiple-time All-Stars hitting free agency, the possibility of multiple owners selling their franchises and the ever-present "Will the Angels trade away Shohei Ohtani?" question still lingering, it should be a jam-packed few months of actions, reactions and transactions.
We've got a few bold predictions about it all. Take a look at what we've cooked up, and let us know your bold predictions, as well.
Not 1, Not 2, But 3 Franchises Are Put Up For Sale
In the past decade, there have only been four MLB franchises sold: The Seattle Mariners in 2016, the Miami Marlins in 2017, the Kansas City Royals in 2019 and the New York Mets in 2020.
So, even two such moves in a single offseason would be a pretty huge deal, and three would be a stunning turns of events. Still, three could certainly be on the table for this winter.
The two obvious candidates here are the Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Angels.
We didn't even make it a full week into the Nationals' disaster of a 2022 campaign before The Washington Post reported Mark Lerner was looking into potentially selling the franchise.
It didn't stop them from trading away Juan Soto for a boatload of prospects, nor did that huge move do anything to deter interest from suitors. Ted Leonsis—who already owns D.C.'s Wizards, Capitals and Mystics—has emerged as the most likely candidate to take the reins should the Lerners ultimately sell.
As far as the Angels are concerned, we learned of Arte Moreno's interest in selling the franchise in late August.
Unlike the Nationals, the Angels held tight to their brightest star, Shohei Ohtani, who now has one year remaining before hitting free agency. If Moreno does sell, here's hoping the new owner is cut from the same cloth as the Mets' Steve Cohen and is ready to swoop in and immediately start signing huge contracts. Otherwise, the Angels are going to lose the one player making this franchise a hot commodity right now.
And if a third team ends up on the market, it's probably going to be the Cincinnati Reds.
Reds owner Bob Castellini ranks last among the 30 owners in net worth, per an MLB Trade Rumors article from December 2021. Fans in Cincinnati are fed up with a team that hasn't won a playoff series since 1995. And Castellini's son, Phil—president and chief operating officer of the franchise—all but outright threatened to either sell the franchise or move it somewhere else back in April in response to the disgruntled fanbase.
Moreover, the Reds started shedding all sorts of payroll this past offseason before a full-blown fire sale at the trade deadline. They've basically stripped the franchise down to the studs and can't reasonably be expected to contend for a World Series at any point in the next few years. There's a lot to love about the farm system, though, so it's the ideal time to sell and let someone else figure out how to turn that potential into profit.
Aaron Judge Stays in New York…but Not in the Bronx
The New York Mets just barely missed out on winning the NL East, in part because their $283 million roster hit the same number of home runs (171) as the $65 million Baltimore Orioles.
They would love to re-sign the likes of Jacob deGrom, Edwin Díaz, Brandon Nimmo, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker, but you've got to assume Steve Cohen would be willing to sacrifice all of those impending free agents if it means pairing Aaron Judge with Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte for the foreseeable future.
As far as budget is concerned, deGrom, Díaz, Nimmo, Bassitt and Walker made a combined $53.35 million in 2022. The Mets could also decline their $14 million team option on Carlos Carrasco and stand to "gain" another $20 million if relievers Trevor May, Trevor Williams, Seth Lugo and Adam Ottavino all walk in free agency.
That's well over $80 million to play with, if we assume the same budget in 2023.
Long story short, they could absolutely make it work.
They might even be able to sign Judge and keep deGrom, if they're willing to more or less start over from scratch in the bullpen and roll with Tylor Megill and David Peterson as the No. 3 and No. 4 starting pitchers.
Or, you know, Cohen could just dig even deeper into his checkbook and embrace a payroll north of $300 million in order to construct the World Series champion that he has been trying to buy for the past two years.