From the Toronto Blue Jays’ mini-extension for Josh Donaldson to the New York Mets’ pact with Yoenis Cespedes, MLB brain trusts across the league have been swinging some seriously shrewd deals during the 2016 offseason.
While the new contracts for J.D. and La Potencia headline the list of “best” moves, there has also been no shortage of suspect signings and trades.
Before we get to the following list, let’s first define what we mean by “best” and “worst” moves.
The signings and trades that earned the “best” label all addressed crucial team needs in 2016 (and the near future beyond that) without hamstringing the given clubs in the long run. Meanwhile, the “worst” moves either didn’t effectively address important team needs, or did so at an exorbitant cost compared to signings and trades for similar players.
And in the case of some clubs, the worst move was the one that—at least to this point—they’ve failed to make.