You know, for all the grumbling throughout the MLB offseason, we ended up with a fascinating list of transactions. We saw two of the best all-around players in the game traded. That's pretty fun, at least for Mets and Cardinals fans. We watched the reigning National League Cy Young winner, the NL Cy Young runner-up, and a recent American League Cy Young winner all change teams. That doesn't happen every offseason. And in Chicago alone, we saw the White Sox continue to go big and the Cubs punt on third down.
Yes, we have too many teams that didn't do anything -- but we also have the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres setting the stage for an epic duel in 2021.
"The Padres, they started quick," said new San Diego starter Blake Snell, the 2018 AL CY Young winner who came over in a trade with the Rays. "We threw some haymakers quick. And then the Dodgers, they followed with some big haymakers as well. It's exciting. It's what baseball should be about -- make the best team you can possibly make and doing everything you can to win, and I feel like both the teams are doing so."
After the Padres acquired Snell and then Yu Darvish from the Cubs, among a list of major offseason deals, the Dodgers eventually countered when they signed 2020 Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer and then re-signed third baseman Justin Turner.
It's on. "It's exciting what they're doing," Turner said of the Padres. "I think it's good for the game of baseball. They're being aggressive and going for it and it's good to see teams doing that. The way I look at it now that I'm back with the Dodgers is we're getting 19 World Series games this year."
So the Padres and Dodgers top the list of my favorite offseasons. There is also an easy call for my least favorite offseason.