At his introductory news conference with the Colorado Rockies after signing a seven-year, $182 million contract, Kris Bryant was asked about the future of his new franchise.
"I take a lot of pride in the fact that I have never played on a losing team in the big leagues, and I don't plan on doing that here," Bryant said.
It was a perfect answer to an impossible question. What was he going to say, that the money was simply too lavish to refuse?
Bryant's contract was certainly the most stunning of the free-agent frenzy, landing with the Rockies at that dollar amount. As Jeff Passan pointed out, however, the owners spent money across the board in free agency: a record $3.265 billion as of last week, with other free agents still trickling in, shattering the previous high of $2.4 billion in 2016. The Rangers committed $580.7 million to free agents, a record for one offseason. It should be noted, however: Two of the three previous highs (the 2014 Yankees and 2019 Phillies) failed to make the postseason.
There was also a flurry of post-lockout trades as front offices tried to cram three months of offseason transactions into 10 days. Now that the dust has mostly settled, let's give each team an offseason grade. Obviously, expectations are different for each franchise; nobody expected the Pirates to sign Carlos Correa and Freddie Freeman. Contenders should be expected to fill holes and spend some money. (All payroll estimates are from the invaluable Cot's Contracts.)
