There were clear winners and clear losers at this year's MLB Winter Meetings. While that has no gauge on how teams will perform in 2016, it's still important to note which clubs got to work fast on improving their roster for next season.
Here are our three winners and three losers from the Winter Meetings:
Winners
Chicago Cubs
Ben Zobrist was arguably the most coveted free agent heading into the Winter Meetings as he was garnering a lot of interest from teams in the early going. Yes, there are still a number of other more valuable and better free agents available, but Zobrist's demand was high because of his versatility and the fact he's coming off a World Series championship.
The Cubs landed him on a four-year, $56 million contract and beat out the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants and others. In that same breath, the team went ahead and traded second baseman Starlin Castro the New York Yankees to make room for Zobrist, which ended up only being a small addition to the payroll (Castro was set to earn $38 million over the next four years, so they really only added $18 million in signing Zobrist).
They got pitcher Adam Warren in return for Castro. The right-hander may compete for a job in the rotation, and if he doesn't make the cut, he's still a solid bullpen arm under club control through the 2018 season. They also added John Lackey last weekend and have reportedly agreed to a deal with Jason Heyward today.
New York Yankees
The Yankees got Castro, which is a big addition for them being that they've had issues finding an everyday second baseman ever since Robinson Cano signed with the Seattle Mariners. Castro is only 25 years old and in six MLB seasons he's been an All-Star three times. The Yankees gave up Warren and infielder Brendan Ryan, both of whom did they didn't have much use for compared to their need at second base.
New York also traded reliever Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for two Triple-A pitching prospects in Luis Cessa and Chad Green. Although Wilson pitched very well for the team in 2015, there are plenty of relievers general manager Brian Cashman can sign this offseason that can effectively replace the left-hander. Instead, he got value for Wilson while it was high and saved $1.5 million in the trade.
Cashman is looking to improve the farm system and add cost-effective players to the 40-man roster, which he's been doing this offseason. He's been accomplishing exactly what he set out to do.
Arizona Diamondbacks
This is obvious, as many are declaring the D-Backs perhaps the overall winner due to their acquisition of Shelby Miller. While Arizona gave up a lot for the right-hander (No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson, top prospect Aaron Blair and talented outfielder Ender Inciarte), the team added to their starting rotation and got a No. 2 behind Zack Greinke, who they signed the week prior to a $206.5 million deal.
Now with Greinke, Miller and Patrick Corbin atop the rotation, the Diamondbacks are a clear threat to win the NL West after leading the NL in runs scored in 2015. Their pitching staff was their biggest weakness last year (4.37 starters' ERA ranked 23rd in MLB), so they've addressed that area and are now perhaps the favorites to win the division in 2016.
*Honorable Mentions: Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves
Losers
Los Angeles Dodgers
This is just as obvious as the Diamondbacks being the clear winners. After losing out on Zack Greinke the weekend prior, the Dodgers attempted to trade for closer Aroldis Chapman, only to find out he was allegedly involved in a domestic violence incident back in October. The trade was reportedly called off and the team did not get anything else going.
They've reportedly been in trade talks with the Miami Marlins about starter Jose Fernandez and the Yankees about closer Andrew Miller, but both of those trade scenarios seem highly unlikely due to the large returns both players would require.
Los Angeles did reportedly sign starter Hisashi Iwakuma to a three-year, $45 million deal, but the 34-year-old probably won't solve their pitching woes beyond Clayton Kershaw. He's made just 48 starts over the past two seasons and owns a 3.53 ERA over that span. It's not bad, but it's not going to replace Greinke and it's not a huge upgrade over their current cast of starters expected to return in 2016 (Brett Anderson, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and others).
They have yet to improve their horrid bullpen and Chase Utley was their only other big signing. The front office will have a lot of explaining to do if they don't make up for the loss of Greinke and the failed trade for Chapman.
St. Louis Cardinals
I didn't think I'd see the day where two National League juggernauts completely screwed the pooch at the Winter Meetings, but here we are. The Cardinals did absolutely nothing except fail to re-sign Lackey and Heyward. Their efforts to land Zobrist, David Price and Jeff Samardzija went down the tubes as well.
The MLB's best team in 2015 made two moves at the Winter Meetings: traded for Padres infielder Jedd Gyorko and signed reliever Jonathan Broxton. Barf.
Again, this is no indication of their future plans or how they'll perform in 2016, but they struck out on every possible free agent signing they were rumored to be involved with, and that's not a good sign at all.
Lance Lynn is out for 2016 and they have yet to address that aspect of their rotation after having many chances to do so. The Cardinals are not known to make splashes in free agency and all hope is not lost, but they were certainly a big loser at the Winter Meetings evne though they will get two high draft picks for the losses of Lackey and Heyward.
Cincinnati Reds
It really just keeps getting worse for the Reds. They waited WAY too long to trade Chapman and it blew up in their face. Earlier this offseason it was said they were "open for business" on all of their players, yet they failed to make a single trade or at least progress in trade discussions (based on what was reported) at the Winter Meetings, where most teams are ready to make deals.
They supposedly talked to the Kansas City Royals (along with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians) about a deal for Todd Frazier, but the Reds are asking teams for their top pitching and position prospects in return, which will likely dissuade clubs from making a trade. They also spoke with the Arizona Diamondbacks about a deal involving Brandon Phillips, but he has no-trade rights. However, he may be willing to sign off to go anywhere else at this point.
For a team that is selling the farm and failed to get anything done - or seemingly get anything to develop - during the quintessential time to do so is big loss no matter how you look at it.
*Honorable Mentions: New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins
