A Bunch Of MLB Teams Aren't Even Trying

Spring training games are well underway, marking an official end to the 2024-2025 Major League Baseball offseason. The Los Angeles Dodgers "won" the free agency period, the New York Mets arguably came in second, and the Red Sox made some sneaky good acquisitions too.

But there are a number of other teams that not only didn't "win" the offseason, they signaled to fans that they don't even remotely care about trying.

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed free agent pitcher Andrew Heaney. Brought back 38-year-old Andrew McCutchen, signed second baseman Adam Frazier and reliever Caleb Ferguson. And that's about it.

Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Brian Reynolds and starting pitching prospect Bubba Chandler. It's the makings of a solid, relatively competitive team. The Pirates chose to build around that core by doing essentially nothing. They're hardly the only ones. 

The Miami Marlins made the postseason as recently as 2023. Sandy Alcantara is set to return after missing a season with arm surgery. Their offseason acquisitions list is effectively empty. They traded quality major leaguers, like Jake Burger and Jesus Luzardo for some prospects. And that's it.

The Cleveland Guardians made the ALCS in 2024, have superstar infielder Jose Ramirez on a team-friendly contract, one of the best bullpens in baseball, and some promising young players. What did they add? 38-year-old Carlos Santana. That's about it.

What are we doing here?

Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at loanDepot park on April 4, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

The Chicago White Sox are coming off a historic, 121-loss season. They then got worse, trading Garrett Crochet to the Red