MLB way too early Power Rankings: Did Yankees win the offseason?

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The New York Yankees spent a boatload of money or two (depending on boat size) this offseason, but mostly used it to retain Aaron Judge and maintain the status quo.

Judge's contract -- a bargain at $360 million -- was eventually supplemented by a $162 million deal for Carlos Rodón that left Yankee fans feeling split on the offseason as a whole. Wasn't offense the problem at the tail end of last year? Did the Bombers do enough to secure a left fielder (no) or solve their infield logjam (no, they did nothing)? But is it truly fair to criticize a 99-win team for "running it back" when they added a co-ace and "99 wins" is also really good?

Most of MLB still remains relentlessly dedicated to being fringe-good enough to have an outside shot at 91 wins and a Wild Card berth, considering the postseason has proven time and again that anything is possible.

That means the Yankees, whether they "won the offseason" or not, are still in baseball's vaunted upper tier. That much isn't really up for debate.

2023 MLB Power Rankings: Where Do Yankees Rank?

Bottom Tier:

30. Cincinnati Reds
29. Washington Nationals
28. Oakland A's
27. Kansas City Royals
26. Colorado Rockies
25. Miami Marlins

The Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds are both quite pungent, but the Reds get the bottom spot here because of their ownership's relentless dedication to being despicable. Cincinnati's leadership has made no secret of their decision not to sign big-league free agents, and have spent most of their "fan response budget" on scoffing and grunting. This offseason, they have signed Chad Pinder and Wil Myers. The A's get the opposite bump; they may be worse on the field than the Reds, but they've signed a number of low-tier MLB free agents who will probably find new homes on contending teams before the end of 2023 (Jesús Aguilar, Trevor May).

The Marlins have a lot of pitching.

Close-to-the-Bottom Tier:

24. Detroit Tigers
23. Pittsburgh Pirates
22. Chicago White Sox
21. Texas Rangers
20. Milwaukee Brewers

This feels like the year the bottom falls out on the Brew Crew; the pitching remains special, but they're one rotation injury away from really flat-lining. Outside of acquiring William Contreras, their offseason has been spent mostly girding themselves for some future painful extensions (or failed extensions) to come. They are closer to dealing Willy Adames than they are to protecting him in the lineup. Risky to place them so low, but they've earned it with their uninspiring offseason.

Every team in this tier believes they are good. That is the differentiator from the bottom. Sadly, we don't believe them.

Mid-Tier:

Thanks to recent MLB spending practices, this group consists of ... most teams!

19. Chicago Cubs
18. San Francisco Giants
17. Boston Red Sox
16. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
15. Arizona Diamondbacks
14. Baltimore Orioles
13. Tampa Bay Rays

Understand we're probably the High Man on the 2023 Boston Red Sox, and the rotation is still brutal, even if Brayan Bello stays healthy, but they reinforced the bullpen, their biggest 2022 weakness, and replaced JD Martinez with gritty, gutty leadership in the form of Justin Turner. They were a fringe playoff team last year, and probably will be again ... though there's also a chance Turner, Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin all age at the same time and turn this roster into a complete mess. Xander Bogaerts is gone. Trevor Story is also pretty much gone. Considering they could rank anywhere from 9 to 24, we hedged our bets at 17.

Consider us big believers in the Arizona Diamondbacks, too. Even without Daulton Varsho, Corbin Carroll is the Rookie of the Year favorite, and is potentially still being slept on. They got unlucky last season and underperformed their pythagorean record by three games, yet still went 29-32 in Aug./Sept./Oct. They're not a playoff team, but they'll be young, plucky, exciting, and above .500.

The Angels rank here EVERY YEAR, and by golly, this'll be the year they actually finish somewhere close to the middle of the pack! We can feel it!

Almost at the Top Tier (No Shame in Being Here!):

12. Minnesota Twins
11. Toronto Blue Jays
10. Cleveland Guardians
9. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Seattle Mariners

We just ... don't ... fully get the Toronto Blue Jays' offseason. Chris Bassitt's an upgrade, but is he a difference-maker? Daulton Varsho's a Gold Glover, but is he Teoscar Hernández at the plate? Kevin Kiermaier can pick it, but is he an everyday player, at this stage of his career? And why is the rest of the baseball world reacting to Toronto's offseason like they just finished off a drastic overhaul? This team has a powerful offense (though it's less powerful than it used to be), and a rotation that looks like 2-2-4-4-5. The slugging Carlos Delgado-Pat Hentgen Jays of old are back! For decades prior to 2015, the Blue Jays have always been a 95-win offense that wins 87 games. Let's meet somewhere in the middle here.

Top Tier:

7. Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Philadelphia Phillies
5. San Diego Padres
4. New York Yankees
3. Houston Astros
2. Atlanta Braves
1. New York Mets

Disrespectful to the Dodgers? Absolutely. But they've earned it, losing the most WAR year-over-year of any team in the game without adding any impact talent to replace it. The Dodgers shed veteran stars in an attempt to reset the luxury tax, then didn't reset the luxury tax. They should be thankful they're ranked above the Mariners.

Last year's entire NLCS should feel uneasy ranking behind the Braves and Mets in spots No. 1 and 2, but that rivalry represents "Sustainable Young Core vs. Spending-Powered Behemoth" and should give us an even better sequel to their 2022 NL East race that ended in a deadlock. Perhaps it'll be the Braves who choke this time around.

And, yes, as much as we love the Yankees and their offseason, it would be absolutely silly to rank them behind the team that's been better head-to-head over and over and over and over and over again. At this moment, with Justin Verlander in Queens, the Yankees' rotation is better (by a hair, baking in the guaranteed Cristian Javier no-hitter in every H2H series). The lineup is worse. The Astros are the champs. Dethrone them for real if you want to stop staring at their behind.

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