A busy pre-lockout spending spree, which saw more than $1 billion spent on free agents, set the stage for what should be an interesting season of baseball as several teams look better on paper thanks to their cash-spending ways.
Here are five teams that got better before the 2022 campaign by opening up their wallets or making significant trades.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers were one of MLB's worst teams in 2021, finishing last in the American League West with a 60-102 record. The front office wasn't interested in a repeat and decided to spend over $500 million before the lockout to sign Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jon Gray, and Kole Calhoun.
Seager and Semien cost most of that total but should be one of the top double-play combinations in baseball next season. The pair combined for 10.3 fWAR in 2021 - with Seager only playing 95 games - and should bring pedigree and experience to a Rangers club that needs it. Seager is not only one of the game's top shortstops, he's also a World Series winner, while Semien's leadership was a significant part of the Toronto Blue Jays' success last season.
FanGraphs' Steamer projects the duo to combine for 55 HR, 166 RBIs, and 9.4 fWAR in 2022, which would be far better than what the Rangers received from all of their middle infielders combined last year (26 HR, 127 RBIs, 4.6 fWAR).
On the pitching front, the Rangers' starting rotation was awful in 2021 despite playing in a pitcher-friendly park. The rotation finished 27th in strikeouts per nine, 28th in ERA and FIP, and 30th in fWAR. Texas' front office added Gray to help address these concerns. The right-hander struck out more than one hitter per nine last season and has shown varying degrees of success throughout his career despite pitching at Coors Field. The Rangers will need to add more pitching if they plan to contend, but Gray should help them improve on last year's results.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers look like they're finally ready to transition from rebuilders to contenders after a busy offseason that followed a surprisingly solid 77-85 campaign under manager A.J. Hinch in his first year on the job.
Detroit's front office spent $217 million on Javier Baez and Eduardo Rodriguez, bringing in two heavyweights to help in its pursuit of a division title.
Baez gives the Tigers a premiere player at shortstop, a difference-maker on both sides of the ball. The 29-year-old combined to hit .265/.319/.494 with 31 homers, 87 RBIs, and 18 steals last season, with plenty of that damage coming down the stretch for the New York Mets (143 wRC+). He's also amassed 46 defensive runs saved throughout his career and is a human highlight reel thanks to his gorgeous tags and high baseball IQ. To compare, Tigers shortstops combined for a 72 wRC+ and minus-15 DRS in 2021.
E-Rod and trade addition Tucker Barnhart should provide maturity to a blossoming young Tigers rotation that's expected to be a strength next season. Rodriguez owns a career .621 winning percentage and 3.83 FIP despite pitching his entire career in the AL East. Meanwhile, Barnhart, a two-time Gold Glover at catcher, is a well-regarded receiver who worked wonders in Cincinnati with the Reds' pitching staff.
Seattle Mariners
It might be tough for the Mariners to replicate or exceed their 2021 success, but Jerry Dipoto and his front office are certainly going to try. Seattle has already brought in last season's AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray and traded for All-Star infielder Adam Frazier.
The addition of Ray should help stabilize a Mariners rotation that finished last year 19th in ERA, 22nd in fWAR and FIP, and 25th in strikeouts per nine. The southpaw finished atop the AL pitching ranks in most of those categories. Ray will also throw more innings at pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park, instead of three different hitter's havens like he did last season in Toronto, Buffalo, and Dunedin, Florida. He will also be backed by one of baseball's top bullpens.
Meanwhile, Frazier should be a major upgrade at second base for the Mariners if he can replicate some of the success he had last year. The 30-year-old was one of the top hitters in the game for the Pittsburgh Pirates (.324/.388/.448) before struggling with the San Diego Padres following a July trade. For comparison's sake, Seattle only received a .284 OBP from its second basemen last season.
Additionally, the Mariners should get an internal boost with the return of 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis set to return. Lewis only appeared in 36 games last season due to injuries after a terrific first campaign where he posted an .801 OPS with 11 homers in 58 games. Seattle also has prized prospect Julio Rodriguez - baseball's No. 2-ranked prospect - waiting to make his MLB debut.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels finished eight games under .500 last season despite having three of the best players on the planet. Los Angeles should be able to improve on its 77 wins from a season ago if Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Anthony Rendon can stay on the field at the same time, but the club added in some other areas as well to help it progress.
Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen were brought in to replace Alex Cobb and Dylan Bundy in the starting rotation. When healthy, Syndergaard and Lorenzen possess dominant stuff and could wind up giving the Angels a strong top three in the rotation with Ohtani. That should help the starters rank better than 22nd in ERA, as was the case last year.
Los Angeles also brought back closer Raisel Iglesias, who finished 11th in AL Cy Young voting after posting a 2.57 ERA with 34 saves and 103 strikeouts in 70 innings. The Angels further bolstered their bullpen by signing Aaron Loup, who posted ridiculous numbers with the Mets (6-0, 0.95 ERA, 0.94 WHIP).
This looks like a playoff team on paper if it can stay healthy.
New York Mets
The Mets entered 2021 with big expectations and a large payroll - and it's more of the same ahead of 2022. After finishing last season eight games under .500, deep-pocketed owner Steve Cohen gave New York's front office the go-ahead to spend $254.5 million on Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar.
The Scherzer signing gives the Mets the best one-two pitching punch in baseball, with him and Jacob deGrom combining for five Cy Youngs and more than 4,500 strikeouts during their careers. New York will be without Marcus Stroman and Syndergaard, who both departed in free agency, but the rotation should remain a strength with Scherzer and deGrom pitching ahead of Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, and whoever fills the fifth starter role.
Marte, Canha, and Escobar should help solidify a Mets offense that finished 17th in fWAR, 24th in OPS, 25th in homers, and 27th in runs and RBIs last season.
Marte is one of the top center fielders in the game and had one of the best seasons of his career last year (.310/.383/.458, 47 steals), while Canha should help fix New York's on-base problem as his OBP is the ninth-highest in MLB since 2019. Escobar gives the Mets an additional run producer in the middle of their lineup alongside Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, while the returning Robinson Cano should have an impact if he's able to shake off the rust after missing all of 2021.