The Winter Meetings are always a key point in MLB free agency, as a collection of key figures from around the league meet up and try to hammer out deals in free agency. And sure enough, there were some big deals made at the 2022 Winter Meetings. Some of the biggest names came off the market over the past three or four days, which has completely changed the landscape of the MLB.
This had the potential to be an explosive event in the 2022 MLB offseason, and with the Winter Meetings officially wrapped up now, it's clear that quite a lot has changed in the league over the past few days. There is still a lot of work to be done over the next few months, but for now, we will be focused on picking up the pieces of everything that we just witnessed.
In the immediate aftermath, it's clear that there are some big winners and losers from the Winter Meetings. Let's focus solely on the teams around the league, and pick out three of the biggest losers from the 2022 MLB Winter Meetings and see why they are walking away with that label.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a pretty strange start to the 2022 offseason. They have been linked to pretty much every big name on the market, but they haven't spent on anyone. Guys like Aaron Judge and Justin Verlander were on the Dodgers wishlist, but when it came time to act, they were nowhere to be found.
There have been rumors that the Dodgers are going to sit on the sidelines this offseason in preparation of making a run for Shohei Ohtani next offseason, but even if that's the case, ignoring some of their biggest needs right now seems woefully shortsighted. The Dodgers are obviously going to be a World Series contender next season, but it's going to be a lot more difficult to accomplish that if they stand pat.
The Dodgers already had holes on their roster, but received another huge blow when they made virtually no effort to prevent Trea Turner from going and signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. Los Angeles didn't seem to have much interest in bringing him back, and his departure opened up another hole on their roster that the front office simply ignored during the Winter Meetings.
2. San Francisco Giants
You can make an argument that the San Francisco Giants deserve the top spot on this list, and no one would really argue it. The Giants were one of the top suitors for superstar outfielder Aaron Judge, and for a point in time, it looked like they landed him. But the report was quickly deemed to be false, and before you knew it, Judge had retreated back to New York to sign with the Yankees.
Missing out on Judge is huge, as the Giants desperately need outfield help and a big bat to anchor their lineup. Judge would have filled both of those needs immediately, and simply signing him would have allowed San Francisco to walk out of the offseason as a winner, regardless of whether or not they made any other moves.
San Fran placing pretty much all of their attention on Judge also made it so that they missed out on some of the other big names on the market, which makes losing out on him even worse. The Giants' various needs are all still in place, and they spent most of the Winter Meetings fruitlessly chasing Judge. It's clear this wasn't a great stretch of the offseason for San Francisco, and it will be interesting to see if they can rebound.
1. Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox knew they were going to have to be aggressive this offseason after finishing in last place in the American League East last season. They closed the Winter Meetings with some OK deals, signing Kenley Jansen and prized Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida. But everything fell apart right at the end when Xander Bogaerts signed with the San Diego Padres.
There's no question that Bogaerts 11-year, $280 million deal is outrageous, but this highlights a mistake that Boston made months ago. They made an aggressive push for Bogaerts at the end, but it was too little too late. Had they made their reported six-year, $160 million offer last spring, maybe Bogaerts would have stuck around. Bogaerts never should have been allowed to hit free agency in the first place.
Combine that with the Sox being finalists for several players, such as Mitch Haniger, Andrew Heaney, and Tommy Kahnle, before missing out on all of them, and they walk away from the Winter Meetings wondering what to do next. Are they going to try to build themselves into a World Series contender, or undergo a rebuild? No one on the outside knows, and chances are Boston's front office doesn't know either, which is a huge problem for the Red Sox.
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