Nine interesting additions from the 2023-24 offseason

Any achievement is impossible without the opportunity to achieve it. For the nine players on the following list, opportunity has knocked on their door this offseason.

Every player in this group is now on a new team via free agency or trade. He may have seen some success in the majors in his previous positions, but a fresh start could serve as the platform he needs to reach stardom. If all goes well, these offseason acquisitions could be better than some think.

For a player who has been in the limelight for quite some time, Ranger is barely 24 years old. Controlling his emotions and the strike zone will be important for Kelenic, who was ranked as one of MLB Pipeline’s top five prospects in 2021.

Atlanta has put a lot of trust in its new left fielder, and the jumps in his hard-hit rate (45.6%) and accurate-hit rate (38.4%) last year show he can make a formidable Braves lineup much better and more. Can make it dangerous.

Although his 2023, age-22 season did not attract as much attention, Grissom demonstrated plate discipline beyond his years, displaying low swing-hit and strikeout rates.

Now he needs to show he can provide good protection at second base and make more of an impact at the plate. Grissom has averaged minus 5 outs in just 44 career games this term, and has not hit a hit over the fence in his last 121 at-bats dating back to September 2022. The Redlegs feel they have some power in their bat. If this is true, the youngster could form a quality pairing in the middle of the field alongside Trevor Story.

michael king, opener, padres
Some questions may arise regarding the workload of the law; Injuries and his long history as a reliever have limited King to just 247.2 innings over five seasons, including a career-high 104.2 last year. But he has had a few campaigns in the minor leagues with around 150 innings, and FanGraphs depth chart projections indicate he will pitch 160 innings in 2024.

His 2023 campaign with the NC Dinos of the South Korean KBO League was much better than that of Merrill Kelly, who saw a turnaround in his career on that circuit.

Fedde posted a 2.00 ERA with 209 strikeouts and just 35 walks in 180.1 innings. According to Pattipalidos general manager Chris Getz, in addition to being the best pitcher in the league, he is also viewed as the most dangerous hurler.

Fedde has a 5.41 earned run average over six seasons and 102 Major League appearances. This includes a 5.81 ERA in 2022. But now that he has returned to MLB with a fresh performance and newfound confidence, the right-hander may be ready to tap into his 31-year-old self.

About five months before his transfer from the Mariners, the Rays considered acquiring the Panamanian at the 2023 trade deadline. A lot has changed for the infielder since then. With Wander Franco on administrative leave at last notice, and Taylor Walls likely out for some time due to hip surgery in October, Caballero arrived as a major reinforcement for Tampa Bay.

The 27-year-old infielder brings several notable tools to Tampa Bay: his nearly elite sprint speed of 29 feet per second and tremendous defense. He stole 26 bases in 29 attempts in 104 games as a rookie last season and averaged 8 outs (OAA). Although he does not appear to have impressive batting, a 10% walk rate and good contact abilities give him a chance to become an average hitter at the major league level. That should be enough for Tampa Bay given Caballero’s other excellent abilities.

The left-handed player creates intrigue for many reasons. The most obvious is because there is some mystery surrounding one of the most dominant relievers in baseball. Over the past three seasons in the Nippon Professional League, Matsui posted a 1.42 ERA with 214 strikeouts in 152 innings.

But most MLB fans probably haven’t seen him pitch. Plus, we’ve never seen someone of Matsui’s stature with that kind of repertoire.

If Matsui is a mystery, Rodriguez is a complete enigma. When the right-hander makes his major league debut this season, it will have been more than a year since his last appearance in a competitive game. He recorded a 2.45 earned run average with 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings for the Cuban team during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He then decided to prepare for his opportunity in the majors instead of returning to Japan, where he had a 1.15 ERA with 60 strikeouts. 54.2 innings as a full-time reliever in 2022.

Rodríguez began his professional career as a starter in his native country, resulting in a 3.30 ERA in 464.1 innings. That stretch came with a low K/BB ratio, but Rodriguez was 21 or younger for most of that stretch. Since its inception, it has achieved greater command and speed down the straight line above 95 mph. He posted a solid 60-18 K/BB ratio in his last campaign. It remains to be seen what his role will be in the majors, but Rodriguez’s innate talent could benefit Toronto in a number of ways.

Following his return from injury on August 19, the right-hander finished in the top 10 in ERA (2.14) and opponent average (.179), as well as the lowest hard-hit percentage (27.4%). A year after posting a massive walk rate of 16.9%, Peppiatt made some notable changes in 2023 that helped him improve that figure to 3.1% in 42 innings.

The Rays have a long history of getting the best out of young starters coming through trades. Scott Kazmir, Chris Archer and Tyler Glasnow are some of that group. Peppiott, who was acquired in the deal that sent Glasnow to the Dodgers, could be next.

He produced a .283/.390/.529 offensive line in the minor leagues and paired his 60-rated power with an 18.8% strikeout rate and 13.9% walk rate. His .618 slugging percentage and 1.049 OPS in Triple-A last year ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, among all qualifying minor leaguers.

Although there were no great moments in his brief time with Los Angeles last season, he posted a 50% hard-hit rate. Bush hasn’t seen that much playing time as a first baseman since his college days five years ago, but Chicago will be prepared to see him face some obstacles until his entire offense lives up to expectations.