Quiet offseason for Dodgers continues as Giants, Padres make huge free agent signings
The NL West arms race reached another level on Tuesday night when the San Francisco Giants signed shortstop Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350 million contract. The Giants had been a bridesmaid for a few other free agents, but they’ve had a big couple of days, signing pitchers Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea to two-year, $25 million deals. They also previously signed Mitch Haniger after not winning the Aaron Judge sweepstakes.
A 13-year contract for the 28-year-old Correa is an extremely long pact, but the $26.92 million AAV (average annual value) seems more than fair for what Correa brings to the table. Despite the free agent frenzy, the Giants are still +3500 to win the World Series per DraftKings, well below the Dodgers (+700) and Padres (+1000).
Carlos Correa stats
In Correa, the Giants get a strong offensive player, who has improved defensively as well. Correa has accumulated 31.3 fWAR for his career and has been an above average hitter every season except for the shortened 2020 COVID year. He is coming off of a 140 wRC+ season, meaning he was 40% better than league average with a .291/.366/.467 slash. He’s a reliable 25-homer guy that will hit for a high average by today’s standards and post a double-digit walk rate.
The addition of Correa moves Brandon Crawford to third base, a position he has not played at the Major League level in his 12 seasons with the Giants.
Padres sign Xander Bogaerts to 11-year, $280 million contract
The aforementioned arms race in the NL West also features the Padres, who were linked to multiple free agents that they came up short on before Bogaerts agreed to an 11-year contract with a $25.45 million AAV. Whenever he returns, Fernando Tatis Jr. will be an outfielder, as Bogaerts takes over at shortstop. Bogaerts is a slightly lesser version of Correa with worse defensive stats and a little less consistent power, but he’s a higher batting average guy that still carries a very high on-base percentage.
Dodgers free agency not going so well
The Dodgers have only made minor moves with external free agents, signing pitcher Shelby Miller and OF Jason Heyward. They also brought back Clayton Kershaw on a one-year, $20 million deal. The Dodgers have been linked to a few players, but haven’t been able to pull the trigger on any signings. They still have a stacked lineup and rotation and are the second favorite at +700 to win the World Series.
After last year’s loss to the Padres in the NLDS, some may have expected the Dodgers to be uber-aggressive in their pursuit of roster upgrades, but they have been fairly quiet to this point. Dansby Swanson doesn’t seem to be an option since the Dodgers are stacked with middle infielders, but they are reportedly pursuing LHP Carlos Rodon quite hard. He is the last of the really good free agents left for this cycle.
2023 World Series Odds (DraftKings)
- Houston Astros +550
- Los Angeles Dodgers +700
- New York Yankees +900
- San Diego Padres +1000
- New York Mets +1000
- Atlanta Braves +1000
- Toronto Blue Jays +1200
- Philadelphia Phillies +1300
- Seattle Mariners +1600
- St. Louis Cardinals +2200
- Chicago White Sox +2500
- Tampa Bay Rays +2800
- San Francisco Giants +3500
- Texas Rangers +3500
- Cleveland Guardians +3500
- Baltimore Orioles +3500
- Boston Red Sox +3500
- Los Angeles Angels +4000
- Milwaukee Brewers +4000
- Minnesota Twins +7000
- Chicago Cubs +7000
- Miami Marlins +8000
- Detroit Tigers +8000
- Arizona Diamondbacks +8000
- Kansas City Royals +10000
- Colorado Rockies +12000
- Cincinnati Reds +15000
- Pittsburgh Pirates +20000
- Washington Nationals +30000
- Oakland Athletics +30000
The Mets have made a lot of noise, signing Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana after they lost Jacob deGrom and Chris Bassitt. They also signed Japanese import Kodai Senga, along with Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz. The Phillies got Taijuan Walker and Trea Turner, while the Braves just traded for Sean Murphy.
The World Series odds board is very much shifted towards the National League, as most American League teams have been very quiet during the offseason. With the big names signed, we’ll see the next tiers of free agents come off the books and more trades, so keep an eye on the rest of the MLB offseason in advance of Opening Day on March 30.