Batting Around: What was your favorite move of the MLB offseason?

Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable, breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we debated Brendan Donovan's future (he's now a Mariner). This week we're going to dive into our favorite offseason moves.

What was your favorite move of the offseason?

R.J. Anderson: I'm going to take creative liberties here by answering with my favorite variety of move from the offseason: the Cardinals paying down the salaries of several traded players (first baseman Willson Contreras, right-hander Sonny Gray, and third baseman Nolan Arenado) to procure better returns. This is something more retooling teams should do, in my opinion. Those clubs are far more likely to benefit from netting better young players in a trade than they are from gaining additional financial breathing room. In this particular instance, I think it speaks to how much the Cardinals ownership group trusts new top executive Chaim Bloom's long-term vision, too. That's an encouraging sign for a Cardinals club that felt a little rudderless this time a year ago.

Mike Axisa: The Willson Contreras trade is up there. I like it for both teams. The Red Sox get a really good righty bat to balance out their lefty heavy lineup, and the Cardinals paid down a bunch of salary to increase the prospect return. I thought St. Louis also did very, very well in the Brendan Donovan trade. They had a great offseason, albeit as a seller, not as a contender. I've been pushing Luis Robert Jr. as a sneaky good trade target since last offseason, so the Mets getting him for two spare parts gets an A+ from me.  

To answer the question, my favorite move is the White Sox signing Munetaka Murakami. I know they won't contend in 2026, but I love the big swing on a 26-year-old with enormous power. It's a nothing contract. Two years and $34 million was Frankie Montas/Joc Pederson money last offseason. Murakami has major swing-and-miss issues, I know that, but it's a prime-aged player with considerable upside on a short-term contract. It's exactly the kind of swing I want to see rebuilding teams take. If it doesn't work, the White Sox are out some money. Big deal. But, if it does, they have an impact talent to advance the rebuild. Great job, ChiSox.

Dayn Perry: I have to say the Dodgers' signing of Kyle Tucker. They've won back-to-back titles and have every excuse to rest on their laurels. They also had a roster in place that could very much contend for the elusive three-peat. Instead, though, they went out and signed the best free agent available. Tucker gives them a needed boost in terms of corner outfield production and he's also significantly younger than their current core, which may help the Dodgers extend their current championship window. It's a very bold and very targeted move by the best organization in MLB. 

Matt Snyder: I think my favorite decision by a team thus far in the offseason has been the Tigers not trading Tarik Skubal. I'm so tired of the "they're just gonna lose him after the season for nothing, so they have to get something for him now" mindset when it comes to contenders. Go try to win the World Series with him. That doesn't count as a move, though, so I'll go with the Orioles signing Pete Alonso. I think the slug-only guy -- so long as he's an elite slugger, which Alonso is -- has become a bit underrated in this day and age. The Orioles last season had many problems, but some of them offensively came from missing the power production provided by Anthony Santander in 2024. Having that thunder in the middle of the order behind a superstar like Gunnar Henderson is very important and I expect the Mets will miss that behind Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor this season. More than anything, though, I wanted to see the Orioles' front office start to spend some money for players outside the organization and this was a big one.