The transition from the hot stove to spring training isn't always smooth, but usually the dividing lines are a little more clear than what we've got in February 2024, as pitchers and catchers report in Florida and Arizona.
To an unusual extent, the boundaries from one phase of the baseball calendar to the next are blurred because so many of the winter's top free agents remain unsigned. Typically, when we issue this pre-spring training Stock Watch, it's a chance to assess the work each team did on its roster over the winter. Today, we're doing that based on how things stand at the moment, but also with the understanding that, for some teams, these pictures are going to change after they've added an impact player ... or two ... or four.
It's not neat and tidy but with Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery all still mired in free agent limbo, that's the situation we've got. At the same time, just as this initial spring Stock Watch is a chance for fans of every team to dream, it's also an opportunity for those fans to let their imaginations run just a little wild.
With that in mind, not only have we crafted estimates for the effect of each team's offseason work, we've included some very loose forecasts based on this thought experiment: What if your team went "all-in" by opening up its wallet and signing all of the top remaining free agents? It's a pretty thought and one not based in reality but, then again, it's their money, not ours, right?
Here's how all 30 MLB teams rank as spring training begins.