5 teams with most Hot Stove shopping to do

March 11th, 2022

The Hot Stove is being reignited after Thursday’s CBA agreement, and with less than a month to go before Opening Day, the moves figure to come fast and furious over the coming weeks.

That said, some teams have more work to do than others. Whether it be a result of staying quiet during the first part of the offseason or simply needing to finish the plan they started in November, here’s a look at the five clubs (and an honorable mention) that have the most shopping left to do before the season starts.

Yankees 
Needs: Shortstop, starting pitcher

To this point, the Yankees' only free-agent addition has been left-hander Joely Rodríguez, who signed a one-year, $2 million deal. New York stayed silent during the November frenzy that saw the loaded shortstop class quickly thin out, with the Rangers landing both Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, while Javier Báez signed with the Tigers. That leaves Carlos Correa and Trevor Story among the marquee options, though it's certainly possible -- especially given the way things unfolded in November -- that the Yankees will seek a stopgap solution with prospects Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza projected to reach the Majors in 2023.

Along with addressing the need at shortstop, the Yanks could also explore adding another bat or rotation option. With Corey Kluber hitting free agency, New York's current starting rotation figures to be some arrangement of Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Néstor Cortes Jr. and TBD.

Phillies
Needs: Outfielder(s), relievers, bench bats

The Phillies finished 82-80 last season, posting their first winning record since 2011 -- but they're still seeking their first postseason appearance since that '11 campaign. They went into the offseason looking to rebuild their bullpen for a second straight year, while also hoping to add another bat in the middle of the order and find a corner outfielder to offset the losses of Andrew McCutchen and Odúbel Herrera. So far, the Phils have made minimal moves, though they added veteran reliever Corey Knebel on a one-year, $10 million deal.

Still, that's likely not enough -- especially in a National League East that features the reigning World Series champion Braves and a Mets team that already added Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar. Along with continuing to rebuild a bullpen that lost Hector Neris, Archie Bradley and Ian Kennedy to free agency, Philadelphia needs to find at least one outfielder and finalize the left side of its infield.

The Phillies have said Alec Bohm needs to earn his job at third base after a disappointing 2021 campaign, and the same goes for shortstop Didi Gregorius, who's coming off the shakiest performance of his career as he enters the second half of a two-year, $28 million contract.

Dodgers
Needs: Starting pitcher, bullpen

It may sound strange, but the Dodgers brought back perhaps their most irreplaceable free agent when they re-signed Chris Taylor to a four-year deal on Dec. 1. Still, it's hard to completely discount the losses of Seager and Scherzer, even if Los Angeles has Trea Turner set to take over at shortstop and Walker Buehler to anchor the rotation alongside Julio Urías.

It's also worth noting that both Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen remain free agents. Of course, the Dodgers could still bring back one, or both, of those longtime core pieces, though each will be 34 years old on Opening Day. Los Angeles made a couple other moves in addition to bringing back Taylor in the first part of the offseason, as the club also signed pitchers Andrew Heaney (an interesting upside play) and Daniel Hudson.

While those moves could pay off, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Dodgers make a splash over the next few weeks as they look to recapture the NL West crown from the Giants.

Giants
Needs: Starting pitcher, right-handed hitter

To be clear, the Giants have already done plenty this offseason. In fact, they committed nearly $100 million to free agents, including bringing back right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (three years, $36 million), left-hander Alex Wood (two years, $25 million) and first baseman Brandon Belt (one year, $18.4 million). San Francisco also added righty Alex Cobb (two years, $20 million) to help stabilize a rotation that had only one pitcher -- Logan Webb -- at the start of the offseason. All of those moves came after the club signed shortstop Brandon Crawford to a two-year, $32 million deal in August.

That's a decent haul for any team, let alone one that won a Major League-best 107 games last season. Still, you can't completely overlook the losses of starter Kevin Gausman (signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Blue Jays) and catcher Buster Posey (retired), especially when the Dodgers finished only one game back in the NL West last season.

Twins
Needs: Starting pitchers

The Twins have already spent a decent chunk of money this offseason, though almost all of it was in the form of a seven-year, $100 million extension for outfielder Byron Buxton. By erasing any speculation that they could look to move Buxton entering what would have been his final year of club control, Minnesota now needs to shift its focus to building around the 28-year-old star.

Aside from the Buxton extension, Minnesota's lone move to this point was a one-year deal for free agent right-hander Dylan Bundy, who had a 6.06 ERA last season with the Angels. As it stands now -- with José Berríos traded last summer and Kenta Maeda recovering from Tommy John surgery -- the starting rotation consists of Bundy, Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan. The Twins will clearly be in the market for at least one veteran arm, as they hope to improve on their 2021 last-place finish in the American League Central that followed a pair of postseason appearances in '19 and '20.

Honorable Mention

Braves
Needs: Freddie Freeman

OK, so the Braves might not need a spot here just for one specific player, but it is Freeman. The five-time All-Star and 2020 NL MVP Award winner isn't only the face of the franchise, but he's still one of the best players on the planet -- and certainly one of the top remaining free agents. Bringing back Freeman was always a top priority for the reigning World Series champions this offseason, but doing so became of paramount importance after the division-rival Mets went out and added Scherzer and Marte, among others.