Arizona Diamondbacks
@Diamond cutter clearly builds a team through expert drafting and amateur signings, supplementing his homegrown talent with a few key free agent signings. Allain is relatively quiet on the trade market, and has yet to explore picking up players through MiLB deals or waiver claims.
Best name: Ferid Negrouz
Atlanta Braves
@King_Julien – Braves inherited much of this team from the last Braves GM, but it is clear he is trying to take big swings in free agency in the hopes of finding either tradeable pieces or major league assets. Julien has a solid foundation of drafted players as well, yet has limited international talent on the squad.
Best name: Jaicus Kayabya
Baltimore Orioles
With @paul-Os running his team on autopilot, it’s no surprise that most of the players on his team were likely drafted for him by the computer. Shockingly, Warner doesn’t have a single free agent acquisition on the roster. What are you doing Paul!
Best name: Tony Toni
Boston Red Sox
Though @Alec_RedSox barely has enough players on the roster to play a sandlot game, I still thought I’d go through this exercise because I hate myself. If you play for Boston, you better rent, not buy, because Snyder is looking to wheel and deal his way through his rebuild. Snyder has a pretty balanced squad in terms of acquisitions, but my feeling is the scale will tip toward FAs as he fills out the back half of his roster.
Best name: Afeef Ishaq
Chicago White Sox
You know the old saying, “If it’s broke, throw some money at it and maybe that’ll fix it?” Apparently @Bart-whitesox took that message to heart, acquiring a whopping 16 players on his active roster via free agency. Snyder’s drafted numbers are juiced because of several middling relievers on the back half of the roster. Bart, money can’t buy love, can it buy a championship??
Best name: Adamnan Soedjatmoko
Chicago Cubs
I honestly expected to see more free agents on @kieferriley-cubbies‘s squad, considering how much everyone talks about Kiefer making big splashes on free agents. The Cubs are a relatively well balanced team, with an even number of players coming from trades and from the draft. The rest of the offseason will be telling for Chicago — will the team take on more bad contracts? Will they sign more expensive, aging vets? Only time will tell.
Best name: Tsurayaki Yamauchi
Cincinnati Reds
Our fearless commissioner @Tim G – Reds GM predictably has built his team largely through trading and free agency, as only five homegrown players are on his roster. He’s made the most use of mid-low 40s OVR players, signing them for cheap deals to get above average production. The biggest question mark still remaining for the Reds is how they’ll fill out the back of their bullpen.
Best name: Anastasio Pineda
Cleveland Indians
@lindq005(cleveland) has two main sources of talent: the trade market and the draft. Lindquist’s favorite trade partner throughout the past decade has certainly been the Brewers, and miraculously he even managed to pull off a trade with Walt. When Lindquist makes a foray into free agency, it’s usually to pull off a splashy signing — he doesn’t often use the open market to improve around the edges.
Best name: Jose Fierro
Colorado Rockies
@Rockies GM (Ray) has done a good job of starting to turn this team around from the never-ending black hole Tommy left for Colorado. With the possibility of #Rocktober on the horizon, Ray has started to build a nucleus through trades and savvy free agent signings. He’s also added a few MiLB free agents and a waiver claim to boot.
Best name: Junnosuke Koyama
Detroit Tigers
The league’s worst team, helmed by @Robert – TigersGM, provides evidence for the theory that building through the draft will not yield good results in the current league climate. Detroit’s top two players are both free agent signings who have disappointed, and the rest of the team are middling AAAA-caliber players who don’t offer much at the major league level. The Tigers should consider making a move or two in free agency to bolster their squad’s quality.
Best name: Rizaldo Araneta
Havana Sugar Kings
In a revelation that should surprise absolutely nobody, @cracktheskye‘s Sugar Kings have drafted half of their current active roster, and traded for another third of the team. Please, everyone, have a laugh at the fact that the only free agent on Smout’s team is the infamous Mauro Aguirre. Shame on you Chris, shame!
Best name: Miguel Angel Reynoso
Kansas City Royals
@will – Marvin’s Room on the AUX, also known as “Mr. International” has seen several top players come through his system via the international amateur free agent pipeline. A substantial number of his players come straight from the Big Apple, as it appears the Yankees and Royals have a standing agreement where Schreck sends Dymek all his castoffs. Surprisingly, Dymek also rarely dips into the free agent pool, perhaps burned by the mistakes of his past.
Best name: Naruhiko Ito
Los Angeles Angels
While many GMs, myself included, picture @zurgan as the king of international signings, the current iteration of the Angels has strayed substantially from that path. Zurgan has compiled a staggering 22 players on his active roster from the draft, and has an even number of free agents and international players on his team. We’ll see if the signing of RP Dan Gross portends anything about potential future FA signings for the team.
Best name: Iain van Gerrevink
Los Angeles Dodgers
While @Tim – Dodgers has built most of his team through the draft — in a similar fashion to his rival on the other side of town — he’s been pretty diverse in how he’s filled out the rest of the roster. Widholm has seen good fortune with four scouting discoveries making the major league squad, and also has shown some savvy by snagging four MiLB players as contributors. The Dodgers have a nice, young nucleus that should bode well for future championship aspirations.
Best name: Ricky St. John
Miami Marlins
I was most shocked to see @walt-marlins with eight players acquired via trade on his roster, considering he tells me to “make an offer for a bad player and i will accept” or when losing out on a player that “you’ll get over it. drink a lot.” Arnold spreads the love for where he finds his players, as I believe he’s the only GM so far with a player from each category listed. Walt, please trade me Pete Lord.
Best name: Jonas Fragoso
Milwaukee Brewers
@Alex – Brew Crew clearly has a formula and he’s sticking to it: trade, trade, and trade some more. The Brewers most common trade partner is the Cleveland Indians, but he’s acquired some true studs from the Red Sox as well (maybe he’s just an AL East kind of guy?) The Brewers roster is barren from any international players, MiLB free agents, or waiver claims.
Best name: Yancey Gagnon
Minnesota Twins
@nigel.carr_twins has taken a balanced approach when constructing his roster, adding nearly as many players via trade as he has by means of the draft. Interestingly, the Twins have had four scouting discoveries reach the major leagues. Carr doesn’t spend big in free agency, and instead takes on most of his bigger contracts through trades.
Best name: Loo Jiang
Montreal Expos
It me. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I trade away prospects with reckless abandon to add major league contributors. The few that do make it out alive find themselves on a team that prioritizes production over anything else — if you can’t hack it, you’re out the door. The Expos prefer to spend the majority of their cash on free agents.
Best name: Tsuruki Suzuki
New York Yankees
This is officially @Schreck – Yanks‘s team, as nearly the entirety of the squad from the old regime has been replaced, either via trade or through free agent signings. The league’s top team from last season has seen several trade acquisitions blossom into key contributors for the Yankees, and the team will likely be looking to make one or two more FA pickups to bolster the back half of the roster before Spring Training.
Best name: Nobuhisa Masuda
New York Mets
GM @Josh K. prefers to develop his team in-house and via savvy signings, as 20 of his 25 players were either picked up in the draft, via MiLB free agency, or on waivers. Josh has proven he has a keen eye for talent by nabbing players cast aside by other teams and turning them into legitimate major league contributors. The team has no wiggle room financially this season but has a sizable chunk of cash in extension money, so we’ll see where Kelley leads the team from here.
Best name: Rocky Baskerville
Oakland Athletics
The Athletics have one of the most interesting roster distributions I’ve seen throughout this exercise, as @KitchenTaco has gone after players in a variety of different ways. While the trade route seems to be his preferred method to pick up guys, he’s secured an equal number of the squad via the draft, MiLB free agency, and waivers. Mike may consider making a free agent move or two to parlay into trades at the deadline.
Best name: Chip Moon
Philadelphia Phillies
All hail “King of Trades” @rjclark1, who has a whopping 21 trade acquisitions on the active roster. Clark is a man who knows what he wants and then goes out and gets it — he wheeled and dealed to get nine of his top 10 players. Philadelphia’s roster is well-balanced and pretty mixed in terms of ages, and plenty of money is coming off the books for next season. We’ll see if Clark decides to use his remaining budget room to pursue a top free agent.
Best name: Giorgio Leone
Pittsburgh Pirates
@tomveal-pirates (One Ring to Rule Them All) takes a fairly balanced approach to team-building, securing 10 players through the draft and 10 players through trades. Unfortunately, some of the trades he has made have saddled the team with unproductive players making large salaries. Still, Veal has a significant amount of budget space left to bolster the major league squad and a relatively young core to build around, so what will his next move be?
Best name: Hong-Vu Kieu
Portland Beavers
Led by @ItsMeZed, Portland Beavers (4x as many AL pennants as Ryan), Portland is one of the more active players on the trade market, locking up over half of its active roster that way. Mynyk, unsurprisingly, spends a lot of assets trading for pitchers. The Beavers aren’t really players in the international game, but they remain in good shape thanks to solid drafting and good MiLB signings.
Best name: Nacho Chapa
San Diego Padres
There’s no getting around it — the Padres, led by @Beau R – Padres, are a really, really bad team. Thanks Nolan! Most of the team’s top players were acquired via trade, but I say “top” lightly, as the team only has four guys above 53 overall. San Diego also appears to help prove Jamie’s “Waiver Corollary,” as the team has picked up four players via the wire. Beau has a silly amount of money to play with in free agency. Will he make his first pickup from the open market?
Best name: Vic Bacon
San Francisco Giants
@ThePelvicWoo (Giants) doesn’t have a ton of players on the active roster, but for those he does have, he’s divided up his pickups between trades and the draft. Silverthorn has shown an excellent eye for identifying talent in the amateur draft, as he found three of his top four players that way. The Giants still need to fill out the back half of the roster, and they have roughly $40 million to fill out eight spots (provided they don’t call anyone up from the minors).
Best name: Ding-bong Chuko
Seattle Mariners
While @spencer-mariners clearly prefers homegrown talent, he’s not shy about dabbling in every form of player acquisition. As an ALCS representative from last season, he shoots a few holes in Jamie’s “Waiver Corollary,” as well as the “teams can’t succeed through drafts” theory. The Mariners are a well-balanced team with not many weak spots, and they are mixed in age as well.
Best name: Everton Flannery
St. Louis Cardinals
@Cardinals – NL Regular Season Champs (Ass) has snagged the vast majority of his players via the trade market, including his top three pitchers. Nichols doesn’t usually hang on to his players long enough to see them reach the majors, but he does have a few draftees suiting up for the squad. Interestingly, the Cardinals only have two free agent signings on the roster.
Best name: Ryobe Ogawa
Texas Rangers
As @Bryce-Rangers has done a marvelous job of rebuilding the scrap heap that Jeremy left him, he’s done so largely off the back of his prospect pipeline, with 19 homegrown players on the active roster. He’s supplemented those moves with massive free agent signings, and topped it off with MiLB additions around the edges. The roster crunch before Opening Day will be fun to watch.
Best name: Monty Stone
Toronto Blue Jays
As @bluejays-gm attempts to build a contender out of a core of young starting pitching, he’s focused mainly on developing players out of the draft. Stewart has also dipped his toe into free agency and the trade market, but neither are overwhelming parts of his team-building plan. The Blue Jays don’t have a huge budget to play with, so they’ll likely be forced to improve around the margins for the remainder of the offseason.
Best name: Gwon-beom Kyeong
Vegas Blackjacks
I was somewhat surprised with the makeup of @wils_blackjacks‘ roster, as I had assumed most of the players would be homegrown (as a result of his legendary system). Instead, Wilson has acquired players in a relatively balanced manner, nabbing 12 via trade, eight by way of the draft, and five through free agency. Vegas still has a sizable amount of money left for the rest of the offseason to make improvements to the squad.
Best name: Hedde van Aardschot
Washington Nationals
@Zack (No-Defense Nats) sticks to a few tried and true methods to snag the players he needs, primarily going through the trade market. At the same time, a moderate portion of his team is made up of draftees and free agents. All of Washington’s top players were acquired via trade, and he has paid those players well through contract extensions — where Zack prefers to spend most of his money.
Best name: Norbert Howe
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