That is my first We Tried Tracker replace since December, and I’ve missed you. I’ve missed who we had been in that easier, infinitely much less merciless time of, you realize, two months in the past. Rather a lot has occurred on the We Tried entrance, far an excessive amount of to cowl in a single article, however with Alex Bregman and Nick Pivetta coming off the board this week, all however one of many first 45 entries on our Prime 50 Free Brokers record have been signed. (No. 33 Andrew Heaney is the exception.) It’s time to replicate on the state of effort in main league entrance workplaces. First, I have to beg on your assist as soon as once more. I’ve missed some We Trieds. I’m certain of it. For those who see any on the market within the wild, or for those who discover any omissions within the tracker, please let me know on Bluesky or electronic mail me at WeTriedTracker@gmail.com, an actual electronic mail handle that I actually examine. (I even examine the spam folder, which immediately accommodates an electronic mail from the daughter of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. She wants a trusted funding supervisor/companion for her $27.5 million fortune. I’m about to be so wealthy, you guys.)
From the very starting of this train, the Crimson Sox have paced the league. As of Thursday, I’ve them credited with 12 totally different We Trieds in 9 totally different classes. That’s almost 18% of all We Trieds! No different crew has notched greater than six. The Crimson Sox are totally lapping the sector. And till Wednesday night, what did they’ve to point out for all that effort? A commerce for Garrett Crochet and a few one-year offers for pitchers in varied states of restoration from Tommy John surgical procedure. Properly, all that has modified. Apparently, follow actually does makes excellent, as a result of the Crimson Sox have landed Bregman, our third-ranked free agent, on a three-year, $120-million cope with two opt-outs (and sufficient deferred cash to decrease the entire current worth to $90 million). Amazingly, Bregman is the primary place participant Craig Breslow has signed to a significant league deal because the Crimson Sox employed him in October 2023. That’s why we preserve making an attempt. You by no means know when fortunate quantity 13 goes to repay. For those who simply follow your weapons, preserve lowballing free agent after free agent, certainly one of them will ultimately be so overwhelmed down by the method that he’ll settle for your phrases. It’s actually an uplifting story of hope in these bleak instances.
The second Bregman signed, we acquired two very detailed We Trieds. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported that the Tigers had provided six years and $171.5 million, together with some deferred cash, whereas USA Right now’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Cubs provided 4 years and $120 million. MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian clarified Chicago really provided $115, with opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons. No matter which Cubs supply is extra correct, Detroit’s and Chicago’s presents contain a decrease AAV than what Bregman acquired from Boston, however more cash and extra years. The Crimson Sox provided one thing these two groups didn’t: the power to go away instantly. If Bregman has himself an enormous 2025 in Boston, he can attempt once more subsequent offseason. If he doesn’t, he’ll have 120 million causes to not really feel too unhealthy about how issues turned out. Generally making an attempt the toughest to signal a participant means being probably the most keen to let him depart.
With almost each notable free agent spoken for, I ought to in all probability replicate on what I realized throughout this train. I’ve by no means paid consideration to the new range season this intently, and positively not with this type of odd, particular focus. I suppose the largest lesson is what a We Tried can let you know about how a crew needs to be perceived. Except I missed one thing, 9 groups haven’t notched a single We Tried: the Astros, Brewers, Cardinals, Dodgers, Marlins, Pirates, Rockies, Twins, and White Sox. That’s a really eclectic group. The Dodgers haven’t felt the necessity to leak it to a reporter after they did not land a participant, as a result of why would they? They’re really bettering their crew, so that they don’t have to sustain appearances. The White Sox, Marlins, Pirates, and Rockies are barely enjoying the identical sport. They’re not competing for impression free brokers and would by no means need their followers to get that impression, lest it elevate expectations above their present degree of adverse infinity. The Twins and Brewers have spent the offseason making an attempt to tug off a balancing act: making an attempt to stay aggressive with out elevating payroll. Sadly, they got here into the offseason with a strong crew and actual expectations, and the silence has been deafening.
As for the Cardinals, I don’t actually know the place to start. They’re, in concept, beginning a rebuild, but when there’s been any progress on that entrance, they’ve achieved a terrific job at concealing it. They haven’t signed a significant league free agent. They haven’t even hinted that they’ve spent a second contemplating the opportunity of signing a significant league free agent. As an alternative, they’ve tried so, so laborious and so, so publicly… to get somewhat bit worse. The Cardinals have spent all the offseason absorbed in an ill-fated try to commerce Nolan Arenado, even though doing so wouldn’t make the crew higher within the brief run (as a result of Arenado remains to be a strong participant) or in the long term (as a result of his contract is so underwater that it’s not value actual prospect capital). The Cardinals had been engaged within the noblest try of all: saving a couple of million {dollars} for the aim of saving a couple of million {dollars}. On Thursday, lame duck president of baseball operations John Mozeliak primarily admitted that this lofty dream was lifeless. The Cardinals will spend the 2025 season livid that Arenado remains to be — if the projections are proper — their second-best participant, somewhat than what he might have change into: a medium-sized pile of cash.
Then there are the groups which were on the market making an attempt like loopy. The highest 4 groups are all within the AL East: the Crimson Sox with 12, the Orioles with seven, the Blue Jays with six, and the Yankees with 5. The Cubs and Padres every have 4. To some extent, that is only a reflection of actuality. The AL East is a monster division the place profitable is predicted. The Yankees play within the greatest media market within the nation. They’ve the loudest followers within the nation, and people followers count on them to signal everybody. Silence in all probability isn’t an choice. The Crimson Sox have equally demanding followers, and their entrance workplace has been publicly promising to interrupt the financial institution for 2 straight offseasons now. They didn’t ship in any respect in the course of the 2023-2024 offseason, and till the Bregman signing, the one multi-year deal they’d handed out this offseason was nonetheless, in a way, a one-year deal, because it went to Patrick Sandoval, who will likely be recovering from inner brace surgical procedure for a lot of the 2025 season. Looking back, it’s straightforward to see their We Trieds as assurances that they had been performing in good religion.
The Orioles and Blue Jays are in the same place: They need it to be recognized that they’re on the market making an attempt to enhance their groups. In the event that they’re not making an attempt as laborious as followers would possibly like, no less than they’re making an attempt loudly. Nonetheless, there’s an insidious undertone, as all this making an attempt comes whereas house owners are publicly softening up the bottom for a dying march towards a wage cap. They’re on the brink of lock out the gamers, and towards that finish, they’re getting an early begin on portray the gamers as grasping millionaires. Via that lens, it’s straightforward to see every We Tried as an try to painting the billionaire possession class as beneficiant and benevolent, keen to exit and signal all these gamers you need them to, if solely these gamers weren’t fairly so costly.
Slightly than finish on such a cynical be aware, let me let you know about my favourite We Tried. It got here from Anne Rogers, the Royals beat author for MLB.com. On February 4, Rogers reposted an MLB Commerce Rumors article about Randal Grichuk’s signing with the Diamondbacks. “Royals tried to get Grichuck (sic) however he returns to Arizona,” she wrote. I clicked on the hyperlink to the article to search out the half in regards to the Royals making an attempt. However after I learn the article, I noticed that the half in regards to the Royals making an attempt was only a hyperlink to that very same put up from Rogers. You may simply preserve clicking forwards and backwards between the 2 hyperlinks ceaselessly. It’s a We Tried ouroboros, and crucially, of the 69 We Trieds I’ve recorded up to now, it’s the one one which makes use of that precise terminology. There’s no “We had been in on,” or “We had been within the combine,” or “We made a aggressive supply.” It’s pure and easy: “Royals tried,” with completely zero additional info.
That is additionally the funniest We Tried of the offseason merely due to the phrases. Grichuk signed for one yr and $5 million (technically it’s $2 million, with a $3 million buyout on a mutual 2026 choice). Each different participant who was the topic of a We Tried signed a contract that was no less than twice as huge as Grichuk’s. No less than one participant I can consider signed a contract that’s 153 instances greater than Grichuk’s. There isn’t a such factor as a significant league crew that may’t afford a one-year, $5 million contract. Hell, a number of little league groups might in all probability swing that deal if the fitting 12-year-old ought to come alongside. The Royals actually lowered the bar right here. That is what minimal effort seems to be like.