This is it, folks. We've reached the end of 2024, which means it's time to put final periods at the ends of the stories that MLB teams wrote for themselves this year.

This, in turn, leaves just one more thing to do: Grade the stories.

In assessing how each team did this year, everything was on the table. We're not just talking the regular season, but also the postseason and any relevant offseason activities.

Here's a general breakdown of what the grades mean:

• A: It was a year for the books
• B: It was a mostly positive experience
• C: There's room for improvement
• D: It was a year to forget
• F: Never speak of this year again

One last note is that teams were graded relative to expectations. If, say, two teams had identical records but one was expected to be good and the other was expected to be bad, then the latter got a better grade.

We'll go one team at a time and check them off in alphabetical order.

Athletics

Record: 69-93, 4th in AL West

Top Player: Brent Rooker, 5.6 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RHP Luis Severino, LHP Jeffrey Springs, 3B Gio Urshela

The Good

Whatever everyone expected of the A's after a 112-loss season in 2023, it probably wasn't a 19-win improvement propelled by a handful of rising stars.

Brent Rooker was one of the 10 best hitters in MLB. Mason Miller was the most dominant hurler in the sport on a pitch-to-pitch basis. And by the end of the year, Lawrence Butler was the best player on the A's and one of the most valuable players in the AL.

The good vibes are ongoing in the offseason, wherein the A's have done a club-record deal with Luis Severino and acquired another eight-figure pitcher in Jeffrey Springs. It's thanks to revenue sharing dollars, but you still love to see it.

The Bad

One can only get so excited about a 93-loss campaign. And particularly so in the case of these A's, whose backdrop was a painful breakup with the city of Oakland.

As much as I want to console A's fans, I don't know what that demographic even is right now. The franchise spat in the face of what fans it did have, and how many await in Sacramento and Las Vegas remains to be seen.

Grade: D

Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 89-73, 3rd in NL West

Top Player: Ketel Marte, 6.8 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained 1B Josh Naylor; lost 1B Christian Walker, DH Joc Pederson, INF Kevin Newman

The Good

It was a tough-break sort of year for the Diamondbacks.

They didn't get a chance to defend their National League pennant, yet they improved on their 2023 season by five wins. Their playoff fate was undone by Hurricane Helene as much as anything else.

To boot, the 2024 D-backs were, arguably, more fun to watch than the 2023 iteration. They were the highest-scoring team in MLB by 44 runs over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ketel Marte had a career year, and Eugenio Suárez and Corbin Carroll went off in the second half.

The Bad

Alas, only two teams got less WAR from their starting pitchers than the D-backs. This wasn't all Jordan Montgomery's fault, though owner Ken Kendrick isn't wrong to be salty about having signed him.

It's otherwise been a rough winter for the Snakes. Josh Naylor is a nice add, but the 31 homers he hit this year don't quite account for the 49 the club got from Christian Walker and Joc Pederson.

Grade: C

Atlanta Braves

Record: 89-73, T-2nd in NL East

Playoffs: Lost NL Wild Card Series, 2-0

Top Player: Chris Sale, 6.2 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained OF Bryan De La Cruz; lost LHP Max Fried, C Travis d'Arnaud, 3B Gio Urshela

The Good

The Braves fell just a bit short of expectations, but the season nonetheless ended with them making the playoffs for a seventh year in a row.

Further, that they made it to October in any capacity feels like a miracle. After all, they did get just two starts from Spencer Strider and (I swear this is true) 0.0 rWAR from reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.

Marcell Ozuna came one long ball short of a second straight 40-homer season. And you have to hand it to hurlers Chris Sale and Reynaldo López, the first of whom went from pondering retirement to winning the NL triple crown and Cy Young Award.

The Bad

It wasn't entirely due to an injury onslaught that the Braves lost 15 more games in 2024 than they did in 2023. Too many guys just didn't play well, particularly for an offense that suffered a shocking fall from grace.

And losing Max Fried to free agency? That hurts. He has been a mainstay among the top pitchers in MLB, logging a 2.81 ERA over the last five years.

Grade: C

Baltimore Orioles

Record: 91-71, 2nd in AL East

Playoffs: Lost AL Wild Card Series, 2-0

Top Player: Gunnar Henderson, 9.1 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained OF Tyler O'Neill, C Gary Sánchez, RHP Tomoyuki Sogano; lost RHP Jacob Webb, OF Austin Slater

The Good

It's hard to quantify the sheer promise with which the Orioles began their 2024 campaign.

They were coming off a 101-win season in 2023, and then they traded for Corbin Burnes in February and welcomed a new owner in David Rubenstein in March. The team more or less delivered, making it back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since 1996-97.

Direct credit is owed to Burnes for living up to his ace reputation and also to Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander.

Henderson's first three years rank among the best ever for a shortstop, while Santander's 44 homers rank fifth for a single season by a switch-hitter.

The Bad

A 10-win swing in the wrong direction isn't what the Orioles had in mind for 2024. A wave of pitching injuries sure didn't help. Nor did it help that Jackson Holliday, formerly MLB's No. 1 prospect, flopped as a rookie.

And the offseason? It hasn't been great. Tyler O'Neill is a nice add, but it's not getting easier to imagine the O's re-signing Burnes and Santander.

Grade: B

Boston Red Sox

Record: 81-81, 3rd in AL East

Top Player: Jarren Duran, 8.7 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained LHP Garrett Crochet, RHP Walker Buehler, LHP Justin Wilson; lost OF Tyler O'Neill, C Danny Jansen

The Good

The Red Sox improved on their 2023 season by only three wins, but something about this year just plain feels encouraging.

For starters, how about the fact that only the Orioles got more offensive value out of 20-something hitters than the Red Sox? Further, Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey got the club's ERA down from 4.52 to 4.04 despite working with basically the same cast of characters.

It's also nice to see the Red Sox trying to have an impactful offseason. They may have whiffed on Juan Soto, but Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler are two pitchers who have No. 1 upside.

The Bad

As good as Boston's 20-something hitters were, the group could have been even better if Triston Casas and Vaughn Grissom weren't largely absent with injuries. That the latter was meant to be the Red Sox's big prize in the Chris Sale trade is cringeworthy stuff.

As for the pitching revolution, it was effective but also short-lived. It turns out that major league hitters will notice when a staff just doesn't throw fastballs.

Grade: B

Chicago Cubs

Record: 83-79, T-2nd in NL Central

Top Player: Dansby Swanson, 4.0 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RF Kyle Tucker, LHP Matthew Boyd, C Carson Kelly; lost OF/1B Cody Bellinger, 3B Isaac Paredes, RHP Kyle Hendricks, OF Mike Tauchman

The Good

Like the Red Sox, the Cubs are giving off a vibe of forward momentum even though they stayed closely tethered to .500 in 2024.

Led by Shota Imanaga and his 2.91 ERA, Cubs starters pitched the heck out of the ball and ended up with second-best ERA in the National League. Craig Counsell eventually figured out the bullpen, especially once Porter Hodge emerged as a dominant force.

In the here and now, Kyle Tucker is, arguably, the best player to change hands this winter. He's an annual 5-WAR player, a mark that only one Cubs hitter has reached in the last five seasons.

The Bad

The Cubs haven't won a playoff game in seven years. No matter how you slice it, that just isn't ideal for a franchise that has the deepest pockets of the any of the 10 Central clubs.

The other sin Chicago committed this year was just being kind of boring. At no point was it a Big Hype sort of team, and it was never either egregiously bad or especially good. It was mediocrity all the way down.

Grade: B

Chicago White Sox

Record: 41-121, 5th in AL Central

Top Player: Erick Fedde, 4.7 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained OF Mike Tauchman, OF Austin Slater, RHP Bryse Wilson; lost LHP Garrett Crochet, RHP Michael Soroka

The Good

Patience, White Sox fans. Patience.

What's going on at the major league level is an avert-your-eyes situation, but the farm system is coming along. B/R's Joel Reuter had Chicago's system ranked 13th in MLB at the end of the season, and it has since gotten a big influx of talent via the Garrett Crochet trade.

That wouldn't have been possible if the White Sox hadn't had the guts to transition Crochet from the bullpen to the rotation. That worked out, and his late-season workload limitations at least succeeded in keeping him healthy.

The Bad

Don't make me tap the sign that says "All-Time Record for Most Losses in a Season."

It's almost certainly not going to get worse than this for the White Sox in 2025, but it's also hard to guarantee things will get better. And that much more so if they also trade Luis Robert Jr., which seems very possible.

Grade: F

Cincinnati Reds

Record: 77-85, 4th in NL Central

Top Player: Hunter Greene, 6.3 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RHP Nick Martinez, RHP Brady Singer, C Jose Trevino; lost 2B Jonathan India, LHP Justin Wilson

The Good

The Reds didn't pay off the "Team on the Rise" thing they had going on in 2023, but at least there was fun to be found in their disappointment.

It's Elly De La Cruz. I'm talking about Elly De La Cruz. Because even if he did strike out a league-leading 218 times, he also became just the fifth player to top 65 extra-base hits and 65 stolen bases in a season.

Hunter Greene had more of a low-key breakout, though he was just as impressive. In racking up a 2.75 ERA over 26 starts, he came out ahead of Chris Sale for the rWAR lead among NL pitchers.

The Bad

The Reds got eaten alive by the injury bug this year. And particularly on the mound, where they needed to use 16 different pitchers to start games.

With all respect to Brady Singer, the Reds should be trying to take bigger swings on the trade market. They have young talent to trade, so one can only conclude they lack the will to take the risk.

Grade: D

Cleveland Guardians

Record: 92-69, 1st in AL Central

Playoffs: Lost ALCS, 4-1

Top Player: José Ramírez, 6.8 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RHP Shane Bieber, 1B Carlos Santana, RHP Luis L. Ortiz, C Austin Hedges; lost 1B Josh Naylor, 2B Andrés Giménez, LHP Matthew Boyd, RHP Alex Cobb, RHP Nick Sandlin

The Good

Yes, the Guardians also won 92 games in 2022. But that shouldn't erase how they were one of the most improved teams from 2023 to 2024, with a plus-16 boost in the win column.

They never went so much as one game below .500. And were it not for a rainout on the last day of the season, José Ramírez might have joined the 40-40 club.

We should also be thanking the Guardians for providing some of the more memorable moments of the 2024 playoffs. Lane Thomas' grand slam off Tarik Skubal was epic, as was the Jhonkensy Noel-David Fry tag-team act in Game 3 of the ALCS.

The Bad

The Guardians were never a bad team this year, but at no point did they feel like a truly great one. Their consistently hapless starting pitching had everything to do with that.

One also feels for Guardians fans that Ramírez has been the team's only constant over the last decade. Josh Naylor and Andrés Giménez weren't franchise icons or anything, but the constant roster churn is getting to be a tired act.

Grade: B

Colorado Rockies

Record: 61-101, 5th in NL West

Top Player: Brenton Doyle, 4.0 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained 2B Thairo Estrada, INF Kyle Farmer, C Jacob Stallings

The Good

The Rockies have some fun players, and there are more on the way.

No NL hitter improved as much from 2023 to 2024 as Brenton Doyle, who finished with 23 homers and 30 steals in addition to his Gold Glove-winning defense. Ezequiel Tovar, a heck of a defender in his own right, hit 45 doubles and 26 homers.

If you don't know the name Chase Dollander, now is the time to commit it to memory. The 23-year-old righty had a breakout year in the minors and he is now ranked by Reuter as the No. 8 prospect in MLB.

The Bad

The Rockies did not have a single 100-loss season in their history before 2023. Now they have two.

That pretty much says it all, though it's still worth sending an exasperated sigh in the direction of the front office and owner Dick Monfort. What they are doing is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, with a side of buffoonery.

Grade: F

Detroit Tigers

Record: 86-76, T-2nd in AL Central

Playoffs: Lost AL Division Series, 3-2

Top Player: Tarik Skubal, 6.3 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RHP Alex Cobb

The Good

The Tigers were nine games under .500 on July 4, and they traded Jack Flaherty not long afterward.

How they went from there to within one win of the American League Championship Series is a long story, but it certainly starts with Tarik Skubal. The lefty was a force of nature, winning the AL triple crown en route to capturing the AL Cy Young Award.

The Tigers were otherwise simply better than the sum of their parts as they went 31-13 to finish the season. And not entirely in a flukey way, as there was some genuine creativity at work on the part of manager A.J. Hinch.

The Bad

Even when the Tigers were racking up wins at the end of the year, it was still hard to ignore the punchless nature of their offense and the lack of support for Skubal in the rotation.

As for nowadays, it's fair to question why they aren't being more aggressive. This is a franchise that once pushed $200 million with its payrolls, yet it's laying frustratingly low on the free-agent market.

Grade: B

Houston Astros

Record: 88-73, 1st in AL West

Playoffs: Lost AL Wild Card Series, 2-0

Top Player: Yordan Alvarez, 5.4 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained 1B Christian Walker, 3B Isaac Paredes; lost RF Kyle Tucker, LHP Yusei Kikuchi

The Good

Remember when the Astros were 12 games under .500 and in last place on May 8?

Of course you don't, because they went on to win more games (76) than any other team after that date. Further strong hitting from Yordan Alvarez and company was a factor, but not as much as a staff ERA of 3.37.

That happened in large part because the Astros did their Midas Touch thing with a couple pitchers. Most notably, they turned Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti into in-house success stories and, following a trade, set Yusei Kikuchi on his path to a $63 million contract.

The Bad

For the first time since 2016, the Astros did not make it to the ALCS. And it frankly wasn't surprising when they fell to the Tigers in the ALDS, as it felt as if an unstoppable force had met a suddenly eminently movable object.

And are the Astros better with Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes than they would have been with Kyle Tucker? Probably not, and they aren't even cheaper either.

Grade: C

Kansas City Royals

Record: 86-76, T-2nd in AL Central

Playoffs: Lost AL Division Series, 3-1

Top Player: Bobby Witt Jr., 9.4 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RHP Michael Wacha, 2B Jonathan India; lost RHP Brady Singer

The Good

Maybe they didn't expect to get a 30-win swing out of it, but the Royals definitely set the tone for a better year in 2024 after losing 106 games in 2023.

They used the 2023-24 offseason to sign Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha as free agents and to extend Bobby Witt Jr. to a club-record deal. Altogether, theirs was the biggest spending splurge this side of any AL club.

It worked. Lugo and Wacha were instrumental parts of the most improved pitching staff in MLB. And Witt...well, Witt continues to be awesome. He now has 82 homers and 110 steals through 469 games, and he's a .322 hitter ever since the 2023 All-Star break.

The Bad

Apart from Witt and Salvador Perez, the Royals were badly undermanned on offense all year. That bit them in the playoffs, where they scored just 15 runs in six games.

Jonathan India is a nice add, but the Royals still lack the batsmen they need to protect Witt. Yet it's hard to demand more, as the club's payroll seems maxed out and there isn't much in the prospect tank.

Grade: B

Los Angeles Angels

Record: 63-99, 5th in AL West

Top Player: Zach Neto, 5.1 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained LHP Yusei Kikuchi, DH Jorge Soler, C Travis d'Arnaud, RHP Kyle Hendricks, INF Kevin Newman; lost LHP Patrick Sandoval, RHP Griffin Canning

The Good

Honestly, the best part of the Angels' year is happening right now.

Many eyes surely rolled when owner Arte Moreno set a goal to contend in 2025, but he's putting his money where his mouth is. Yusei Kikuchi is fresh off a dominant run to end 2024, and you never know when Jorge Soler is going to pop 30-plus homers.

Let's otherwise give it up for Zach Neto. He had as quiet a 5-WAR year as a guy can have, yet any 23-year-old shortstop who can put up 23 homers and 30 steals is bound to run into some hype eventually.

The Bad

He wasn't exactly a picture of health prior to 2024, but this really felt like the year that finally broke Mike Trout. It's sad and it sucks.

The Angels were otherwise about as good as anyone could have expect in their first post-Shohei Ohtani season. Which is to say not good at all, and even the helium that lifted Neto has since been dissipated by shoulder surgery.

Grade: D

Los Angeles Dodgers

Record: 98-64, 1st in NL West

Playoffs: Won World Series, 4-1

Top Player: Shohei Ohtani, 9.2 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained LHP Blake Snell, LF Michael Conforto, RHP Blake Treinen; lost RHP Walker Buehler

The Good

In the end, the Dodgers won the World Series and left us with two of the most memorable individual performances in MLB history.

In the regular season, there was Shohei Ohtani celebrating his $700 million contract by chartering the 50-50 club and winning his third MVP. In the World Series, there was Freddie Freeman tormenting the New York Yankees with four homers in five games.

The good vibes are ongoing. Michael Conforto has ample upside, and Blake Snell brings two Cy Young Awards to a rotation that was already slated to have Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2025.

The Bad

It wasn't all good for the Dodgers this year. You could even say they were lucky to end up winning it all, given how many pitching injuries they endured.

Then again, a championship is a championship is a championship. And unlike the one they won in 2020, the Dodgers even got to hold a parade for this one.

Grade: A

Miami Marlins

Record: 62-100, 5th in NL East

Top Player: Tanner Scott, 3.4 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Lost LHP Jesús Luzardo, 3B Jake Burger

The Good

You have to hand it to the Marlins for being able to read the writing on the wall.

A 6-24 start to their year made it clear it wasn't going to happen for them, so they didn't wait to trade Luis Arraez. Since then, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Tanner Scott, Jake Burger and Jesús Luzardo have also been shown the door.

Miami's farm system is better for it, and it's worth noting Connor Norby isn't technically a part of it anymore. He was arguably the Marlins' best get in the aforementioned trades, and he looked good in debuting to a .760 OPS and seven homers in 36 games.

The Bad

Just a reminder that the Marlins made the playoffs in 2023. That happened, and yet they forced out the architect of that team for what seemed like an aimless new direction.

The direction is clearer now after all the tearing down the Marlins have done, but chances are there will be another 100-loss season or two before they get to where they're going.

Grade: F

Milwaukee Brewers

Record: 93-69, 1st in NL Central

Playoffs: Lost NL Wild Card Series, 2-1

Top Player: William Contreras, 4.9 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained LHP Nestor Cortes; lost SS Willy Adames, RHP Devin Williams, RHP Frankie Montas, C Gary Sánchez

The Good

The Brewers traded Corbin Burnes before the season started and, ultimately, lost a resurgent Christian Yelich to back surgery in August.

That they won 93 games anyway is commendable, and the best part was the rise of Jackson Chourio. His record-setting deal looks like a bargain after he emerged as the team's best player both in the second half and in the playoffs, where he went 5-for-11 with two homers.

More generally, this year was the latest affirmation that the Brewers front office is Just Plain Good at This. It has a knack for digging up unspectacular yet useful players, whether we're talking Tobias Myers or Bryan Hudson.

The Bad

Losing in the playoffs always stings, but to lose the NLDS the way the Brewers did? That will register on the Schmidt index.

Losing Willy Adames, Devin Williams and Frankie Montas also stings, of course. Honestly, Guardians fans and Brewers fans should form a support group for people who are sick of roster churn.

Grade: B

Minnesota Twins

Record: 82-80, 4th in NL Central

Top Player: Carlos Correa, 3.7 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Lost 1B Carlos Santana, RF Max Kepler, INF Kyle Farmer

The Good

The Twins slashed about $26 million off their payroll from 2023 to 2024, so how much can anyone fault them for suffering a five-loss decline?

Their final record also understates how good they were for most of the season. They peaked at 17 games over .500 on August 17. Even as late as September 2, FanGraphs gave them a 96 percent chance of playing in October.

Denizens of the Twin Cities had plenty to cheer along the way. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton both shrugged off rough 2023 seasons. It was also a breakout year for Bailey Ober, who had a 3.29 ERA over his last 18 starts.

The Bad

We can sugarcoat it all we want, but this year was a failure for Minnesota. And particularly at the end, when it dug its own grave with a 12-27 finish.

This is not how it was supposed to go after the Twins snapped a 21-year streak without a playoff series win in 2023. But it's more or less what the owners signed up for with the payroll crunch, and now they want out.

Grade: D

New York Mets

Record: 89-73, T-2nd in NL East

Playoffs: Lost NL Championship Series, 4-2

Top Player: Francisco Lindor, 6.9 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RF Juan Soto, LHP Sean Manaea, RHP Frankie Montas, RHP Clay Holmes, CF Jose Siri; lost RHP Luis Severino

The Good

Have the Mets had the best 2024 of any team in the non-Dodgers division?

It sure feels that way with New York still basking in the afterglow of Juan Soto's record-shattering 15-year, $765 million deal. Certainly, it's made that much sweeter by the knowledge he spurned the other local team to come to Queens.

Even before the Soto deal, the Mets were arguably the best team in New York. Led by NL MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor, they won an MLB-high 61 games after June 12 and even managed to win two (yes, two) playoff games against the Dodgers.

The Bad

Doesn't it feel like the Mets should be aiming higher on the pitching side of things? All they've done this winter is re-sign Sean Manaea and add Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes.

The plan, it seems, is to trust in Jeremy Hefner. Not a bad plan if so, but it would be safer if they flexed more of Steve Cohen's financial muscle to bring in Corbin Burnes or Jack Flaherty.

Grade: A

New York Yankees

Record: 94-68, 1st in AL East

Playoffs: Lost World Series, 4-1

Top Player: Aaron Judge, 10.8 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained LHP Max Fried, OF/1B Cody Bellinger, RHP Devin Williams, 1B Paul Goldschmidt; lost RF Juan Soto, RHP Clay Holmes, LHP Nestor Cortes

The Good

Even if it didn't result in World Series championship No. 28, it's not worth nothing that the Yankees finally got back to the Fall Classic after a 15-year hiatus.

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto formed the Yankees' best-hitting tandem since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, ultimately combining for a 1.073 OPS and 99 home runs. It's also worth a tip of the cap that the Yankees posted a 3.76 ERA despite not having Gerrit Cole for half the year.

They have had an appropriately aggressive response to losing Soto to the Mets. Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams and Paul Goldschmidt are all good players who promise to deepen a shallow roster, even with Soto in the mix.

The Bad

They weren't likely to come back against the Dodgers anyway, but the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series still hurts. It was the baseball equivalent of that scene in Galaxy Quest where the pig-lizard turns inside out and explodes.

And even if the Yankees have had a good response to losing Soto, that they lost him over just $5 million and a suite is a damning indictment just on its own.

Grade: A

Philadelphia Phillies

Record: 95-67, 1st in NL East

Playoffs: Lost NL Division Series, 3-1

Top Player: Zack Wheeler, 6.1 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained LHP Jesús Luzardo, RF Max Kepler, RHP Jordan Romano

The Good

If you go off regular-season records, the 2024 Phillies were the franchise's best team since the Liberty Bell tolled for Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and the 2011 Phillies.

Starting pitching carried this year's squad, with Zack Wheeler in particular building on his overall rWAR lead among pitchers since 2020. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber each topped 30 homers, while Trea Turner and Alec Bohm hit close to .300.

All these guys will be back in 2025, and the Phillies' offseason additions amount to a trio of upside plays. As a reminder, Jesús Luzardo fanned 10.6 batters per nine innings across 2022 and 2023 before dealing with injuries this year.

The Bad

The Phillies weren't merely supposed to be good in 2024. They were supposed to be great. As in, "World Series champions for the first time since 2009" great.

As such, that the club's postseason returns continued a diminishing pattern makes this year feel like a bummer. And while the new additions might help, there's an angle from which they look like add-ons for a roster with foundational flaws.

Grade: B

Pittsburgh Pirates

Record: 76-86, 5th in NL Central

Top Player: Paul Skenes, 5.9 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained 1B Spencer Horwitz, DH Andrew McCutchen; lost RHP Luis L. Ortiz, LHP Aroldis Chapman

The Good

The Pirates may have finished in last place, but this year was the best thing to happen to them since their last playoff run in 2015.

This is because Paul Skenes happened. His 1.96 ERA wasn't merely the best of any starter after he debuted on May 11, but it also marks the first time a live-ball era rookie starter has finished with an ERA under 2.00.

With Mitch Keller and Jared Jones also in the rotation and top prospect Bubba Chandler on his way, the Bucs stand to become a pitching powerhouse sooner rather than later.

The Bad

The Skenes hype was a nice change of pace for the Pirates, but it didn't translate to upward mobility in the win column. They gained zero wins from 2023 to 2024.

What the Pirates really need is an offense that can break free from an eight-season run as one of the five lowest-scoring teams in the NL. To this end, it's frustrating that the team seems content to let it ride with what's not working.

Grade: C

San Diego Padres

Record: 93-69, 2nd in NL West

Playoffs: Lost NL Division Series, 3-2

Top Player: Jackson Merrill, 4.4 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Lost C Kyle Higashioka

The Good

The Padres shaved close to $85 million off their payroll from 2023 to 2024, and expectations for them went down accordingly.

So, go figure that their win total increased by 11. And that, mainly courtesy of a supernova streak on the part of Fernando Tatis Jr., they came this close to knocking the Dodgers out of the playoffs in the NLDS. Per Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, that was the real World Series.

It was a real "Screw You" season for the Padres. And for reasons why they can keep it going, look no further than their offensive foursome of Tatis, Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Luis Arraez and a rotation headed by Michael King and Dylan Cease.

The Bad

The record should, of course, show that the Padres indeed lost to the Dodgers. And in humiliating fashion, as they failed to score once after the second inning of NLDS Game 3.

By all rights, the Padres should be pushing the envelope right now. What they're actually doing is a whole lot of nothing, which is preferable only to doing silly things such as, say, trading Cease or Arraez.

Grade: B

San Francisco Giants

Record: 80-82, 4th in NL West

Top Player: Matt Chapman, 7.1 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained SS Willy Adames; lost LHP Blake Snell, LF Michael Conforto, 2B Thairo Estrada

The Good

Buster Posey has inherited a solid roster, and it's taken him no time to put his stamp on it.

In Logan Webb and Heliot Ramos, the Giants have developed two All-Stars from within in recent years. Posey otherwise played a role in getting Matt Chapman extended and, obviously, an even bigger role in signing Willy Adames to a club-record deal.

Meanwhile, top prospect Bryce Eldridge is staring down time in the majors in 2025 after a breakout season in the minors. It's all the more reason to think the Giants could make the leap to wild-card contention next season.

The Bad

It's easier to focus on what could be for the Giants because what actually is for them is just so uninspiring. This marked their third year in a row as a roughly .500 team.

It would also be foolish to ignore that Blake Snell left them for the arch-rival Dodgers. That hurts just in the abstract, and that much more so after he ripped off a 1.23 ERA in his last 14 starts as a Giant.

Grade: C

Seattle Mariners

Record: 85-77, 2nd in AL West

Top Player: Cal Raleigh, 4.7 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Lost RHP Yimi García

The Good

If nothing else, Mariners fans can remember all the great pitching they got to watch in 2024.

They had five starters make at least 20 starts, and not one of them had an ERA over 3.64. There was also just a lot of heat. Seattle pitchers logged 6,996 pitches of at least 95 mph, over 1,000 more than the next team on the list.

And how about those in-season acquisitions? Victor Robles came off the Washington Nationals' rejects pile to hit .328 with 30 stolen bases as a Mariner, while Randy Arozarena hit better as a Mariner (.733 OPS) than he did as a Tampa Bay Ray (.712 OPS).

The Bad

Heads rolled before the Mariners even got to the end of 2024. Manager Scott Servais and hitting coach Jarret DeHart lost their jobs in August, and even that felt too late.

The disappointment of this year wasn't all on them, however. All fingers must be pointed firmly at the most strikeout-prone offense in MLB and at Julio Rodríguez, specifically. He has no business being a mere .735 OPS.

Grade: C

St. Louis Cardinals

Record: 83-79, T-2nd in NL Central

Top Player: Masyn Winn, 4.9 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Lost 1B Paul Goldschmidt

The Good

If Masyn Winn feels robbed, well, that's fair.

The Cardinals' rookie shortstop posted a solid .730 OPS and, with help from his slick defense, actually led all rookie position players with 4.9 rWAR. Yet he didn't even place in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

It was otherwise a banner year for ace closer Ryan Helsley, who led the majors with 49 saves. Thus did he get an up-close look at the Cardinals' 12-win improvement from 2023 to 2024.

The Bad

If the section above reads as underwhelming, that's because the 2024 Cardinals were an underwhelming team. They were mostly just [waves hands] there, generally playing passable baseball but never truly threatening a playoff run.

It was an identity the Cardinals lacked this season, and that is even more the case now with Paul Goldschmidt gone and Nolan Arenado likely to follow. And it may remain the case throughout 2025, which is meant to be a transitionary year for the franchise.

Grade: D

Tampa Bay Rays

Record: 80-82, 4th in AL East

Top Player: Zack Littell, 2.8 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained C Danny Jansen, DH Eloy Jiménez; lost LHP Jeffrey Springs, CF Jose Siri

The Good

The Rays sustained a 19-loss increase from 2023 to 2024, but believe me when I tell you it could have been worse.

They probably should have lost six more games than they did, yet they somehow never went more than five games below .500. They stuck around mainly by virtue of their pitchers, whose 3.78 ERA ranked just below that of the Yankees.

With Shane McClanahan due back from Tommy John surgery, more good pitching awaits the Rays in 2025. And keep an eye out for a breakout on the part of Junior Caminero, who really found his stroke in the closing weeks of this season.

The Bad

Even if it could have been worse, the Rays were never better than a mediocre team in 2024. And their offense wishes it was even that good, as only the 121-loss White Sox scored less frequently.

That the Rays have since been quiet on the offseason markets is unsurprising, though one would have loved to be a fly on the wall during their call to Scott Boras about Juan Soto.

Grade: D

Texas Rangers

Record: 78-84, 3rd in AL West

Top Player: Corey Seager, 5.0 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained RHP Nathan Eovaldi, DH Joc Pederson, 3B Jake Burger, C Kyle Higashioka, RHP Jacob Webb; lost 1B Nathaniel Lowe, C Carson Kelly

The Good

The Rangers seem serious about proving this season was the fluke, not their World Series-winning campaign from 2023.

Bringing Nathan Eovaldi back is huge, and Joc Pederson and Jake Burger should bring plenty of power to the party. They hit 52 total home runs this year, which is 20 more than they got from their first base and designated hitter slots.

The Rangers can otherwise come away from 2024 knowing Corey Seager is still a superstar hitter and Jacob deGrom is healthy. He even looked like his old self in three starts at the end of the year, striking out 14 against one walk.

The Bad

Even on the last day that the Rangers held first place in the AL West on May 11, they were only three games over .500. And that was after they peaked at five over three days earlier.

This year was a slog, in other words. And it felt like it. Save for Seager, Eovaldi and Kirby Yates, it's hard to point at Rangers players who can say they had a good time in 2024.

Grade: C

Toronto Blue Jays

Record: 74-88, 5th in AL East

Top Player: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 6.2 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained 2B Andrés Giménez, RHP Yimi García, RHP Nick Sandlin; lost RHP Jordan Romano

The Good

If it was nothing else, this year was a decent showcase for core Blue Jays stars.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. successfully renewed his superstar credentials, hitting .323 with 30 home runs. And Kevin Gausman and José Berríos kept the top of the rotation nice and stable, making 63 starts and combining for a 3.71 ERA.

A year from now, we could look back on Toronto's trade for Andrés Giménez as one of the better moves of the 2024-25 offseason. Its defense was already good enough to lead MLB with 102 Defensive Runs Saved, and he had 20 of those on his own for Cleveland.

The Bad

Before this year, the Blue Jays hadn't finished in last place since 2013. It's therefore hard to see this season as anything other than a failure, even if it did have bright spots.

They are also giving off an impression of a franchise that doesn't know how to keep its contention window open. Past pursuits of Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto didn't pan out, and Guerrero and Bo Bichette could both be gone after 2025.

Grade: D

Washington Nationals

Record: 71-91, 4th in NL East

Top Player: CJ Abrams, 3.4 rWAR

Offseason Recap: Gained 1B Nathaniel Lowe, RHP Michael Soroka

The Good

The Nationals improved by exactly zero wins from 2023 to 2024, and yet they moved nine games higher in the NL East standings.

That'll do for a sign of progress, and the feeling of it is further underscored by the pieces that fell into place this year. CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. combined for 5.6 rWAR on the middle of the infield. James Wood and Dylan Crews showed flashes as rookies.

Further progress should be in the cards for 2025. Those four guys plus top prospect Brady House can make an impact, while the additions of Nathaniel Lowe and Michael Soroka come with little risk and more upside than one might think.

The Bad

It is nice that the Nationals have made a couple of low-risk, high-reward adds, but this is a winter when they should be taking a big swing. As it is, they're not even projected to spend $100 million on payroll in 2025.

It's as if the Nationals are waiting for the NL East to come to them, whereas what they should be doing is aggressively trying to catch up to the Mets, Phillies and Braves.

Grade: D

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.