With the start of spring training inching closer, the sun is starting to set on MLB's 2024-25 offseason.

For some, it'll be good riddance.

What we're going to do here is discuss the eight biggest losers of the winter so far. The list consists of players and teams, plus another matter that you might call a vibe.

At least two of the entries on this list are presumptuous. Pete Alonso, for example, still has a chance to emerge as a winner. But right now, to think as much is basically akin to wondering if there will come a day when water won't be wet.

Let's start with some honorable mentions before counting down the eight bigger losers in order of just how bad things have gone.

Dishonorable Mentions

3B Alex Bregman

Shockingly, Bregman has yet to sign a contract, and it seems as if a reunion with the Houston Astros may not be happening after all:

Yet compared to other stars who are still looking for work, it's still possible to imagine Bregman getting a market-value deal. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, at least one team other than Houston has made the veteran a six-year offer.

Milwaukee Brewers

Save for that one winter in which they signed Lorenzo Cain and traded for Christian Yelich, the Brewers tend to keep a low profile during the winter. To this extent, it's not surprising they are doing so once again.

All the same, losing Willy Adames to free agency hurts. It also hurt when the Brewers made the inevitable trade of Devin Williams, and that much more so considering it merely brought back two unspectacular pieces.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins had a 95.4 percent chance of making the 2024 playoffs as late as September 5. But then they collapsed, causing everyone to wonder if the club's massive payroll cut had doomed them.

If ever there was a way for them to put last year in the ol' rearview, it didn't involve losing a respected executive and spending only $3 million in free agency. Alas, such things do tend to happen when a team is up for sale.

Pittsburgh Pirates

"We have to get better," declared Pirates manager Derek Shelton at the end of last season. He was right, and he and everyone else had to hope that maybe—just maybe—owner Bob Nutting would green-light veteran additions for a young core.

Not really, as it turns out. But at least until Nutting takes the fans' advice and sells the team, this is just how it tends to be for the Bucs under his watch.

8. Post-Winter Meetings Buzz and Dodgers Haters

What Could Have Been

Remember how much fun the week of the winter meetings was?

If not, that was when Juan Soto and Max Fried found new homes in New York and the trade market produced blockbuster deals of Garrett Crochet and Kyle Tucker. It was a real "Woo, let's go again!" sort of week.

In the moment, one could see more blockbusters still to come. Corbin Burnes, Rōki Sasaki, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, Anthony Santander and Jack Flaherty still headlined the free-agent market. At the same time, players involved in trade rumors included Dylan Cease and Luis Castillo.

In theory, at least, these moves and more promised to keep everyone entertained through the holidays and into the new year.

What Actually Is

Instead, Burnes ($210 million) and Santander ($92.5 million) signed for less than they were projected for and the Sasaki sweepstakes came to an unsurprising end.

It isn't just Sasaki that Los Angeles Dodgers fans have to celebrate. The World Series champs have added Teoscar Hernández, Hyeseong Kim, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates since the winter meetings, thus further entrenching themselves as the Big Bad of MLB.

So much so, in fact, that arguably the only conversation of note in baseball right now is whether the Dodgers are ruining the sport. The reality is more complicated than that, but it's probably not the conversation Major League Baseball wants people to have.

7. St. Louis Cardinals and 3B Nolan Arenado

What Could Have Been

This was never going to be a fun winter for the St. Louis Cardinals. They entered it with the idea in mind to turn over a new leaf, not to make noise.

There was the possibility of a Nolan Arenado trade, though, which had the potential to benefit both him and the team.

Him, because it would result in a move to a contender of his liking. He reportedly has a list of teams in mind, with Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reporting that the Boston Red Sox are the 10-time Gold Glover's "preferred" destination.

For the Cardinals, trading Arenado would mean getting as much as $64 million in salary commitments off their books. And maybe add a young player or two as well, the likes of which they certainly need right now.

What Actually Is

Here we are on the eve of spring training, and there's no Arenado trade in sight.

There have been attempts, including a deal with the New York Yankees that was squashed by the Cardinals and another with the Houston Astros that Arenado himself squashed.

And per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the 33-year-old's market seemed dead as of January 29:

Though Morosi reported Tuesday that Boston is still engaged, it's easier than ever to imagine Arenado remaining stuck with the Cardinals for his age-34 season in 2025. If it isn't a good one, the Cardinals may have missed their last good chance to move him.

6. RHP Jack Flaherty

What Could Have Been

Jack Flaherty was supposed to become a very rich man this winter.

B/R's Tim Kelly had the right-hander down for a three-year, $60 million contract, but other projections went much higher. Even nine figures seemed possible, with MLB Trade Rumors notably forecasting a five-year, $115 million contract.

And, well, why not?

The 29-year-old had a terrific year in 2024, posting a 3.17 ERA in the regular season before taking part in the Dodgers' championship run. And as is not usually the case with star free agents, he was not eligible for a qualifying offer and its associated harms.

What Actually Is

Two years and $35 million? Really? That's it?

That is indeed it, though Flaherty's pact with the Detroit Tigers is really more like a one-year deal with a player option for 2026. And even if he does well enough in 2025 to justify going back onto the market, there will likely be no avoiding the QO if that happens.

This will all be water under the bridge if he does go on to score a bigger contract next winter. But that may only happen if he has an even better season in 2025 than he did in 2024, which will mean clearing an already high bar.

5. RHP Nick Pivetta

What Could Have Been

Since the qualifying offer came up in that last slide, let's talk about Nick Pivetta.

The Boston Red Sox gave him a chance to accept such an offer, in which case he would have been paid $21.05 million for the 2025 season. And for a pitcher with a 92 ERA+ for his career, it would have been a sweet deal.

By instead rejecting the QO, Pivetta chose to bet on himself to get a bigger payday on the open market.

Bold, but not necessarily foolish even in the moment. Modern teams do value pitchers with good stuff, after all, and Stuff+ rated his as the best of any starter last season.

What Actually Is

That Pivetta remains unsigned only feels like the start of his problems.

Beyond a new contract, what the 31-year-old also lacks is buzz. The New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds were linked to him in December, but there's been no peep in his corner of the market ever since.

Recent developments also bode ill for the Canadian. Namely, if Jack Flaherty could only get two years and $35 million despite nine-figure projections, one can't help but aim much lower in thinking about what is out there for Pivetta right now.

4. 1B Pete Alonso

What Could Have Been

Two years ago, Pete Alonso could have signed on the dotted line for $158 million.

This is according to a May 2024 report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, anyway. But Alonso and agent Scott Boras wanted to aim higher in free agency, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today reporting last June that they would be looking for at least $200 million.

Perhaps that was always overly ambitious, but the notion of Alonso failing to clear at least nine figures seemed unthinkable at the outset of this offseason

Teams like home runs after all, and home runs are Alonso's trade. The 30-year-old has hit 226 of them since entering MLB in 2019, including a league-high 119 with men on base.

What Actually Is

For Alonso and Boras, the situation has seemingly gotten less pretty by the day.

They are known to have rejected a three-year offer from the New York Mets that would have paid $68-70 million. Their hope must have been that there would still be other interested parties, but the best alternative now is $92.5 million less to spend.

For Mets owner Steve Cohen, the back-and-forth has been an "exhausting conversation." For the rest of us, it feels like a window into how even great sluggers only hold so much sway in a world that is increasingly full of good ones.

3. Seattle Mariners

What Could Have Been

For the Mariners, the 2024 season was a near-miss with a clear message.

They had a share of the AL West lead as late as August 11 and ultimately finished just one game out of the third wild-card spot. It all came down to how they just couldn't score enough runs, as they played in 55 one-run games and lost 28 of them.

Hence the obvious assignment for the winter: Find bats by any means possible.

The Mariners supposedly had $15-20 million to work with in free agency. They also had the trade card to play, particularly with Luis Castillo. Moving him would subtract a key arm, yes, but it had the potential to clear salary and fill needs in one fell swoop.

What Actually Is

Cutting right to the chase, Castillo is still a Mariner and the club has shored up its offense with $10.5 million worth of deals with Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano.

"Underwhelming" doesn't come close to describing the situation, yet the party line amounts to little more than a shrug. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto insists the Mariners "have a good team" despite the "dismay of a few" that there hasn't been more activity.

Technically, it is true that the Mariners have a good team. But it is frustrating that they are not aspiring to be great, for which the bar is somewhere above 88 wins.

2. Baltimore Orioles

What Could Have Been

Though the Orioles lost 10 more games in 2024 than in 2023, it was still another successful season and change was afoot for the winter.

Owner David Rubenstein was "ready to spend" in his first offseason in charge, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. And even if Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander walked as free agents, the club was ready to pursue similarly talented players to take their spots.

On top of all this, you had to wonder if it was finally time for some contract extensions.

General manager Mike Elias made a point in October 2023 about wanting to lock up core youngsters. Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson needed to be first in line even then, and that much more so now that both are a year closer to free agency.

What Actually Is

The Orioles are set to raise payroll by $58 million in 2025, which is not a small amount. And yet they look...somehow worse?

In Santander's place in the outfield is Tyler O'Neill, who is probably as powerful but more prone to strikeouts and injuries. And in Burnes' place is nobody in particular. The O's do have Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, but neither is a No. 1 starter.

Meanwhile, there are still no extensions in place. And rather than merely keep pace with the Orioles, the other top contenders in the AL East (New York, Boston and Toronto) all added at least one star to their respective rosters.

1. San Diego Padres

What Could Have Been

The 2024 iteration of the Padres was good. Good enough, of course, to come the closest of any team to stopping the Dodgers from winning the World Series.

There was always a question about what would happen next. Still, there was at least one reason to hope for a characteristically aggressive offseason by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. By staying under the luxury-tax threshold in 2024, the Padres had reset their penalties for 2025.

Plus, there was the possibility of Rōki Sasaki coming to San Diego.

The Padres were a favorite for the Japanese right-hander from the start when manager Mike Shildt said he was "very optimistic" about getting him. And sure enough, the Padres ended up being one of the three finalists for Sasaki.

What Actually Is

Preach, Manny Machado:

Though it is not technically accurate that the Padres haven't made any moves, a $3.5 million deal with Elias Díaz doesn't move the needle. It's not like any of the big ones the Dodgers have made, especially those for Sasaki and former Padre Tanner Scott.

Now that it's out there that the late Peter Seidler's widow and brothers are fighting for control of the franchise, none of this is necessarily surprising. Nonetheless, to call this winter a huge setback for the Padres would be understating it.

Oh, and the club hasn't even made good on trade interest in core stars yet.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.