The beat writers of MLB.com presented questions to more than 100 players around the league in exchange for anonymity. On Thursday, it was revealed who the most surprising teams will be in 2024.
1. Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals haven’t had a winning season since they won the World Series in 2015 and last year they lost 106 games. However, this offseason focused on figuring out how to flip the record. The Royals were one of the busiest teams. They signed veterans like Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Will Smith, and Hunter Renfroe to surround their young superstar Bobby Witt Jr., who signed an 11-year, $288.7 million extension in February.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Royals are in first place in the [American League] Central,” said one National League pitcher. “Everyone saw all the moves they made. Almost every week or so, it was like, ‘Oh, Royals sign this guy.’ They were at the bottom of the totem pole last year. But when they played us, their offense — they had enough young offensive guys that could really swing it.
“Now they’re bringing in pitchers, they’re bringing in veterans. If they’re doing that, it’s a clear attempt to be at the top of the division. They can see their division’s up for grabs, so I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if they were up there.”
2. Cincinnati Reds
The youth movement in Cincinnati last season put the league on notice. Rookies like Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Andrew Abbott helped the Red improve by 20 games (82-80) from the previous year (62-100).
“I think they’re young. They’ve got a lot of energy. They’re a team that could take a big step forward or have a bit of sophomore slump,” said one AL outfielder. “They kind of came on the scene last year. I think they have a lot of potential.”
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3. Detroit Tigers
The AL Central was hustling this offseason to turn things around and the Detroit Tigers wouldn’t let Kansas City be the only team to sign big-name veterans. The Tigers brought in Kenta Maeda, Jack Flaherty, Gio Urshela, and Mark Canha to balance out the youth of Spencer Torkelson, Tarik Skubal, and Riley Greene. Together, Detroit hopes to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
“I think it’s going to be kind of hard to ignore what the Tigers are doing,” said one AL reliever. “They’ve got a very young core, who, even last year, performed pretty well. Now, they’ve gone and added a couple of pieces to bridge the gap. I think they’re going to be pretty strong and it’s going to be very hard to ignore them.”
4. Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles might have surprised teams last season by winning 101 games and their division. How are they supposed to surprise anyone this year? Signing Corbin Burnes could help them win a few more games but rookie sensation Jackson Holliday could be the shocking exclamation point. He will join a roster including Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Grayson Rodriguez who now have playoff experience and can help the Orioles take their season a step or two further.
5. Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs improved nine games after signing free agents Dansby Swanson and Cody Bellinger last offseason but the surprise this offseason came in the form of parting ways with manager David Ross and signing former Brewers skipper Craig Counsell. They also signed Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga to replace Marcus Stroman.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.