In his sixth game of his first homestand with his new team in 2024, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning against the rival San Francisco Giants. With the Dodgers clinging to a one-run lead, Ohtani—a global superstar fresh off signing a historic $700 million contract as the missing piece for a team with its sights set on a World Series title—took the fifth pitch he saw from Giants reliever Taylor Rogers and deposited it into the right-center field bleachers. It was his first home run as a Dodger, and it proved to be the difference in a 5–4 victory.
For a player of Ohtani’s unparalleled stature, there wasn’t too much riding on that early April moment. Still, a strong first impression is always preferred over the contrary, and Ohtani passed this early test with flying colors.
Every year, high-profile players start anew with a different team in a different city. Usually acquired for a hefty price, the pressure to win over a new group of fans presents a unique challenge for these established stars. This winter, an impressive crop of free agents signed nine-figure deals—including the largest contract in sports history—while other notable All-Stars were traded away. The season is still young, but now feels like a good time to check in on how the offseason’s splashiest moves are faring in the early goings with some mid-April report cards.
Three weeks’ worth of games is hardly enough to be predictive for a full season. For star players who have gotten off to fast starts, the early days have likely flown by. And for those who have struggled, each passing 0-for-4 makes the new hometown fans get antsier for a breakthrough. Let’s hand out some grades.
All stats are through Wednesday’s games.
Juan Soto, RF, New York Mets
2025 stats: .231/.367/.431, 3 HR, 7 RBIs, 14 R
Grade: B
By his standards, Soto’s off to a slow start. The good news is that when a 128 wRC+ qualifies as underwhelming, you’re in a pretty elite class of hitter. Soto is still walking more often than he strikes out and still hitting the ball hard. It’s a near certainty that his .240 BABIP will normalize soon enough. He gets a B now, but Mets fans shouldn’t be stressing about their right fielder picking up the pace.
Max Fried, SP, New York Yankees
2025 stats: 3–0, 1.88 ERA, 26.7% strikeout rate
Grade: A
It’s hard to overstate just how important Fried has been for a banged-up and underperforming Yankees rotation. The lefthander has 28 strikeouts over 24 innings, and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his four starts. The rest of New York’s starting rotation has posted a 6.08 ERA, which would rank as the worst in MLB.
Max Masterclass. @MaxFried32 👏 pic.twitter.com/K0ipJs3HGJ
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 9, 2025
Corbin Burnes, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 stats: 0–1, 5.28 ERA, 14 strikeouts, 9 walks, 1.57 WHIP
Grade: D
Burnes logged his first quality start of the season on Saturday—an outing that saw a much-needed uptick in his velocity—but there are some serious early warning signs here. Burnes struggled to miss bats last season, posting his lowest strikeout rate (23.1%) since becoming a full-time starter in 2020. That number has dipped to 20.3% this season, while his walk rate has ballooned to an alarming 13%. Burnes’s average exit velocity (93.9 mph) ranks in the bottom 4% of all pitchers. The only thing keeping this grade from being worse is his track record and a still very small sample size of three starts.
Kyle Tucker, RF, Chicago Cubs
2025 stats: .301/.410/.578, 5 HR, 4 SB, 19 RBIs, 172 wRC+
Grade: A+
Trading Cam Smith, Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski for only one guaranteed season of Tucker’s services was an all-in move the Cubs needed to make in order to take control of a gettable NL Central. So far, it’s paying off with flying colors. Tucker is performing at an MVP-caliber level, right in line with how he played in an injury-shortened 2024 campaign, and has helped spur a 12–9 start for Chicago. Eventually, the team will need to make a difficult decision on whether to pay Tucker something north of half a billion dollars to ensure he’s a Cub for life. For now, though, this seems to be a perfect marriage.
Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, New York Yankees
2025 stats: .185/.242/.296, 1 HR, 2 SB, 29% strikeout rate
Grade: D+
Bellinger cost relatively little for the Yankees to acquire this offseason, but as a former MVP and two-time All-Star, he qualifies as a big-name addition. His biggest value to the team might be enabling Aaron Judge to move off of center field, but Trent Grisham’s emergence has meant Bellinger has spent more time in the corners. While his defensive versatility is valuable, his bat has gone cold, with some old habits rearing their ugly head.
Bellinger’s offense plummeted toward the end of his Los Angeles Dodgers tenure, as he batted .193 with a 27.1% strikeout rate from 2021 to ‘22. In his two resurgent seasons with the Cubs, he cut his strikeout rate down to 15.6%, but it’s back up to 29% to start ‘25. His career-worst 15.2% swinging strike rate is the biggest cause for worry. The Yankees’ lineup is deep enough that Bellinger’s slow start hasn’t really dragged them down, but the team will likely have to rely on his production at some point over the course of a long season.
Willy Adames, SS, San Francisco Giants
2025 stats: .205/.280/.301, 1 HR, 1 SB, 5 XBH
Grade: D-
Similar to Bellinger on the Yankees, the Giants are thriving despite getting nothing from their marquee offensive acquisition. San Francisco ranks second in the NL in runs scored, yet Adames hasn’t gotten off the ground yet at the plate. He’s long been a fly-ball hitter, and there hasn’t been much of a difference in his average exit velocity, strikeout rate or walk rate this year compared to 2024. His launch angle has crept up to a career-high 22.2 degrees, and while a pull-heavy approach in years past helped him swat 112 homers over the previous four seasons, he’s spraying the ball to all fields more to start ‘25. There’s clearly time for him to make an adjustment, but that trend has sapped him of his power.
Devin Williams, RP, New York Yankees
2025 stats: 0–1, 3 SV, 6.00 ERA, 8 K, 6 BB
Grade: Incomplete
Three weeks is already a small sample size, so grading a closer on six innings feels like an even sillier endeavor. Williams hasn’t been missing bats at nearly the same rate as he did with the Milwaukee Brewers, and his walk rate is not viable for a high-leverage reliever. The issue has been his changeup, which was once among the most dominant pitches in the league but through six games has been pretty pedestrian. If he can get the feel back for it, Williams should end up being just fine.
Garrett Crochet, SP, Boston Red Sox
2025 stats: 2–1, 1.38 ERA, 28.3% strikeout rate, 0.89 WHIP
Grade: A
The Red Sox gave up a treasure trove of prospects to land Crochet, then signed him to a $170 million extension. Through four starts, he’s looked every bit the part of a staff ace, leading the AL in innings pitched and ranking second in ERA. With Richard Fitts on the injured list and Walker Buehler and Tanner Houck struggling, Crochet’s hot start has been vital in the Red Sox treading water through the season’s opening weeks.
Just filthy. pic.twitter.com/xgG95rKcI3
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 13, 2025
Blake Snell, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
2025 stats: 1–0, 2.00 ERA, 4 K, 8 BB
Grade: Incomplete
Snell managed just two starts before landing on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation, so there’s no grade for him here. His stuff wasn’t nearly as crisp as usual in those two outings, and it’s unclear how long he’ll be on the shelf. Snell has a pretty spotty health history, failing to reach 130 innings in three of the past four seasons, so his latest ailment is certainly cause for concern.
Alex Bregman, 3B, Boston Red Sox
2025 stats: .321/.365/.564, 4 HR, 16 RBIs
Grade: A-
It took Bregman a while to eventually sign with a new team this offseason, but he’s been worth the wait for the Red Sox. The former Astro has 11 extra-base hits in 19 games, and has been one of the few Boston regulars to produce all season long. A more selective approach has produced higher quality contact for Bregman, as his average exit velocity (93.5 mph) and hard-hit rate (50.8%) are easily career highs.
Anthony Santander, RF, Toronto Blue Jays
2025 stats: .216/.301/.351, 2 HR, 6 RBIs
Grade: C-
Santander’s profile—a 30–year-old slugging corner outfielder with little to offer defensively or on the basepaths—gave his free agency status some built-in red flags. If his bat regresses, there isn’t a whole lot to be excited about. So far, he’s off to a slow start, but Santander has gradually picked up the pace a bit, carrying a modest seven-game hit streak into the weekend. The Blue Jays are off to a solid start thanks to returns to form from veterans like Kevin Gausman, George Springer and Chris Bassitt. If Santander can hop on board the train, perhaps Toronto can have some staying power in the competitive AL East race.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB Offseason Acquisitions Grades: Juan Soto, Max Fried Stand Out Early.
