It’s not easy to get a bad grade just yet.
After breaking out the red pen and grading the MLB offseason’s 20 biggest acquisitions, there is a startling number of high marks. Simply put, just over a week’s worth of games isn’t much time for a lot to go wrong.
For big-money free-agent signings and prominent trade additions, spring training is all about staying healthy. As a result, ending up on the injury report is the surest way for a player to see his grade take a hit.
In the process of ranking the top 20 acquisitions, two primary criteria were taken into consideration:
- 2014 stats
- Predicted 2015 impact
As for the grading criteria, stats are just a small part of the equation since most players have appeared in just five games. The far more important concerns are how the players are fitting in with their new teams and whether they’re managing to stay healthy.
There is one star on the list who sees his grade drop not because of a health problem that he is dealing with, but rather because of an injury sustained by a teammate.