Best and worst moves of the 2016-2017 MLB offseason

The Red Sox acquired Sale at no small cost, sending top prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, along with Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz, to the White Sox. But Sale has been one of baseball's most consistent and dominant pitchers since 2012, making the All-Star team each year and finishing no worse than sixth in AL Cy Young voting in each of those seasons. It's the type of trade that can push a team over the top.

There's no debate that Chapman is an elite reliever, regularly hitting triple digits on the radar gun and posting an unbelievable 15.2 K/9 for his career. However, teams rarely hand out long-term contracts to relievers for good reason — they hardly ever turn out well. The Yankees should get plenty of return early in the deal, but they could regret it in a few years.

We don't see Cleveland competing for big-ticket free agent items often, but last year's playoff run increased the team's revenue. As a result, the Indians could afford adding Encarnacion for $20 million per season to replace Mike Napoli. No power hitter in baseball has been more consistent than Encarnacion since 2012, with at least 34 home runs in each season. The relatively short contract should still get good production from Encarnacion through his age 36 season.

Eaton is a fine player and had a career-best 6.2 WAR last season. Was he worth three great pitching prospects though? The Nationals traded top prospects Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Dane Dunning for Eaton's services, effectively thinning out their major league rotation depth. With three potential rotation pieces, this trade could be a long-term game changer for the White Sox.

Soler clearly fell out of favor with the Cubs last season and was rarely seen in the playoffs. With Kyle Schwarber returning from injury, the Cubs had no use for him but were able to acquire a formerly elite closer for Soler. Davis had arm issues last season and is a free agent after this season, but he still has a sub-2.00 ERA in three consecutive seasons. The move was a no-brainer for the Cubs.

While Castro rates well defensively, his offense has fallen off tremendously over the last three seasons. He hit just .210-11-32 in 113 games for the Astros last season, so the three-year deal he received from Minnesota certainly looks odd. It's understandable that the Twins would want a solid defensive catcher to handle their young pitchers, but not at this cost.

Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage has proven his acumen over the last several years, and Nova is the most recent example. After being traded to the Pirates at the trade deadline last season, Nova posted a 3.06 ERA and only three walks in 64.2 innings. If he can continue his progress, this contract will be an enormous bargain.

Desmond is a fine player and did well in Texas last season, but the fit here is incredibly odd. The Rockies plan to use Desmond at first base, wasting his athleticism and defensive ability, when plenty of cheaper first basemen were available. The converted shortstop provides a far better advantage in the outfield, where he played last season, but the Rockies are one of the deepest teams in baseball in the outfield.

Ramos had incredibly bad luck last season, tearing his ACL near the end of a contract year in which he hit .307-22-80. He would have been set for a huge contract but probably won't be ready to play catcher until midseason this year. Tampa Bay gets Ramos at a discount and could possibly use him at DH as early as May.

St. Louis steals from the rival Cubs with Fowler, who was an on-base machine last season and effectively allows Matt Carpenter to hit in the middle of the order. Much of Fowler's value comes from his center field defense, which is strong now but should be expected to decline with him in his early 30s. Fowler posted a sub-.800 OPS in the three seasons leading up to 2016, so being forced to an outfield corner in the latter years of the contract could make him an overpaid liability.

De Leon is a terrific pitching prospect, but the Dodgers were in a position to deal pitching after re-signing Rich Hill. They've hired a strong second baseman in Forsythe, who addresses one of their biggest weaknesses from last season. Forsythe has 37 home runs over the last two seasons and is expected to hit leadoff for the Dodgers.

The Astros clearly paid for Reddick's defense, but this signing is still curious. Reddick has struggled to stay on the field for much of his career and has never posted an .800 OPS in a season. His 32 home run performance from 2012 looks like a complete fluke, and the upside in this contract doesn't look great.

Despite Smyly's 4.88 ERA in 30 starts last season, he still looks like a breakout candidate. He's had a K/BB ratio well above 3.00 in each of the last two seasons and never had an ERA above 4.00 until last season. Moving to pitcher-friendly Safeco Field should address his home run issues, which have been rough the last two seasons. Moving Mallex Smith, Ryan Yarbrough and Carlos Vargas was a significant cost to acquire Smyly, but he has the potential to pay off immediately.

The Dodgers didn't have much choice but to extend Turner without many viable alternatives, but the size of his contract could come back to haunt them. Turner is coming off a career year, hitting .275-27-90 and topping his previous career high of 16 home runs in 2015. He's been a late bloomer, but the team is buying high on a player who has been a full-time regular only once.

Feliz presumably took a discount to close in Milwaukee, which could pay off huge for the Brewers and Feliz. He had problems keeping the ball in the park last season but showed increased velocity, flashing the ability that he showed early in his career with the Rangers. His 10.2 K/9 shows dominant closer potential.

Hill was one of baseball's best pitchers last season when he was on the mound, but he made only 20 starts due to blister issues. Injuries are nothing new for Hill, and a three-year contract for a guy who will be a 37-year-old starter come opening day with his shaky track record is extremely risky. Of course, if the Dodgers can get a full season with the type of production Hill showed last season when he pitched, they probably won't complain much if the back end of the contract is lousy.

Holliday is in his twilight years and has struggled to stay healthy over the last two seasons. Still, he hit 20 home runs in only 110 games last season and brings veteran leadership to a roster that needs it after losing Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann over the last two seasons. He's also a great fit to DH over the next year.

Melancon has quietly been an elite closer over the last several years, but he doesn't bring the elite velocity and strikeout rates that some other closers provide. He does have nearly perfect control and a strong groundball rate. The Giants still need to be mindful that Melancon had arm issues early in his career, and he's been one of baseball's busiest relievers over the last four seasons with at least 72 appearances each year. That speaks to his recent durability but could also be a ticking clock. The four-year deal is risky.

Losing Kendrys Morales was tough to swallow for the Royals, but they've added a solid and more versatile replacement. Moss will primarily serve as K.C.'s DH, but he can also play first base and the outfield corners. That will be important with Jorge Soler's inability to stay healthy and Eric Hosmer's pending free agency after 2017.

The Marlins were desperate to find a replacement for Jose Fernandez, but it's difficult to see how Volquez can be that replacement. He has been durable over the last several years but had an atrocious 5.37 ERA and 1.55 WHIP with the Royals last season. Miami trusts that Volquez can regain his form reuniting with former Pirates pitching guru Jim Benedict, but there's reason to be skeptical.

Chicago's signing of Anderson was under-the-radar but could pay off this year. The oft-injured Anderson missed almost all of 2016 with injuries, but he had a 3.69 ERA in 31 starts with the Dodgers in 2015. Chicago features a historically great defense, which is a great fit for a groundball pitcher like Anderson. The relatively cheap signing has huge upside.

The White Sox had plenty of openings in their rotation after trading Chris Sale, but Holland hasn't shown anything over the last two years to be considered a viable replacement. He's made only 30 starts over that time due to injuries, with an ERA near 5.00 in both seasons. Most significantly, Holland's velocity is down from his prime, nearly three mph lower last season than his peak average fastball from 2011.

It was addition by subtraction for the Orioles, who moved Gallardo and his 5.42 ERA, receiving a quality hitter in the process. Smith is a capable corner outfielder against right-handed pitching, with a career .827 OPS against righties. His OPS against right-handers last season was .782, albeit in a pitcher's park, and he will have a much more favorable home environment with Baltimore this year.

Rodney continues to get opportunities to close, but he hasn't exactly deserved them. He had a 0.31 ERA in 28 appearances with the Padres last season but was far from dominant and struggled during the second half in Miami with a 5.89 ERA. At age 40 by opening day, it wouldn't be a shock if the wheels fell off this year.

Rather than bring back Matt Wieters for another year, Baltimore got Castillo at a bargain-basement price. Castillo has been just as strong offensively in recent years, posting a .745 OPS last season and .750 in 2015. Baltimore will probably see some decline defensively compared to Wieters, but the team likely saved significant money.

Miami is effectively taking a flier on Locke, but it's hard to see this experiment working out. Locke has struggled over the last two years, posting a 4.90 ERA in 295.2 innings and struggling with his control. Former Pirates pitching adviser Jim Benedict might be able to help, but more likely the Marlins will turn out disappointed.