Across baseball, the Cleveland Guardians have failed to build off of multiple ALCS appearances as well as their 2016 AL Pennant, the Dodgers made the playoffs ten times in a row without winning a title during a full season before 2024, and teams like the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers have failed to capitalize on consistent playoff appearances at different points. The common denominator between all of these examples is a lack of championship-level moves in the offseason, whether it be via free agency or trade.
The one exception? Last year’s Dodgers. The team went out and acquired Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández, all of whom played major roles in their championship season.