The recent MLB offseason is one of the busiest in MLB history.
Many teams made a splash in the free agency to make sure of their chances in the 2024 season.
Paying huge amounts of money to make players go to their team has always been an effective formula for becoming a title contender.
However, there is no guarantee that they will win the World Series.
MLB is one, if not the most unpredictable professional sports league in the world.
One full season is long, with each team playing 162 games. Players could get injured. Forms may dip.
This is where the beauty of Major League Baseball lies. On a good day, the money spent on players is not the main factor in a team's campaign.
Come playoff time, the title can be for anybody's taking.
Teams that can be considered dark horses in the MLB 2024 season
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are being underrated this season by bookmakers, putting them outside the Top 10 of the MLB 2024 season title contenders.
This is even though they were in the World Series last season and only lost to the Texas Rangers in five games.
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They were tagged as "lucky to be there" last season but retained most of the club's core and are ready to take another crack at the World Series.
What will make their journey difficult are the teams standing in the way. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the current title favorites, are in the same league as them.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., a 2023 All-Star, is out to prove something after signing a new deal. Eugenio Suárez also joined the club to reinforce the infield.
The 2023 playoff run should be an excellent motivation for coach Torey Lovullo's squad moving forward.
2. Minnesota Twins
The Twins are trending in the right direction, especially with how they finished the 2023 regular season, wherein they reached the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Their offense co-led the American League with 233 home runs. Theirs was also fifth-best in MLB in the second half.
The club's core will be back for them this new season, led by Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, and Max Kepler.
Their pitching staff will also continue to be among the most reliable in the league. However, they will have to deal with the departure of Sonny Gray, now with the St. Louis Cardinals, Kenta Maeda, who signed with the Detroit Tigers, and Emilio Pagán, who moved on to the Cincinnati Reds.
3. Seattle Mariners
Sportskeeda talked to an artificial intelligence expert to rank the best dark horses in the upcoming MLB 2024 season, and the Seattle Mariners came out on top.
This is quite a bold take, as the Mariners failed to make the postseason last year. The last time they were in the playoffs was in 2022 when they reached the American League Division Series and lost to the Houston Astros.
Julio Rodriguez is one of the best young guys in the league right now, and he will continue to be the team leader as they attempt to make it back to the playoffs after a successful 2022.
Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford will continue to anchor the team. They need to make more moves for this dark horse tag to come true. They must find replacements for Eugenio Suárez and Jarred Kelenic to get to the next level.
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