For most of the season the National League West was one of the tightest divisions in all of baseball. As the summer heated up so did the Dodgers, though, and they ended up running away with the division with an 11 game lead. Behind them the teams were only separated by seven wins, and the division doesn’t look to get any clearer for 2014
The Dodgers continued to spend money and added pitching depth in all shapes and sizes this offseason. The Rockies filled the hole left by retiring Todd Helton with veteran Justin Morneau, added outfield depth by trading for Drew Stubbs and Brandon Barnes, and added more pitchers that you can count. The Giants added slugger Michael Morse and veteran starter Tim Hudson, but health will be what really elevates them in 2014. The Padres made a low risk high reward move by signing Josh Johnson, made a splash by trading for left handed outfielder Seth Smith, and got one of the best setup men available in Joaquin Benoit. If that wasn’t enough, the Diamondbacks were apart of one of the biggest trades this offseason when they traded to get young slugger Mark Trumbo to protect Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup, and they weren’t done there.
With all those moves no one appears to be clearly better than anyone else. The following is the top five storylines that could decide who ends up winning this division, and who ends up watching the playoffs from home. Some of these may have clear answers after spring training, but you can believe these storylines will be key to each teams season.
5. Will Josh Johnson Rebound with a Return to the N.L.
The Padres have made a lot of moves, but none of them make them serious contenders, unless Johnson can be return to form. Johnson was one of the best pitchers in the league while we was the Marlins ace from 2008-12 with an ERA of 3.06 in 115 starts and 675 stikeouts. His one season with Toronto was atrocious and that caused some concern for other teams who were looking at him in free agency. What is bad for Johnson could be a gift for the Padres, though, because if Johnson can prove that Toronto was an aberration he will turn a solid young rotation into a great rotation as Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross continue to develop into solid young pitchers.
4. Have the San Francisco Giants Solved Their Rotation Issues?
It is no secret that the key to the Giants two World Series titles have been pitching. It is also no secret that the key to the worst season in in five years was pitching.
In the 2013 season the pitching staff ranked 22 in the league in ERA ranking 32 points higher than they did the season before. They hope that the signing of veteran Hudson will help remedy this situation, because other than him, they have not done much to improve the team pitching at all.
They will have to lean heavily on Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain and hope that Tim Lincecum’s resurrection towards the end of the season can continue. After those four it will either be Ryan Vogelsong who struggled or the breakout rookie Yusmeiro Petit for the final spot in the starting rotation, and the performance out of this spot could very well be the key to solving the rotation issues.
3. Can the Rockies Stay Healthy?
The biggest issue over the past few seasons for the Rockies has been the health of their biggest and brightest stars. Now retired first baseman Helton struggled with health, it always seems like superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is always dealing with an injury, and shortened the season of 2013 all-star Carlos Gonzalez, if that’s not enough to make you cringe, Helton’s replacement has a long list of injuries as well. If the Rockies around going to make any kind of move for the top of the division they are going to need Tulo and CarGo to have a healthy season and Justin Morneau is going to have to have an impact, and of course, stay on the field as well. Unfortunately for the team, health is the one thing you cannot really control, but it is the only thing that is stopping them from being a serious contender in this division right now.
2. Will Mark Trumbo Be the Answer to the Offensive Woes in Arizona?
The Diamondbacks had one of the best hitters of the season on their team in 2013, but the rest of the team around him failed to help out his cause. Goldschmidt finished second in the NL MVP voting in 2013 and carried his team to a winning record as he led the team in average, home runs, runs scored and runs batted in.
If this team is going to take the next step someone other than him is going to have to produce, enter Trumbo. While his average isn’t going to impress people, he has a career .250 average, he has increased his runs batted in, runs scored, and home runs in each of his first three full seasons.
He will no longer be protected in the lineup by the likes of Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout, but teams will still have a hard time pitching around him with Goldy in the lineup with him. He will have to be able replicate his past two seasons if the Diamondbacks are going to make a move in the division.
1. What Will the Dodgers Do with Four All-Star Caliber Outfielders?
The biggest issue in the NL West is going to be dealt with in Southern California, in the Dodger stadium outfield. They have four outfielders who are all-star caliber players for only three positions. Yes, two of the four have recent injury history that may make this seem like a mute point, but after a relatively healthy season for Carl Crawford and the talent that Matt Kemp is when he is healthy makes this a huge storyline. Will they trade Kemp if he performs and keep an outfield of Crawford, Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig? Will they try to trade Either and keep Kemp, the only natural centerfielder of the bunch? No one really knows what will happen, but for now they are keeping all four and going to see what happens, and it could be not only the most interesting story in the NL West, but in all of baseball.