With Spring Training looming there are some important questions looming. Some teams still have unfinalized rosters, and there are still plenty of good free agents left that don’t have a team. There’s still time of teams to make that big trade or sign that missing piece from free agency, but generally speaking teams stop making big moves once Spring Training finally arrives. With pitchers and catchers set to report in just under three weeks here are five burning questions.
1. Are the Reds finally going to part with some of their remaining tradeable pieces?
For years now, many teams have inquired about Brandon Phillips, but it has been difficult to deal him. Phillips has a full no trade clause in his contract. Over the last few years either Phillips has vetoed the trade as he did with the Nationals, or things fell apart at the last minute which is what happened with the Yankees about two years ago. Phillips isn;t the same player he once was now that he is 34, but he had a nice bounce back season last year batting .294 with 12 home runs, along with his prototypical gold glove defense. From the second base position those stats are above average, so while the reds won’t get what they once would for Phillips they may still get a good haul from a team who is a second baseman away from winning this season.
The Reds also have another guy whom teams have inquired upon in Jay Bruce. Home runs are a hard thing to come by in today’s game as it has become a pitcher dominant league. That is why teams have inquired about Bruce, despite his .248 career batting average. Bruce’s 162 game average for home runs is 30, which is very good. Bruce also has the advantage of batting from the left side as teams are always looking for left handed power because it is so rare, and it is a nice way to help split up the lineup.
2. When is Yovani Gallardo going to sign?
Despite a steady decreases in his strikeout rate Gallardo has actually improved. His ERA has declined each of the last two seasons, and was actually a career best 3.42 last season. The one thing that may be scaring teams off is that his H9 has actually increased each of the last three seasons, but that actually falls in line with his decreasing K9. Chances are the hits have increased as a direct correlation to getting less swings and misses.
Despite the increased amount of hits the ERA continues to drop and since he is only going to be 30 next seasons there are still some good years left in the tank for Gallardo. There are a ton of places that Gallardo may wind up but my money is on the Rangers resigning him as they are already shallow at starting pitcher, and Gallardo would make a good number two pitcher behind Yu Darvish.
3. Is it possible that Billy Beane actually parts with Sonny Gray?
It seems preposterous when you first think about it, but Beane has been known to do the preposterous. Shoot just last season he traded away Josh Donaldson who went on to with the MVP with an absolutely incredible season. Gray has had a great career, and isn;t even a free agent until 2020 so why would Beane trade him? Well, the Athletics had a horrific season last year, and if it were to happen again Beane could get more than a kings ransom for Gray if he were to deal him.
Gray is only going to be 26 this season and if the Athletics have a bad first half it wouldn’t be overly shocking to see him get traded while he still has a few years under team control. One team that could certainly be interested are the Yankees.
They still need at least one more really good starting pitcher, and they certainly have the prospects to make a trade. The thing is the Yankees have shown a strong unwillingness to move on from their prospects. However if there is one guy that would make the Yankees consider moving on from some prospects it would be Gray since he is so young, and with four years of team control left.
4. Can Dusty Baker right the ship in Washington?
The Nationals had a terrible collapse last season that ends up being the cause of them missing the playoffs. The Nationals ended up seven games behind the Mets, after entering the season with World Series expectations with their great rotation. Despite losing Jordan Zimmermann that Nationals still have a great starting rotation, and they have arguable the first or second best player in baseball in Bryce Harper. The N.L. East is a relatively weak division, and if the Mets have a down year from any of their starters the Nationals certainly have a chance to swoop in and take the division.
It won’t be easy though. There are some clubhouse issues, mainly with Papelbon, and they still have some voids in their lineup to fill. The Nationals still have not solved their short stop issue as Ian Desmond is still a free agent, but even if they do resign him, he is an extreme liability defensively. Besides his lack of defensive prowess Desmond will need to rebound from last year’s offensive collapse.
It won’t be easy, but Baker is a great people person and if anyone can turn this team around in one year it is him.
5. Is it once again the Giants season?
Now, I am generally not a superstitious person when it comes to watching sports but over the last three even numbered years the Giants have gone on to win the World Series, so do they win this year to make it four straight seasons? After missing out on the playoffs last year, the Giants made some big improvements to their roster. The Giants signed Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Jeff Samardzija, and traded for Denard Span. If Samardzjia finds a way to bounce back then I love all of these moves, and they certainly put the Giants in a good position to win another World Series. If Pence can stay healthy this year, the Giants have the depth and talent in the rotation, bullpen, and in the lineup to pull off another World Series victory.