Just as there are teams that improve during the offseason there are teams that regress during the offseason. Not everybody can improve during the offseason as inevitably some teams are going to lose some key players to free agency. This year there are some really good teams from last season that have made their way to the list of those who have regressed. Below is my list of teams that have regressed the most during the offseason.
5. Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles ar already coming off a season in which they failed to make the playoffs, and now they may lose one of the most powerful hitters in baseball. Chris Davis is a free agent and the Orioles pulled their only contract offer after leaving it on the table for only a few days. Then on the pitching side the Orioles lost starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen to the Marlins. Chen was arguably the Orioles best starting pitcher last year, and this is huge loss for a team that was already short on pitching. For a team that is looking to not miss the playoffs again they sure seem to be going the wrong way in free agency.
4. New York Mets
While the Mets still have a chance at singing some guys as of right now there are a lot of pieces that were key to their run at the playoffs that are currently not o the roster. One major piece is Yoenis Cespedes who really sparked the ball club after being traded. Cespedes had an amazing run with the Mets that should get him paid handsomely when he finally does sign with a team. Then you have playoff hero Daniel Murphy who signed with their division rival the Washington Nationals.
On the pitching side of things that Mets may very well lose Tyler Clippard, Bobby Parnell, and Eric O’flaherty all of whom play big roles out of the bullpen. Bullpen losses an be devastating but at least the Mets have perhaps one of the set rotations baseball has ever seen.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
One would think that a team that is fed up with losing in the first or second round of the playoffs every year would fight to keep their good players or at least make some plashy moves to sign that seasons top free agents. That however is not really the approach that the Dodgers have had. The Dodgers signed Scott Kazmir but he is a far cry from Zack Greinke whom they lost to the D-Backs. The loss that may hurt the most though is losing Howie Kendrick who had a fantastic year last year, and is being replaced by the battered and worn Chase Utley. A team like the Dodgers that has as much money as they do should have been able to go out and sign a few guys to make their team better and set their new manager up for success.
2. Washington Nationals
Sure the Nationals still have a talented roster but they have lost some key players and are aging rather ungracefully at some other positions. The Nationals lost one of their star, starting pitchers in Jordan Zimmermann to the Tigers. The Nationals also lost Doug Fister from their starting rotation who had an off year last year but was incredible the season before. The the Nationals went and traded away their best relief pitcher in Drew Storen to the Blue Jays, and in return only got Ben Revere. It also hurts that the Nationals may very well lose Matt Thornton from their bullpen who despite his age has still been an extremely effective reliever.
If this pitching losses weren’t enough the Nationals have already lost Denard Span to the Giants, and may very well lose Ian Desmond if they don’t get a contract worked out soon. The Nationals had enough trouble scoring runs last year with those two in the lineup, and I can only imagine how much more difficult it will become after losing them without having a serviceable replacement.
1. St. Louis Cardinals
The team that in my opinion has regressed the most is the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals lost some key players to their division rival, the Cubs. It’s always tough to lose a guy who was one of the better players on your team, but it is even worse when they go to a team within the division. The tow players that I am speaking of are John Lackey, and Jason Heyward. Now while I think they got overpaid they are still productive players that are playing for a division rival that has finally taken the leap to World Series contender.
A loss that seem to be going under the radar this year is the loss of Jon Jay, who despite only batting .210 last season is a career .287 hitter for his six year career. The Cardinal also lost Steve Cishek who would have been a great setup man for Trevor Rosenthal and the Cardinals been able to hold on to him.
While the Cardinals always seem to be able to pluck a guy from their minor leagues it amy not be as simple as plug and play when there are this many changes on one roster. Solid bullpen pieces and middle of the order hitters don’t simply grow on trees, and unfortunately for the Cards’ that is part of what they lost this offseason.