It is very early but through free agency some teams are taking what appears to be big steps forward towards becoming legitimate contenders in their conference. Will the top contenders be the usual favorites or has surprise team improved enough to take over the spot?
Some of the top contenders in the American League include the Angels, Mariners, and the Tigers. The Tigers and Angels are perennial contenders but the Mariners with their improved lineup should finally be contenders with a much more rounded team.
The first team I’d like to discuss is the Los Angeles Angels. They haven’t made a ton of moves this offseason but they what they have done been beneficial for their team. They managed to sign Huston Street to a one year deal which gives them stability at the closer position and allows their other bullpen pieces to flourish in their usual spots instead of having a rotating door of closers. The Angels also traded longtime second baseman Howie Kendrick to the Dodgers for up and coming pitching prospect Andrew Heaney. Kendrick is an aging star and is expendable in a lineup that features tons of fire power. The one weakness for the Angels is their starting rotation and if Heaney can live up to the hype he can develop into a top of the rotation starter.
The Tigers like the Angels are a perennial contender and have been fairly busy in the offseason. The Tigers may wind up losing ace Max Scherzer to free agency which is why they have already moves to bolster their starting rotation with the singing of Alfredo Simon, and the trade for Shane Greene. The Tigers also bolstered their relatively weak bullpen with the signings of Joel Hanrahan, and Joakim Soria. The Tigers also inked Victor Martinez to a four year extension after an MVP caliber season and traded for the powerful Yoenis Cespedes for Rick Porcello. If the Tigers are able to resign Scherzer and match him up with David Price, Justin Verlander, and Anibal Sanchez to go along with their lineup the Tigers will be a force to be reckoned with at least on paper.
A year after just falling short in the playoffs in large part to a lineup that struggled outside of Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager, management made it a point to bolster the lineup. The Mariners signed perhaps the biggest free agent bat this offseason when they signed Nelson Cruz to a four year deal. Cruz lead the majors in homeruns and is really going to help a team that struggled mightily to hit the long ball. With one of the best pitching staffs in baseball to go along with a middle of the order that finally puts fear into opposing pitchers and the develop of young players like Brad Miller the Mariners have a strong shot at getting over the hump and getting into the playoffs.
In the National League you have teams like the Nationals, Dodgers who won their respective divisions last season and look to do so again. Then there’s the dark horse team, the Padres, who may not wind up winning the division their first season but made huge improvements to their roster this season and finally look ready to compete after years of ineptitude.
The Dodgers shipped out the up and coming Dee Gordon to the Marlins for Andrew Heaney who was then traded to the Angels for Howie Kendrick. The Dodgers also shipped out two injury prone stars in Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez was replaced by Jimmy Rollins who will be a huge upgrade defensively and on the base paths. Losing Kemp will hurt but the outfield is crowded especially with number one prospect Joc Pederson expected to make the team to start the year. The Dodgers also upgraded at the catcher position with the Kemp trade when they acquired Yasmani Grandal. The Dodgers won their division last season and they have likely made the right moves to remain as division champs especially with their deadly rotation.
The reigning N.L East champs the Washington Nationals haven’t had a huge offseason but when they are healthy have one of the top teams in the National League. The Nationals lost the aging Adam LaRoche, but if Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman are able to stay healthy with that pitching rotation there is nothing holding back the Nationals from making a deep run in the postseason.
Even though this team is unlikely to win their division this season they have a big chance to compete especially if all of their new acquisition are able to gel together. The Padres have gone on a trading spree this winter to bolster a lineup that has ranked towards the bottom in runs scored for years now. The best part of tall the deals they have made are that they were able to make them without trading their top prospects or totally dismantling their solid pitching rotation. If the Dodgers or Giants falter even a little bit don’t be too surprised if the Padres are able to win the division but at this point they seem like they can be a deadly wild card team.