Best
1: Texas Rangers
They added Prince Fielder, Shin-Soo Choo, Michael Choice,
and JP Arencibia while they bid adieu to Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz (as of this
article being written) and Craig Gentry. I believe Choice (who was acquired in a
5-player deal with Oakland) will eventually become the everyday DH for this
team. However, I also believe Yu Darvish can’t do it all himself to carry this
rotation after Derek Holland’s injury, but a lineup that consistently throws
out Choo, Andrus, Profar, Fielder, and Soto/Arencibia is going to get its share
of runs. Add a #2 starter (like an AJ Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, or Ubaldo
Jiminez) and this team is at the very least ALCS bound in my opinion as I
expect a HUGE bounce-back season from Fielder and a quietly productive year
from Arencibia as well.
2: Washington Nationals
I’ll preface this paragraph with the following statement: I
vehemently resent the Washington Nationals as a longtime Atlanta Brave fan.
However, as an unnaturally biased as I can possibly be “journalist” (or at
least hopeful journalist), I must admit the following truths. This team has
slithered through the weeds to quietly have one of the better offseasons of any
team in all of baseball. Getting Doug Fister for next to nothing was highway
robbery for the Nats as they look to improve off of an incredibly disappointing
2013. This roster is simply too good not to dramatically improve upon last year’s
results. Nate McLouth and Jerry Blevins were additions that mean so much to the
makeup of this roster, but apparently nothing to the main stream coverage of
offseason news.
3: New York Yankees
Once again, I’ll be honest with you all; I hate the Yankees.
Like every fan of a mid to small-market
team, it disgusts me to think that the Yanks are “struggling” to get under the
$189 million figure that the luxury tax sits at now. However, again setting
prejudices aside, the Yankees had a great offseason. They lose one of the
greatest players to ever play the game in Mariano Rivera in addition to finally
stating and sticking to a ridiculously high limit for a player that very well
could win multiple MVP awards in the coming years, but somehow find themselves
on my “Best” list. Partly for not over-paying a 2nd Baseman on the
wrong side of 30 the amount he was seeking, but more importantly for what they
added. Stealing Jacoby Ellsbury from the rival Red Sox was a brilliant ploy as
his strengths will be maximized in the new Yankee Stadium as are the strengths
of many of their other additions including: Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, Carlos
Beltran, Brian Roberts and Brendan Ryan. This was all well before they entered,
won, and shut the door on the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes. Their success will
most likely depend on the health of many of their current players such as Jeter,
Teixera, and Gardner, but they can at least take solace in the fact that they
have somehow improved the overall talent of their roster, even through the
subtraction of both Robinson Cano and Rivera.
Worst
1: Detroit Tigers
Consider this: The Tigers have given up Prince Fielder, Doug
Fister, and nearly $30 million for Ian Kinsler, two mid-level (At best)
prospects and the right to not sign Max Scherzer to an extension as of yet. I
know Victor Martinez is projected to come back fully healthy this year and a
full year of Jose Iglesias will surely mean more production out of the
shortstop position (who was acquired from the Red Sox in a deal that I loved
last summer), but I just find myself coming back to the conclusion that they
failed this offseason. IF I was a betting man (which I most certainly am-How
else could I afford to fund this Blog?) I would be putting my money on Fielder
having a bounce-back year over Kinsler, especially when you consider Comerica
is a much tougher park to hit in than Arlington.
2: Los Angeles Angels
Matt Garza, Masahiro Tanaka, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tim Hudson, AJ
Burnett: Plenty of incredibly talented pitchers entered the free agent market
this offseason with the potential to take the Angels from one of the biggest
disappointments in 2013 to one of the better turnaround stories in the history
of the MLB. Pujols, Trout, Hamilton, and Freese can definitely produce runs.
But if you’re losing 8-6 every night, you’re still losing; And it’s this point
that I feel like the Angels somehow forgot this offseason. Adding Tyler Skaggs
and Hector Santiago to one of the worst rotations in all of baseball last
season is, simply put, nowhere near enough.
3: Minnesota Twins
Do I need to go anywehere beyond the fact that the Twins
spents tens of millions of dollars to go from the worst team in the league (and
subsequently first overall pick that goes along with such honor) to one of the
ten worst teams in the league. Mike Pelfrey, Phil Hughes, and Ricky Nolasco are
all middle of the rotation starters, and I, for one, am looking forward to
seeing which one gets the “honor” of being designated “an ace” and pitching
first in the rotation.
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