A New Year A New Season (NL Breakdown)

Alright, here comes the NL side of things.
NL East:
Atlanta Braves: This offseason the Braves didn't do a whole lot, probably because they spent a lot on the Upton brothers and a couple other things last year, what they DID do, and I applaud them for this, is they have been slowly but surely been extending the current players they have to keep their core group of players together for a longer period of time. This will likely ensure they have a quality team to put out on the field for years to come. On the spring training side however the Braves ended up getting the short stick as both Mike Minor and Kris Medlen went down with injuries and will not be available for long periods of time, severely hampering their rotation. So to counter the Braves signed Ervin Santana, who will likely head up the back of the rotation with new guys like Alex Wood coming in to fill the more top of the rotation spots. All in all a good offseason followed by a bad injury hit spring training.

Philadelphia Phillies: Now I still don't think I understand what Ruben Amaro Jr. is trying to do here, it's like he's in a delusional state that still thinks he can win despite the fact that the core of his team is getting to the point of being a rotten apple and his rotation has been falling apart ever since Oswalt started to fall apart a few years ago. Now they again didn't do much in the offseason, they made a few trades (like for Brad Lincoln), they resigned Chase Utley (huh?) and got some players to fill out their starting rotation. Now like the Braves they took a major hit when one of their ace starters, Cole Hamels, went down with an injury. Now it's not as serious as what happened with Medlen but given the glaring weakness the Phillies have in their rotation behind Hamels and Lee it's likely to make big problems for them for the time he is gone.

Washington Nationals: Now all I can do is say bravo to what the Nationals have done so far, they made an INCREDIBLY lopsided trade with the Tigers for Doug Fister, they've managed Stephen Strasburg perfectly so they can now let him off the leash this year and they could make some potential player moves that could play off (ie. slot in Rendon at 3rd and move Zimmerman to 1st). Their spring training thankful hasn't come with any serious injuries to their team and on the other hand Bryce Harper came into camp looking like a god damn tank. The only thing they didn't do was address their bullpen issue as Rafael Soriano was fairly shaky last year in the closer position, though this isn't a huge worry as they still have Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, 2 proven closers, ready to take over if he stumbles.

Miami Marlins: Not even going to say anything here, they made more questionable signings, and honestly I think the Marlins franchise will be forever tainted after last offseason because after hearing from the guys who got traded it seemed like Jeff Loria has complete control of the team and has no regard for player's livelihood. This can be further seen by the fact that Giancarlo Stanton doesn't seem to want to sign an extension with them, overall I think Loria has damaged the reputation of the Marlins and they will find it hard to sign players for a while, unless they can show otherwise.

New York Mets: Now the Mets again didn't make any huge splashes, they signed a couple aging players like Marlin Byrd and Curtis Granderson, but again thats just what they are aging players, so don't look for them to make any glaring differences in the teams play. Spring training wise it was a bit odd with the Mets, not so much because of injuries but there was a bit of a spat between the Mets and Matt Harvey about where he would rehab his arm, as well as their GM saying that he believed they were capable of winning 90+ games with their current roster. A bit odd, on the other hand, and it pains me to say this, but ex-Jays prospect Noah Syndergaard, who is with the Mets now looked fantastic this spring and is more than likely going to make the starting rotation in a year or two. All in all the Mets are going to be a force to be reckoned with in a couple years as they have Johnathon Niese and Dillion Gee, coupled with Zach Wheeler, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard all three of which have the potential to be top 10 starting pitchers.

NL Central
Chicago Cubs: Well the cubs again like many developing teams, did not make any big time changes to their roster over the offseason. Luckily they managed to stay rather clean in the way of injuries and have made a good decision to slot Mike Olt in at 3rd base for the season, which will no doubt better integrate their future players and there has been talk about bringing up Javier Baez, their SS prospect. Hell even Starlin Castro even has said he'd be willing to move to 2B to make room for Baez, this is very good to hear, not only do they have one of their biggest prospects close to breaking the major league roster but its good to hear that other stars in the roster are excited and willing to bite the bullet so to speak in order to get him in. Much like the Mets, if the Cubs prospects break out at the same time they will be a deadly team in a few years.

Cincinnati Reds: Again like the Cubs, the Reds didn't make any serious moves during the offseason, though they did say goodbye to catcher Ryan Hannigan, and outfielder Shin Soo Choo. The loss of Choo was a pretty big deal as he has a big OBP and was VERY key as their lead off hitter, losing Hannigan however wasn't as much of a big deal as he hasn't recently been a huge piece on the team defensively or offensively. On the other hand they have made changes using internal options, specifically bringing up prospect Billy Hamilton and Tony Cingrani to cover the holes in the oration and outfield. Now both of these guys tore it up in the minors and are looked at as big time prospects, now Cingrani has proved his talent with about half a season under his belt last year. On the other hand there are many detractors to Billy Hamilton since he isn't really profiled as having very good batting stats and abilities, however he has been fairly good during spring training flashing some good ability to act as the Reds lead off hitter and if he can put that speed of his to use it'll be a big help for the Reds (he can beat out a throw from Yadier Molina, the best defensive catcher in the game)

Milwaukee Brewers: Seems like a pretty common thing in the NL Central but the Brewers again didn't break the bank making any major signings either outside of getting Matt Garza back after their trade of him to the Rangers mid last year. Now again like the Reds the holes that were left after last year have been filled by younger players that many analysts believe have some high potentials, such as Khris Davis (yes different from the Baltimore Chris Davis) and Jean Segura. Both of these guys are expected to be fairly high end players in the next few years and given what has been seen from them in the minors, spring training and their limited last year exposure it is very much possible that they could achieve it.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Now I know this may be a surprise but the Pirates………..DIDN'T make any big moves this offseason! It's get a bit odd typing this over and over but its' the truth, the Pirates lost A.J Burnett but not much else and they had Wandy Rodriguez coming back from injury so they already had a worthy option to fill that void, so no issue. Overall they still have the ability to make a splash in the NL Central and potentially make it to the wild card again this year.

St. Louis Cardinals: Now I don't want to sound like I'm branding over for the Cardinals but in my mind these guys are like the gold standard that every baseball organization should strive to be like. Now I say that because they have made some good moves this offseason (signing Johnny Peralta, trading for Peter Bourjos and signing Mark Ellis). Now the Peralta signing may not be perfect but it will likely help with the offensive hold left by Beltran and trading for Bourjos does the exact opposite that happened with Beltran, it gives them a Gold Glove caliber player who can easily cover the range. Now I'm not saying defence is better than offence, but a highly defensive centre fielder is a HUGE asset when you live in a more pitcher friendly park as they can make the catches a slower more power focused CF might not be able to. The only funny thing is that after signing Mark Ellis to cover 2B they noticed Kolten Wong, who broke camp and took away the 2B position from Ellis as his performance in spring training was great. Now this is very helpful because now they have one of their star infielder prospects in and a very usable defensive and offensive replacement ready to go if anything goes south. Then in terms of pitching they have the return of all of their huge new players who dominated last year in the rotation and hell they even have 2 of them (Rosenthal and Martinez) holding up the back end of their bullpen. With their prospects in more fortified positions the Cardinals are again a HUGE bit of competition.

NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks: Ok so the Diamondbacks did make some moves on the offseason for instance being involved in that 3 team trade with the Angels and the White Sox, however they seemed to get the short stick of the trade as they gave up big prospects like Skaggs and Eaton and only got Addison Reed and Mark Trumbo in return. Now I don't think Trumbo is a bad player but with Goldschmidt at first they have to slot him in the outfield and as he's a slower player he's a bit of a defensive liability and he has been a bit strikeout happy over the last couple seasons, which again is not that great even if he hits 30 or so HR a year. Reed on the other hand is good for a closer but not for the trading away of Skaggs and Eaton. Outside of that they have brought up prospects Chris Owings and Didi Gregorious to play SS and it looks like they will likely platoon those guys against their respective pitchers for the best results, in addition they also signed Bronson Arroyo, which was a bit odd because it fortified the back end of their rotation, which you think they would like to keep open since they have younger players that will or already have come up and need to get experience in those 4/5 rotation spots (Randal Delgado and Archie Bradley). However during spring training they lost their ace Patrick Corbin to Tommy John surgery and will be out for the remainder of this year and will likely not be back not be back to full power until about half to a full yr after that (which is pretty typical of pitchers who undergo tommy john, which is why the Nationals held a innings limit over Strasburg the first year back).

Colorado Rockies: Not much was done here, only real move of any consequence that the Rockies made was trading Drew Pomeranz to the Oakland Athletics for Brett Anderson, who will sit mid way in their rotation, which could help but still moving any pitcher to Coors Field is always a bit sketchy but we'll see.

LA Dodgers: Much like the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers only made a few changes to their roster and they weren't all that significant. They first added the Cuban defector Alexandre Guerrero who was supposed to take the place of Mark Ellis at second, however through spring training it was VERY apparent he had a LONG way to go in order to make the major league roster so he's starting the season in the minors and Dee Gordon is getting a second chance in the roster at second until Alex is ready. The other change they made was signing Dan Haren, now the Dodgers slotted him into the 4th position in their starting rotation, which seems to be about the right spot of Haren, however he is a injury risk given his current injury history, which could pose problems since they have lost some of their starting pitching depth to injury or free agency (i.e.. Capuano, Biilingsley, etc.). As well there have been some minor injuries to Dodgers players that will only really affect the first couple games and likely won't effect their finishing position.

San Diego Padres: Ok so the Padres actually have an interesting team this year, now they didn't many changes outside of grabbing up Ian Kennedy, Josh Johnson and Joaquin Benoit. Now these 3 pitchers might not be huge deals in any team in a VERY pitcher friendly park like Petco it increases their value significantly, now Johnson has gotten injured AGAIN so he is likely not to contribute much during the year however Kennedy could very well help the rotation and Joaquin Benoit is a quality set up man and could be invaluable as a backstop behind Huston Street both to protect the lead or fill in if Street gets injured like he has before. Now the reason I say they have an interesting team isn't because of these signings it's because they have 2 high end prospects who have high upside settling in their rotation, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross, now Cashner has already proved himself as a top of the rotation starter and can hold his own against most. In addition if Venable, Maybin and Cabrera can continue their production from last year or even make a slight step forward their offence will be in a good spot. Additionally they have their big name catcher Yasmani Grandal back from the DL and again that gives the offence a boost and if Gyorko can keep his production from last year and Headley can step back to his 2011 skill set then the Padres could be a logical postseason candidate.

San Francisco Giants: Much like the Dodgers, the Giants made only a couple of signings under the radar because they weren't high end players, those being Tim Hudson and Michael Morse. Now these two signings are good for the Giants because Hudson may be an aged pitcher but AT&T park is one of the best pitcher friendly parks which should make him a more worth while pitcher and Michael Morse is a good candidate to get his power back given what we saw in Spring Training and at the tail end of last year. Outside of this there wasn't any significant changes mad to their roster and their spring training didn't bring about any serious injuries or prospects that could break camp, overall expect more of the same or maybe a slight improvement for the Giants this season.

Ok so that wraps up the Offseason and Spring Training breakdowns for both the AL and NL. Next I'm going to be putting on my GM hat and letting everyone know what I would have done if I was in the position of Alex Anthopolous over last offseason. Now I don't plan on saying I would sign ALL of the big name free agents, I will give specific players that would make sense and explanations to them all.

-Eric