Playing Panic or Patience on MLB's Most Inactive Contenders
From the San Francisco Giants to the Washington Nationals, some of the best teams of 2014 have endured underwhelming offseasons.
The Giants missed out on two of the top free agents of the winter, while the Nationals haven't done much of anything at all. With nearly all the big-money free agents and prominent trade targets already accounted for, it's time to start wondering if the offseason's most inactive contenders should be worrying.
The Giants and the Nationals crack the list, and there's also room for one contender who just made a splash on the international free-agent market.
Baltimore Orioles: Panic
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Key Additions
- Ryan Lavarnway, C
- Delmon Young, DH/OF (re-signed)
Key Lossess
- Nelson Cruz, DH/OF
- Nick Markakis, RF
- Andrew Miller, RP
This offseason, the Baltimore Orioles have already lost last year's home run king, one of the best bullpen arms in baseball and a Gold Glove right fielder.
Nelson Cruz, Andrew Miller and Nick Markakis have all departed via free agency, and the team has yet to make a big move to counter any of those losses.
It's worth noting that Cruz—last winter's headliner—wasn't signed until late February. The O's can't count on this offseason playing out in the same way, as there simply aren't any impact bats like Cruz left on the free-agent block.
One option for Baltimore to replenish its offense would be to deal away one of the club's six starters.
Washington Nationals: Patience
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Key Additions
- Joe Ross, SP
- Ian Stewart, INF
Key Losses
- Ross Detwiler, RP/SP
- Adam LaRoche, 1B
- Steven Souza, OF
The Washington Nationals haven't done much this offseason, but then again, the team doesn't really have much that it needs to do.
The Nats ripped off 96 wins a season ago, and nearly all of the club's key contributors will be back in 2015. Sure, Washington lost Adam LaRoche via free agency and Asdrubal Cabrera remains unsigned, but the team has Ryan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa to take over at first base and second base, respectively.
The big question that has yet to be decided is just what the Nationals will do with pitchers like Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister, who both become free agents at the end of next season.
Even Zimmermann knows a trade is a possibility, as the right-hander explained via James Wagner of The Washington Post last month.
"Obviously, I’d like to stay with the Nats. I have no complaints about the Nats. It’s a business. I know that. If they feel they want to trade me and get something in return that will help them later down the road, I totally understand.
"
Trading away Zimmermann would only make sense if the Nats could land a monster haul. As good as the starter is, that won't be easy considering that he only has one year of team control remaining.
San Francisco Giants: Panic a Little Bit
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Key Additions
- Casey McGehee, 3B
- Jake Peavy, SP (re-signed)
- Sergio Romo, RP (re-signed)
Key Losses
- Pablo Sandoval, 3B
- Michael Morse, 1B/LF
The San Francisco Giants' awful offseason certainly hasn't been the result of a lack of effort.
The National League West club attempted to re-sign Pablo Sandoval, but the third baseman opted to join the Boston Red Sox. The Giants also bid on Jon Lester, but the lefty ace signed with the Chicago Cubs.
To replace Sandoval, the Giants added Casey McGehee in a trade with the Miami Marlins. The right-handed-hitting McGehee checked in with a .287 average last season, but he posted just a .620 OPS after the All-Star break.
The starting staff remains a work-in-progress for general manager Brian Sabean and the rest of the team's brain trust. Per Chris Haft of MLB.com, the Giants have brought back Jake Peavy on a two-year, $24 million deal, but the team still needs to add another arm.
That pitcher won't be Max Scherzer. Sabean told Alex Pavlovic of the Bay Area News Group that the 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner won't be pitching at AT&T Park next season.
According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, the Giants are still considering the idea of signing James Shields. The addition of the veteran right-hander would significantly improve the team's rotation, but Cafardo reports that Shields' price tag could be around $110 million.
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Pittsburgh Pirates: Patience
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Key Additions
- A.J. Burnett, SP
- Francisco Cervelli, C
- Francisco Liriano, SP (re-signed)
Key Losses
- Ike Davis, 1B
- Russell Martin, C
- Edinson Volquez, SP
It's not an easy task to replace a player like Russell Martin.
The veteran backstop was a Gold Glove finalist in 2014 and posted a .402 OBP. With Martin signing a five-year, $82 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Pittsburgh Pirates had to make a trade for Francisco Cervelli.
There's just no way that Cervelli can match the production of Martin, but it's been an otherwise successful offseason for Pittsburgh. The club brought in A.J. Burnett to replace Edinson Volquez and re-signed Francisco Liriano.
The Pirates also won the bidding for Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang, per Tom Singer of MLB.com. After dishing out a $5 million bid, the team now has a month to negotiate a deal with Kang.
The 27-year-old offers a ton of power potential. Last year, he crushed 40 home runs in 117 games in the Korean Baseball Organization.
Milwaukee Brewers: Panic
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Key Additions
- Adam Lind, 1B
Key Losses
- Zach Duke, RP
- Marco Estrada, SP
- Mark Reynolds, 1B
The Milwaukee Brewers have been one of the quietest teams in baseball during the offseason. After the club faceplanted in the second half of 2014, the Brewers have done next to nothing to revamp the roster.
The most notable addition of the winter has been Adam Lind, whom the team landed by trading Marco Estrada to the Toronto Blue Jays. Lind provides a ton of production against right-handed pitching (.942 OPS in 2014), but the Brewers need to add more than that if the team is going to keep pace in the NL Central.
Note: All stats courtesy of MLB.com.
If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.
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