Playing Contender or Pretender with MLB's Most Active Teams This Winter
Some MLB executives just never seem to leave the office.
Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane and Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein both fit that description. While their respective clubs have been among the busiest in baseball this winter, it's worth remembering that off-field activity doesn't always translate to on-field success.
What follows is a look around the league at which of MLB's most active teams will be legitimate contenders in 2015 and which ones will be pretenders.
Chicago White Sox
1 of 5
Key Moves
- Signed Melky Cabrera, OF
- Signed Adam LaRoche, 1B
- Traded for Jeff Samardzija, SP
- Signed David Robertson, RP
- Signed Zach Duke, RP
- Signed Emilio Bonifacio, UTL
The most impressive part about the Chicago White Sox's offseason is that the club has managed to improve so many different aspects of the roster.
The starting staff is significantly more formidable with Jeff Samardzija joining Chris Sale atop the rotation. As for the bullpen, All-Star closer David Robertson and lefty-specialist Zach Duke have both been added to the late-innings mix.
Plus, the lineup has landed some major firepower with the signings of Melky Cabrera and Adam LaRoche on multiyear deals.
The worry is that Chicago is playing in the American League Central, which is shaping up to be an extremely competitive division. The Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals are rebounding from playoff runs, and the Cleveland Indians are on track to be in the wild-card chase.
One person who definitely thinks the White Sox are trending in the right direction is reigning AL Rookie of The Year Jose Abreu.
"I'm not preparing for 162 games," he explained, via Scott Merkin of MLB.com. "I want playoffs in Chicago. Individual accolades won't matter. At the end, we will be remembered for what we accomplished as a team, and as a team, we have business to finish this year and years to come."
After the White Sox's busy offseason, it looks like Abreu will get his playoff wish granted in October.
The Verdict: Contender
Toronto Blue Jays
2 of 5
Key Moves
- Traded for Josh Donaldson, 3B
- Signed Russell Martin, C
- Traded for Michael Saunders, OF
- Traded for Devon Travis, 2B
- Traded for Marco Estrada, P
- Signed Justin Smoak, 1B
There's a lot to like about the Toronto Blue Jays' offseason. With the trade for third baseman Josh Donaldson and the signing of catcher Russell Martin, Toronto has added two premier position players.
However, the pitching staff is a different story.
Last year, the bullpen ranked No. 25 in ERA, and so far very little has been done to improve the relief corp. Most glaringly, the Blue Jays have yet to figure out just who exactly will be pitching in the ninth inning.
The starting rotation is also cause for concern. R.A Dickey and Mark Buehrle lead the way, but after that, the Blue Jays will be relaying heavily on the inexperienced trio of Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchison and Aaron Sanchez. As Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com writes, those pitchers are "the definition of high-risk, high-reward" arms.
There's no question about it. Toronto will score all sorts of runs in 2015. The problem is, without a major addition to the bullpen and the rotation, the team is also going to give up all sorts of runs.
The Verdict: Pretender
San Diego Padres
3 of 5
Key Moves
- Traded for Matt Kemp, OF
- Traded for Justin Upton, OF
- Traded for Wil Myers, OF
- Traded for Will Middlebrooks, 3B
- Traded for Shawn Kelley, RP
- Signed Brandon Morrow, P
The San Diego Padres just couldn't score any runs in 2014, as the club ranked last in baseball in that department.
Getting on the board shouldn't be a problem this time around after an onslaught of trades have brought Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers to Petco Park. The lineup has been revamped, and the rotation once again looks solid with Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy anchoring the staff.
Then again, there are still some serious questions for the Padres to answer. The team is thin at shortstop, and there's also the landscape of the National League West to consider. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants are still the class of the division. Unless one of those two teams underachieves in a big way, a wild-card berth looks to be the ceiling for San Diego.
The Verdict: Contender
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Chicago Cubs
4 of 5
Key Moves
- Signed Jon Lester, SP
- Signed Joe Maddon, Manager
- Signed Jason Hammel, SP
- Traded for Miguel Montero, C
- Signed David Ross, C
- Signed Chris Denorfia, OF
The Chicago Cubs made the best move of the offseason by bringing in Joe Maddon to be the team's new skipper. There's no better manager in baseball to guide the NL Central club back into contention. Even with Maddon in the dugout, patience is still required.
As Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago puts it, 2015 should be viewed as a "stepping-stone year" for the Cubs. That's a spot on assessment. Chicago has tons of high-upside position players, but the likes of Javier Baez, Addison Russell and Albert Almora simply won't be ready to be big-time contributors at Wrigley Field next season.
For the Cubs, the goal in 2015 should be to hit the .500 mark and to aim for the division crown the year after that.
The Verdict: Pretender
Oakland Athletics
5 of 5
Key Moves
- Traded for Ben Zobrist, UTL
- Traded for Yunel Escobar, SS
- Traded for Jesse Hahn, SP
- Traded for Ike Davis, 1B
- Signed Billy Butler, 1B/DH
- Traded for Brett Lawrie, 3B
- Traded for Kendall Graveman, SP
- Traded for Sean Nolin, SP
- Traded for Chris Bassitt, SP
It looks like Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane is going for it after all.
After shipping out an array of All-Stars earlier in the offseason, Beane has rapidly rebuilt his roster. Most recently, the Athletics acquired super-utilty man Ben Zobrist and shortstop Yunel Escobar in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.
In an interview with John Lund and Greg Papa on 95.7 The Game, Zobrist explained what Beane told him following the swap.
"Hey, make no mistake about it, we're going to win."
Beane has certainly put together a pitching staff which is capable of carrying that plan out. Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir are the team's most established starters, but the Athletics have lots of options after that. As Richard Justice of MLB.com notes, "Oakland has quality arm stacked upon quality arm."
Here's a look at the list of pitchers angling to claim one of the final three spots in the rotation:
- Jesse Chavez
- Jesse Hahn
- Drew Pomeranz
- Chris Bassitt
- Sean Nolin
- Kendall Graveman
A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker, who are recovering from elbow surgeries, are also slated to return at some point in the summer. Thanks to that surplus of arms, the Athletics are once again in position to make a trip to the postseason.
The Verdict: Contender
Note: All stats courtesy of MLB.com.
If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.
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