MLB Power Rankings: How Did the 2012 Offseason Switch Things Up?

The 2012 offseason has brought huge changes to the major league landscape.

Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, CJ Wilson and Jose Reyes among others signed with other teams while big names such as Gio Gonzalez, Michael Pineda and Andrew Bailey were traded. The Japanese phenom Yu Darvish also found a home in Texas.

Ryan Braun will also likely be suspended for 50 games due to a positive PED test and a new rookie class led by the Tampa Bay Rays Matt Moore will burst onto the scene.

How did these changes, and more, switch up the power rankings?

Let's find out.

Note: When I list major offseason moves I will not list re-signings or players that have yet to sign.

No. 30: Houston Astros

2011 Record: 56-106

Major Offseason Moves

Hunter Pence traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton at the 2011 trade deadline

Michael Bourn traded to the Atlanta Braves for Jordan Schafer and three minor leaguers at the 2011 trade deadline

Mark Melancon traded to the Boston Red Sox for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland

Carlos Lee, Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers are surprisingly still in Houston.

2012 Outlook

The Houston Astros lost 106 games in 2011 and after trading Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and Mark Melancon I do not see them winning any more than 60 games in 2012.

The Astros will be moving to the AL West in 2013 and they may change their name but that is really the only thing to be excited about, if you can even be excited about that.

Watch the Astros at the 2012 trade deadline because they will look to unload Carlos Lee, Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers in order to save money.

No. 29: Oakland Athletics

2011 Record: 74-88

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for Brad Peacock, AJ Cole, Derrick Norris and Tommy Milone

Traded Trevor Cahill to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill and Ryan Cook

Traded Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney to the Boston Red Sox for Josh Reddick, Miles Head and Raul Alcantra

Signed Bartolo Colon and Jonny Gomes

2012 Outlook

The Oakland Athletics got rid of any hope for 2012 when they traded away their three All-Star pitchers in Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey for a bunch of prospects.

Brandon McCarthy is a fine pitcher but he is not an ace.

Jemile Weeks is also another good young player but he cannot carry an offense.

The A's will be in contention for triple-digit losses in 2012.

No. 28: New York Mets

2011 Record: 77-85

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants for Zack Wheeler at the 2011 trade deadline

Traded Angel Pagan to the San Francisco Giants for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez

2012 Outlook

The walls in Citi Field were brought in and lowered but that's about as exciting as it will get for the New York Mets in 2012.

They have some strong prospects, including Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey and Wilmer Flores. Maybe go watch a minor league game to look forward towards the future.

Keep an eye on the Mets at the trade deadline because David Wright, Johan Santana and Jason Bay will all be in play at the right price, which for Bay is not much.

No. 27: Chicago Cubs

2011 Record: 71-91

Major Offseason Moves

Theo Epstein becomes the new President of Baseball Operations

Traded Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Min Na to the San Diego Padres for Anthony Rizzo and Zach Kates

Traded Sean Marshall to the Cincinnati Reds for Travis Wood and two minor leaguers

Traded Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu to the Colorado Rockies for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers

Signed Paul Maholm

2012 Outlook

Take an already bad team and then take away Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Pena and Sean Marshall. This season will not be a fun one for the Cubbies.

Starlin Castro is still a future superstar but as of now he has little help.

Theo Epstein has made some great moves for the future, including trading two relievers for Anthony Rizzo and Travis Wood, as well as getting Ian Stewart.

Look for Theo to get a great deal for Matt Garza at the trade deadline, some desperate contender will overpay for him.

No. 26: Baltimore Orioles

2011 Record: 69-93

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Wei-Yin Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada

Signed Endy Chavez and Darron O'Day

Traded Koji Uehara to the Texas Rangers for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter at the 2011 trade deadline

2012 Outlook

The Baltimore Orioles have serious offensive talent. Most teams would love to have a core of players that include Matt Wieters, JJ Hardy, Mark Reynolds, Nick Markakis Brian Roberts and Adam Jones.

Too bad they have a very young and very raw rotation and a weak bullpen.

Their rotation has potential to be good in the near future but not in 2012. Their bullpen on the other hand should be shredded and started over from scratch.

It also does not help that they have to play in the same division as the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays.

No. 25: Minnesota Twins

2011 Record: 63-99

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Josh Willingham

2012 Outlook

Health is the key for the Minnesota Twins. If Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer can stay healthy and get back to their MVP forms this team would be much higher on this list but I cannot trust that to happen. For now they will stay here but there is an asterisk.

Ben Revere has shown flashes and Josh Willingham will help soften the losses of Kubel and Cuddyer.

If the Twins start off slow look for a fire sale to commence, with players like Francisco Liriano likely to be traded.

No. 24: San Diego Padres

2011 Record: 71-91

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Mike Adams to the Texas Rangers for Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland at the 2011 trade deadline

Traded Mat Latos to the Cincinnati Reds for Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal, Edison Volquez and Brad Boxberger

Traded Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez to the Chicago White Sox for Carlos Quentin

2012 Outlook

The strength of this team used to be its bullpen but with Heath Bell and Mike Adams out of town that is not the case.

Cameron Maybin, Chase Headley, Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal are now the future of San Diego.

The Padres got a King's Ransom for Mat Latos and got Carlos Quentin at a bargain but they traded Anthony Rizzo for a very low price, although the addition of Alonso will stop that from hurting too much.

The Padres go better this offseason but do not expect them to compete just yet.

No. 23: Seattle Mariners

2011 Record: 67-95

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Michael Pineda and Jose Campos to the New York Yankees for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi

Traded Doug Fister and David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush and Francisco Martinez at the 2011 trade deadline

Signed Hasashi Iwakuma

2012 Outlook

The Seattle Mariners are slowly but surely building a team around Felix Hernandez.

The offense will be led by Jesus Montero, Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Trayvon Robinson and of course Ichiro Suzuki in 2012.

The pitching staff, on the other hand, is not so lucky. King Felix is a Cy Young Award winner and Danny Hultzen might make the Opening Day roster but Michael Pineda will be tough to replace because Taijuan Walker and James Paxton are not ready yet.

The Mariners are improving but do not expect them to leapfrog the Angels or Rangers in 2012.

No. 22: Pittsburgh Pirates

2011 Record: 72-90

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Erik Bedard

2012 Outlook

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been historically bad, in fact they have not finished at or above .500 since 1992.

The Pirates went into the All-Star break in first place in the NL Central but they fumbled down the stretch and again had a losing record.

Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon and Luis Heredia should all be frontline starters in the future. I even expect Cole to reach the majors in 2012.

The Pirates will likely not compete in 2012 but a postseason berth in 2013 is not out of the question.

No. 21: Chicago White Sox

2011 Record: 79-83

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Carlos Quentin to the San Diego Padres for Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez

Traded Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahan to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart at the 2011 trade deadline

Traded Sergio Santos to the Toronto Blue Jays for Nestor Molina

2012 Outlook

Take away a team's ace, sign an underachieving lefty to a big extension and trade away a big bat and you get regression.

That is exactly what the White Sox did this offseason.

On top of that, Paul Konerko is not getting any younger and both Adam Dunn and Alex Rios had awful 2011 seasons. Could those two possibly be any worse in 2012? Unlikely, but I highly doubt they will come anywhere near their expectations entering 2011.

The White Sox may be in one of the easier divisions in the majors but I do not expect them to make a push to the postseason in 2012.

No. 20: Colorado Rockies

2011 Record: 73-89

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Michael Cuddyer

Signed Ramon Hernandez

Traded Ubaldo Jiminez to the Cleveland Indians for Drew Pomeranz and Alex White at the 2011 trade deadeline

Traded Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers to the Chicago Cubs for Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu

2012 Outlook

Troy Tulowitzki is a superstar and Carlos Gonzalez is not far behind him but other than that this team is thin.

Cuddyer is a nice pickup and Todd Helton is still at first base.

Drew Pomeranz looks like an ace, which makes the Jiminez deal a very good one.

Jhoulys Chacin is also somebody to get excited about after his great 2011 rookie campaign.

No. 19: Kansas City Royals

2011 Record: 71-91

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Jonathan Broxton

Traded Melky Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants for Jonathan Sanchez

2012 Outlook

The Kansas City Royals will be a team to watch in 2012 and beyond. They may not compete in 2012 but 2014 or 2015 is well within their grasps.

Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler have the makings of a great middle of the order.

Mike Montgomery and Luke Hochevar can make a potent front of the rotation. Jonathan Sanchez can be a little erratic at times but he has talent as was brought in to help the Royals' young pitchers develop and to anchor the rotation while they are learning.

Jonathan Broxton was brought in to help out Joakim Soria in the bullpen and should create a good veteran duo to help guide this very young, yet very talented, Kansas City team.

No. 18: Cleveland Indians

2011 Record: 80-82

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Drew Pomeranz and Alex White to the Colorado Rockies for Ubaldo Jiminez at the 2011 trade deadline

Traded minor leaguer Chris Jones for Derek Lowe

2012 Outlook

The Cleveland Indians gave up way too much for Ubaldo Jiminez but they still found their ace in 2011. Justin Masterson is going to be a special pitcher.

Grady Sizemore is a big question mark but there is little risk. If he is healthy he should be back to his All-Star ways but if he is not his contract is so incentive-heavy that it will cost the Indians next to nothing.

The Indians looked like major players in the AL Central in 2011, they even traded for Jiminez at the deadline, but they faltered as the season progressed.

Their 2012 season should be better than 2011 but with the ever-improving AL it will be tough to make the playoffs, even if they institute the two wild-card team system in 2012 instead of 2013.

No. 17: Los Angeles Dodgers

2011 Record: 82-79

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Chris Capuano

Signed Aaron Harang

2012 Outlook

If you have arguably the best hitter and pitcher in the majors you have a good starting point.

Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are great cornerstones for the Dodgers' franchise.

Outside of those two they have Dee Gordon, Andre Ethier and James Loney on the offensive side of the ball and Javy Guerra shutting the door in the ninth inning.

The Dodgers showed their potential by winning nine of their last 12 games in 2011 but it was too late to make the playoffs. The playoffs may be just a little out of reach in 2012 for the Dodgers but they are getting closer.

No. 16: Milwaukee Brewers

2011 Record: 96-66

Major Offseason Moves

Ryan Braun will likely be suspended for 50 games for a positive PED test.

Signed Aramis Ramirez

2012 Outlook

This was by far the hardest team to rank, it killed me to rank the Brewers this low.

Prince Fielder, who hit 40 home runs a year, left for Detroit and NL MVP Ryan Braun will likely miss the first 50 games of the season due to a positive PED test, pending an appeal.

Those two losses destroys their offense but there is hope. Corey Hart looked promising in 2011 and their pitching staff was excellent.

Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo and Shaun Marcum create a very good front of the rotation and John Axford was arguably the best reliever in the NL in 2011. If his 46 saves, tied for first in the NL, is not enough his 1.95 ERA in hitter-friendly Miller Park should be.

The Brewers will experience a drop off but how much is hard to tell. I considered ranking them as high as No. 11 but I feel this is where they belong.

No. 15: Cincinnati Reds

2011 Record: 79-83

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Yonder Alonso, Brad Boxberger, Yasmani Grandal and Edison Volquez to the San Diego Padres for Mat Latos

Traded Travis Wood to the Chicago Cubs for Sean Marshall

Signed Ryan Madson

2012 Outlook

The Cincinnati Reds are looking to make a run at the NL Central due to the weakening of the St Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.

They traded Travis Wood for a very good lefty reliever, gave up a King's Ransom for Mat Latos and got a huge bargain in Ryan Madson.

I think the Reds are saying that they may not have Joey Votto for long so they want to contend for as long as they have him.

No. 14: Washington Nationals

2011 Record: 80-81

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Brad Peacock, AJ Cole, Derrick Norris and Tommy Milone to the Oakland Athletics for Gio Gonzalez

2012 Outlook

The Washington Nationals are a rising team. Stephen Strasburg will be back for a full season after missing most of 2011 due to Tommy John surgery, Jordan Zimmerman is a great young pitcher and they acquired Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland Athletics.

We may get our first look of Bryce Harper in the majors in 2012, and if he can live up to his potential watch out because there may not be much competition for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

Ryan Zimmerman is still an elite third baseman, Michael Morse is arguably the second-best first baseman in the NL behind Joey Votto, and Jayson Werth cannot possibly get worse, can he?

No. 13: San Francisco Giants

2011 Record: 86-76

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Zack Wheeler to the New York Mets for Carlos Beltran at the 2011 trade deadline

Traded Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez to the New York Mets for Angel Pagan

Traded Jonathan Sanchez to the Kansas City Royals for Melky Cabrera

2012 Outlook

The San Francisco Giants have a great rotation with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and ummm... Barry Zito?

OK, Zito is not very good but their first four pitchers are all very good to elite.

Their offense is another story. Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Melky Cabrera are already very good and Brandon Belt has talent but other than that who do they have? Gary Brown is probably a year away.

The Giants won the World Series in 2010 and have a great rotation that can carry them.

No. 12: Toronto Blue Jays

2011 Record: 81-81

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahan

Traded Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel, and Marc Rzepczynski  to the St Louis Cardinals for Colby Rasmus at the 2011 trade deadline

Signed Darren Oliver and Francisco Cordero

Traded Nestor Molina to the Chicago White Sox for Sergio Santos

2012 Outlook

The Toronto Blue Jays have so much talent, let's just see if they can put it all together.

We all thought they won the rights to Yu Darvish but that turned out to be false as the Texas Rangers had actually won. They still have a good rotation with Ricky Romero leading the way and flamethrower Brandon Morrow sitting right behind him.

They also bolstered their weak bullpen by signing Oliver, Cordero and Santos. Their bullpen is no longer a big issue after those signings.

Their offense is what really impresses me. Jose Bautista is one of the best players in the majors and players like Brett Lawrie, Colby Rasmus and JP Arencibia having serious talent.

Travis D'Arnaud and Anthony Gose could be up in 2012, which will only add to their stockpile of young talent.

No. 11: Miami Marlins

2011 Record: 72-90

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Ozzie Guillen

Signed Mark Buehrle

Signed Jose Reyes

Moved Hanley Ramirez to third base

Traded Chris Volstad to the Chicago Cubs for Carlos Zambrano

2012 Outlook

The Miami Marlins went from basically irrelevant to a borderline top 10 team within a month.

They started out by bringing in Ozzie Guillen and then signing Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes. Hanley Ramirez did not want to move to third base at first but it looks like he is okay with it as of right now.

They then brought in the highly-volatile but talented Carlos Zambrano to put with Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Anibal Sanchez and Ricky Nolasco in their rotation.

Josh Johnson is a bona fide ace... when healthy. That has been his big problem throughout his career. His career 2.98 ERA is impressive to say the least but his 119 innings pitched per season for his career is not. If he can stay healthy this rotation will be very good in 2012.

The offense is just as good, if not better.

Mike Stanton is the best young pure power hitter in the majors, Logan Morrison has serious talent, Hanley Ramirez is a MVP candidate at times and Jose Reyes is one of the best leadoff hitters in the game when his hamstring is healthy.

No. 10: St. Louis Cardinals

2011 Record: 90-72

Major Offseason Moves

Tony LaRussa retired

Traded Colby Rasmus to the Toronto Blue Jays for Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel, and Marc Rzepczynski at the 2011 trade deadline

Signed Carlos Beltran

2012 Outlook

After Albert Pujols leaving town and Tony LaRussa retiring, a lot of people are writing off the St Louis Cardinals. I am not one of them. It will be tough to replace those two, which is why I have them as a borderline top 10 team, but I believe they can do it.

The Cardinals won the World Series without their ace in Adam Wainwright and they signed Carlos Beltran to ease the offensive hole left by the departure of Albert Pujols.

John Mozeliak may have been right to not match the Angels insane 10-year $254 million offer to Albert Pujols but that does not mean his departure will not hurt.

The Cardinals are still the cream of the crop in the NL Central, especially with Prince Fielder leaving the Brewers.

No. 9: Atlanta Braves

2011 Record: 89-73

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Jordan Schafer and three minor leaguers for Michael Bourn at the 2011 trade deadline

Traded Derek Lowe for minor leaguer Chris Jones

2012 Outlook

Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Randall Delgado and Arodys Vizcaino create one of the best cores of young pitchers I have seen in quite some time. Throw in a great veteran in Tim Hudson and this rotation is scary.

The Braves bullpen is amongst the best in baseball. Most people remember rookie Craig Kimbrel, who was tied for the most saves in the NL, but how about Eric O'Flaherty, who led the majors in ERA, and Jonny Veners? They create the best young bullpen in the majors.

Expect the Braves offense to take off in 2012 with the likes of Freddie Freedman, Dan Uggla, Brian McCann, Michael Bourn—and yes—Jason Heyward leading the way.

After a horrible sophomore campaign Heyward will explode in 2012. Expect a Justin Upton-type breakout season with at least 30 home runs and a .280 batting average for the 22-year-old right fielder.

No. 8: Tampa Bay Rays

2011 Record: 91-71

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Carlos Pena, Luke Scott and Jeff Keppinger

2012 Outlook

The Tampa Bay Rays can flat out pitch. Jeremy Hellickson may not have the peripheral stats to re-produce his 2.95 ERA in 2011 and James Shields may have had by far his best season of his career in 2011 but they along with ace David Price and super prospect Matt Moore create one of the best rotations in the majors.

The Rays offense is far from elite but an offense led by Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist and Desmond Jennings will score enough runs to give the Rays pitchers enough room to work with.

With BJ Upton set to be a free agent after this season expect him to be traded at the deadline even if the Rays are still in contention, look for the Washington Nationals to make a big offer for him.

No. 7: Arizona Diamondbacks

2011 Record: 94-68

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Jason Kubel

Traded Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill and Ryan Cook to the Oakland Athletics for Trevor Cahill

2012 Outlook

Take ace Ian Kennedy and youngster Daniel Hudson and then add Trevor Cahill and you have yourself a great front of the rotation. Now, add Joe Saunders Josh Collementer and you have a very good rotation.

The addition of Jason Kubel will help their offense but with Kubel, Justin Upton and Chris Young locked up as the three outfielders expect 2011 Gold Glove winner Gerardo Parra to be traded.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have quietly put together a great offense led by 2011 MVP candidate Justin Upton. After him you have young slugger Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Montero, Stephen Drew and Ryan Roberts.

JJ Putz also gives them a good closer to help anchor the bullpen.

No. 6: Detroit Tigers

2011 Record: 95-67

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Prince Fielder

Victor Martinez will miss the 2011 season due to a torn ACL.

Miguel Cabrera will move to third base.

Traded Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush and Francisco Martinez to the Seattle Mariners for Doug Fister and David Pauley at the 2011 trade deadline

Signed Octavio Dotel

2012 Outlook

The Detroit Tigers had one of the best teams in the majors with Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera leading the way, then they lost Victor Martinez. The team looked crippled for the 2012 season and then just days later they inked Prince Fielder to a huge nine-year $214 million deal. They were back in contention.

People think the Prince Fielder deal makes them favorites but I do not buy it because losing Victor Martinez is a huge blow. Fielder will likely hit 20 to 25 more home runs in 2012 than Martinez did in 2011 but he will also likely hit for a much lower average.

Brennan Boesch will be back in 2012 and will be a great No. 2 hitter, especially with Miguel Cabrera protecting him form the three-hole.

Justin Verlander is still the second-best pitcher in baseball, I have to give the honor of best pitcher to Clayton Kershaw, and Doug Fister was a great addition to their rotation but outside of those two who do they have?

Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer are decent at best and while Jacob Turner has potential I do not expect him to show that potential in his rookie season.

The Tigers bullpen also has holes. Valverde may have gone 49 for 49 in save opportunities but he was far from perfect in 2011. He also went 2-4 in non-save opportunities and as much as I hate sabermetric stats his 3.55 FIP and 4.01 xFIP in 2011 are troubling.

Joaquin Benoit and Al Alburquerque both looked excellent in 2011, let's just hope they can repeat that success in 2012.

No. 5: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2011 Record: 86-76

Major Offseason Moves

Signed CJ Wilson

Signed Albert Pujols

2012 Outlook

The Los Angeles Angels signed the best player in the game in Albert Pujols and created a fearsome foursome atop their rotation by adding CJ Wilson to a rotation featuring Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana.

The Angels may have a great rotation but they will have to rely heavily on it because their bullpen is nothing special. Jordan Walden looks promising and Scott Downs had an excellent 2011 season but outside of those two the bullpen is nothing to say the least.

Their offense outside of Albert Pujols is largely unproven. Kendrys Morales is coming off a major ankle injury and Mark Trumbo had a sub-.300 OBP in 2011. Both will not be able to play in 2012, expect one of them to be traded and the other to DH.

The rest of the lineup consists of aging stars, such as Tori Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells, and young prospects, such as Peter Bourjous and Mike Trout.

No. 4: Boston Red Sox

2011 Record: 90-72

Major Offseason Moves

Traded Josh Reddick, Miles Head and Raul Alcantra to the Oakland Athletics for Andrew Bailey

Signed Cody Ross

John Lackey will miss the 2011 season due to Tommy John surgery.

2012 Outlook

The Boston Red Sox had a historic collapse in September of 2011 and failed to make the playoffs but are still an elite team.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz create the best one through four hitters in the majors. Do not sleep on Carl Crawford in 2012, either. He was dreadful in 2011 and he will improve in 2012.

However, they are not without their concerns. Kevin Youkilis is a good player when healthy, the keyword is "when" since he has never played in 150 games in one season and in the last three years he has averaged 119 games played per season.

Jon Lester is Boston's ace, he may not have an ERA around 3.00 like a normal ace but he gets the job done. Josh Beckett is inconsistent to say the least but he showed how dominant he can be in 2011. Clay Buchholz is coming off a serious back injury that cost him the second half of the season but he should be back to his normal self in 2012.

The final two spots in their rotation will most likely be filled by Alfredo Aceves and Daniel Bard, barring the Red Sox signing Edwin Jackson or Roy Oswalt. Two relief pitchers in the rotation will be tough but I have seen crazier things.

Losing Jonathan Papelbon will be tough but I think Andrew Bailey is up for the task and Melancon is ready to take over for Daniel Bard, who will move to the rotation.

No. 3: Texas Rangers

2011 Record: 96-66

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Yu Darvish

Signed Joe Nathan

Traded Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland to the San Diego Padres for Mike Adams at the 2011 trade deadline

Traded Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter to the Baltimore Orioles for Koji Uehara at the 2011 trade deadline

2012 Outlook

The Texas Rangers have been to two straight World Series' and are an elite team in the majors.

After the 2010 season they lost Cliff Lee and people wrote them off from making another World Series, well they made the 2011 World Series. Now, after they lost CJ Wilson to the Los Angeles Angels people said the same thing. I am not one of those people.

The Rangers may not have an ace, Yu Darvish has that potential but I highly doubt he will be more than a middle of the rotation starter in 2011 as he adjusts to Texas, but they have five capable starters and a good bullpen. Neftali Feliz will move to the rotation and Mike Adams will become the closer, with Joe Nathan becoming the setup man.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The Rangers have one of the best lineups from top to bottom. How many teams can say their seventh batter had the second-highest OPS in the majors?

Josh Hamilton will be entering his contract year and we all know how that can motivate people to go all out on every single play.

No. 2: New York Yankees

2011 Record: 97-65

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Hiroki Kuroda

Traded Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos

Jorge Posada retired

2012 Outlook

Take a 97-win team in 2011, then add two very good starting pitchers in Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda in order to bolster their rotation. Now give them a healthy Alex Rodriguez and what do you get? The best team in the AL.

The New York Yankees had a weak rotation in 2011, but not anymore. Pineda has ace potential and Kuroda posted a 3.07 ERA in 2011, albeit in the NL West in Dodger Stadium. They will join a proven ace in CC Sabathia, a very promising Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia, AJ Burnett or Phil Hughes in the rotation.

The Yankees had the best bullpen in the AL in 2011, they posted a 3.12 ERA as a whole. They were led by the the great Mariano Rivera and David Robertson, who posted a 1.08 ERA in 2011. The scary thing about their bullpen is that they could get even better with a healthy Rafael Soriano and Joba Chamberlain.

The Yankees offense will be great as always. Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira form arguably the best middle of the order in the majors. Derek Jeter may be 37 years old but he had a .327 batting average after the All-Star break in 2011. Brett Gardner is a threat to steal 50 bases and is one of the elite defensive outfielders in the majors.

This team has World Series serious aspirations and should be knocking on the World Series door in October 2012.

The AL is very close. You could legitimately argue that the Rangers, Angels, Tigers or Red Sox deserve the No. 2 spot in this power ranking but I am going to give the nod to the Yankees.

No. 1: Philadelphia Phillies

2011 Record: 102-60

Major Offseason Moves

Signed Jim Thome

Traded Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton for Hunter Pence at the 2011 trade deadline

2012 Outlook

The Philadelphia Phillies may have been disappointing in the postseason but they showed their dominance in the regular season as the only 100-plus win team in the majors.

They may lose Roy Oswalt in free agency but they still have their so-called "Phour Aces" with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and the up-and-coming Vance Worley.

The loss of Ryan Howard for part of the 2012 season due to a torn Achilles tendon will be difficult to overcome but Hunter Pence for an entire season will help. John Mayberry, Jr looks very promising and the addition of Jonathan Papelbon should help solidify their bullpen.

The Phillies should win the much-improved NL East and win home-field advantage in the NL.