MLB Free Agent/Trade Speculation 2012: Holes Each Team Still Needs to Fill

Rejoice!

Baseball has officially arrived!

Well, maybe rejoicing is a bit too much, depending on what team you're a fan of.

For many, the beginning of a new season brings with it renewed excitement and optimism that this is the year that the team puts it all together and makes a run at a World Series title.

For others, the beginning of a new season brings with it a reminder of just how far away from contending your favorite team actually is.

But for all teams, nothing is perfect. There's always something that can be improved upon.

Lets take a look at some of those areas.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Backup Catcher

After missing much of 2010 due to injury, Miguel Montero rebounded nicely in 2011, earning his first All-Star berth and re-establishing himself as one of the best young catchers in the league, catching 140 games.

But what if Montero were to suffer another injury?

Henry Blanco, who was solid over 274 innings in place of Montero, is 40 years old. There is no possible way that he could handle the day-to-day catching duties.

By their own admission, they do not have a catcher in the system who is capable of shouldering the load. They have targeted 10 to 15 catchers around the league who they have varying levels of interest in should Montero leave the team as a free agent following this season. (Per FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal)

The Diamondbacks would be wise to make a move for one of those catchers sooner rather than later.

Atlanta Braves: Shortstop

At some point in the future, the Atlanta Braves will sit down and figure out whether Tyler Pastornicky or Andrelton Simmons is their shortstop of the future—and what to do with the loser in that battle.

But that's a conversation that should be taking place following this season, one where both Pastornicky and Simmons continue to develop in the Braves minor league system.

Instead, Pastornicky is being thrust into the spotlight as the Braves' Opening Day shortstop, a move that is increasingly puzzling considering manager Fredi Gonzalez's apparent lack of confidence in the 22-year-old in comments he made to Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "We’ll let him play...We’re comfortable until he makes us uncomfortable, but right now we’re moving forward."

Really? That certainly isn't a vote of confidence in Pastornicky, who essentially showed the Braves, and anyone else who was paying attention this spring, that he's ill equipped to handle big-league pitching by posting a .221/.270/.250 hitting line.

So the question becomes what happens when Rodriguez becomes uncomfortable with Pastornicky playing shortstop? Will they throw fellow prospect Andrelton Simmons, he of the equally embarrassing .186/.271/.233 hitting line this spring, to the wolves, only to be chewed up and spit back out?

Frank Wren dropped the ball by not bringing in a veteran for one season while they allowed Pastornicky and Simmons to develop in the minors.

Baltimore Orioles: Starting Pitching

Jeremy Guthrie wasn't flashy, but he was reliable.

Buck Showalter knew that every fifth day, Guthrie would take the ball and give the Orioles six solid innings of work.

But with Guthrie gone, the "ace" of the Orioles staff is 26-year-old Jake Arrieta, veteran of 40 major league starts and owner of a career 4.88 ERA and 1.49 WHIP.

It doesn't get better from there, as the rest of the rotation has been equally as inept over the course of their careers: Jason Hammel (4.99 ERA/1.47 WHIP), Brian Matusz (5.53 ERA/1.51 WHIP), Tommy Hunter (4.50 ERA/1.33 WHIP) and Wei-Yin Chen, who has yet to appear in a major league game.

That's not to say that there isn't promise amongst the group—Arrieta, Hunter, Matusz and Chen all have fairly significant upsides, but a steady veteran presence at the front of the rotation would go a long way in aiding their development...and keeping the Orioles in some games.

Boston Red Sox: Back of the Rotation

When Jonathan Papelbon left for Philadelphia, most assumed that Daniel Bard would slide into the role that he had seemingly been groomed for. Instead, the Red Sox went out and traded for Houston's Mark Melancon and Oakland's Andrew Bailey, both fine relief pitchers who have had success as closers before.

So when news broke that Andrew Bailey would be out for the season after undergoing thumb surgery, many assumed that Melancon would take his place.

Not so fast.

Alfredo Aceves, owner of four career saves, has been tagged by Bobby Valentine to serve as the team's closer, with Melancon filling in when Aceves can't go, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

Aceves was a candidate for one of the final two spots in the Boston rotation, losing out to Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard.

That's the same Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard who have appeared in a combined 285 major league games since the start of the 2009 season, making a grand total of three starts.

I'm not saying that the duo cannot do the job, because the jury is still out on both of them. But it doesn't bode well for the Red Sox that 40 percent of their starting rotation has virtually no experience starting.

Signing Roy Oswalt makes more and more sense for this team with each passing day. Even if it takes him two months to get into game shape, get the process started now.

Chicago Cubs: Back of the Rotation

After Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster and Jeff Samardzija—who was impressive this spring in his first attempt at starting—the last two spots in the Cubs rotation are, for lack of a better term, pretty bad.

Maybe this is an unfair criticism, simply because Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer surely had no aspirations of fielding a contending team this year, in what is the beginning of the rebuilding process.

That being said, at the end of the season, Cubs manager Dale Sveum will likely be able to count on one hand how many quality starts he got out of the pair—and that's not a good thing.

Chicago White Sox: Starting Pitching

John Danks is really a middle-of-the-rotation starter, but he's the ace in what is a pretty mediocre pitching staff.

It's questionable what you'll get out of Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd and Phil Humber and whether Chris Sale can successfully make the transition from reliever to starter remains to be seen.

All things considered, the White Sox really don't have a steadying presence in the rotation, and that could lead to an overworked bullpen and trouble for the White Sox.

Cincinnati Reds: Back of the Rotation

Mat Latos, Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake are all young, quality arms that comprise 60 percent of the Reds' starting rotation.

After that, Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey are, well, pretty bad.

Sure, the Reds are essentially stuck with Arroyo and his unmovable contract, but they've been waiting for Homer Bailey to live up to his considerable hype for five years, and he's yet to deliver.

The Reds could have a much stronger rotation by simply doing the intelligent thing and inserting Aroldis Chapman into the mix. But instead, the Cuban defector who can hit 100 miles per hour on a radar gun with ease finds himself stuck in the bullpen.

It simply makes no sense and creates a bigger hole than there needs to be.

Cleveland Indians: Left Field

The choice for the Indians easily could have been their starting rotation, which after Justin Masterson is highly questionable, but the situation in left field is equally as troubling.

Combined, Aaron Cunningham and Shelley Duncan hit .236 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI last season.

That's not good.

The Tribe did try to address the issue recently by almost acquiring Bobby Abreu from the Los Angeles Angels, a deal that fell apart when the teams couldn't agree on how much of Abreu's salary each side would pick up. (per Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times)

But even Abreu was a questionable decision—do you really want an outfielder who is afraid of the wall?

Signing Johnny Damon, who, while a liability in the field, can still produce with the bat, made sense months ago and still makes sense today.

Colorado Rockies: Starting Rotation

Having 49-year-old Jamie Moyer make the Colorado Rockies might be the feel-good story of the year, but it's bad news for a Rockies team that hoped to compete in the NL West.

Moyer is coming off of a year that he missed while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and it's not as if he was blowing hitters away at the age of 47.

Jeremy Guthrie is an innings-eater, nothing more, and the majority of the Rockies' remaining rotation spots are filled by average pitchers in Juan Nicasio and Jhoulys Chacin.

The lone bright spot in the rotation will be rookie Drew Pomeranz, who B/R experts believe will be in the thick of the NL Rookie of the Year race.

Colorado would have been better served finding a younger, more durable arm than Moyer.

Detroit Tigers: Second Base

For a team with virtually no holes, the one that they have is gaping in the middle of their infield.

The Tigers are going with a platoon at second base, using Ryan Rayburn against right-handed pitchers, Brandon Inge against left-handed pitchers and sprinkling in Ramon Santiago here and there. (per John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press).

This may not become an issue—after all, we are talking about one of the most powerful lineups in baseball and a team that is expected to go deep into the playoffs.

But finding a reliable, everyday answer at second base would have been a wise move for the Tigers this past winter.

Houston Astros: Everywhere Besides Second Base and Left Field

After J.D. Martinez in left field and Jose Altuve at second base—two youngsters with big upsides—the Astros roster is a gigantic hole.

The team is in the early stages of a major rebuilding process, so it's expected that they would have gaping holes around the field, so perhaps I would have been better off skipping over them.

For the Astros to take the next step, they need to find a way to rid themselves of Carlos Lee, Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez, veterans who could still have some value to other teams if the Astros picked up the majority of the money that they still have coming to them.

Kansas City Royals: Catcher

A hole created by injury is still a hole.

Salvador Perez, expected to be the Royals' starting catcher, blew out his knee and will be out of action until the All-Star break at the earliest, an injury that forced the Royals to trade for Humberto Quintero.

Quintero will split time with Brayan Pena. While both are solid defensive catchers, neither one contributes much with the bat.

For an up-and-coming Royals team, that's not an idea situation.

Los Angeles Angels: Fifth Starter

It was only two weeks ago that Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Angels were on the hunt for another starting pitcher, and that tells you everything you need to know about how they view the last spot in their starting rotation.

Either rookie Garrett Richards or journeyman Jerome Williams will serve in that capacity to start the season, but it would not be surprising to see Angels GM Jerry DiPoto go out and sign a veteran to fill the spot. It was only two weeks ago that ESPN's Jim Bowden reported that the Angels were the favorites to sign free agent Roy Oswalt, a move that would certainly fill the hole at the back of their rotation.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Back of the Rotation

Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano have both been serviceable major league pitchers for the majority of their careers.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the two of them have a penchant for giving up the long ball—and doing so in stadiums that are known to be pitchers parks—PETCO Park in San Diego and Citi Field in New York, respectively.

Combined, the duo allowed 47 home runs last season: 20 for Harang, 27 for Capuano.

That's an ominous sign as they both move to Dodgers Stadium, which, while not a bandbox, is more prone to seeing home runs than either of their previous stomping grounds.

Miami Marlins: Catchers

John Buck and Brett Hayes are both fine defensive catchers, both with career numbers that are slightly above average behind the plate.

At the plate, however, it's a different story.

Buck has a career line of .241/.304/.412 and Hayes a career line of .225/.284/.417.

Both have middling power, but neither is adept at getting on base, nor are they a major concern for the opposition when they step to the plate.

With the duo hitting in the eighth spot in Ozzie Guillen's lineup, the Marlins essentially have two automatic outs at the bottom of their lineup between the catchers and the pitcher.

Minnesota Twins: Right Field

Ryan Doumit has spent the vast majority of his major league career behind a catcher's mask, yet in 2012 he's been pegged as the starting right fielder for the Minnesota Twins.

Doumit beat out fan favorites Trevor Plouffe and Ben Revere, and whether that speaks more to Doumit's ability to field the position or the ineptitude of Plouffe and Revere remains to be seen.

Either way, the situation is not a good one for the Twins, who had hoped to compete in a wide-open AL Central this season.

Milwaukee Brewers: First Base

Mat Gamel has never really had a chance to play for an extended period of time in the majors, so 2012 will certainly be a trial by fire as he attempts to replace Prince Fielder at first base.

But can Gamel actually play?

Should Gamel fail to perform, the Brewers don't have any other options except to move Corey Hart from right field to first base, and in doing so, they will force Carlos Gomez back into regular action.

Gomez can't hit a lick, so while the outfield defense might improve, the Brewers offense would take another hit.

If spring training is any indication, Gamel will provide power and little else—and that's not a good thing for a team that hopes to remain relevant in a wide-open NL Central division.

New York Mets: Fifth Starter

There are a couple of different areas we could have gone with the Mets, but Mike Pelfrey's presence leaves a major hole in what is otherwise a pretty decent starting rotation.

Pelfrey, once considered a top prospect by the organization, has seen his career enter into a downward spiral, and it's gotten to the point that the Mets considered releasing him, per Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.

At this point it's a matter of when, not if Pelfrey will become a liability in the Mets rotation and a decision will have to be made. The Mets have absolutely no other in-house options at the moment who could step in and take his place, so they'd have to look outside of the organization for a replacement.

New York Yankees: DH Against Right-Handed Pitching

As with some of the other teams in the league, this may be stretching a bit, because the Yankees simply don't have many holes.

An area of concern has to be the designated hitter spot against right-handed pitching, the role that they signed Raul Ibanez to fill.

Ibanez looked slow and lost most of the spring, missing fastballs that he at least would make contact with in past seasons.

Releasing Ibanez and going out to sign one of the other free-agent designated hitter types, whether it be Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui or Vladimir Guerrero, is always an option for the team, even one under a budget.

Oakland A's: Third Base

Initially, Scott Sizemore was slated to be the A's third baseman, but he's out for the season with a torn ACL.

Then it was part-time catcher Josh Donaldson who was penciled in at the position, but he's since been supplanted by Eric Sogard.

Neither of the three choices are ideal, but in the land of Moneyball, maybe Billy Beane knows something that the rest of us don't.

Philadelphia Phillies: Second Base

Freddy Galvis isn't Chase Utley, but then again, Chase Utley hasn't been Chase Utley over the past two seasons either.

Utley is sidelined with chronic tendinitis in both knees—not exactly what you want to hear about the unquestioned leader of your team, the man who hits third in your lineup and plays second base.

Galvis, a career .246 hitter in the minor leagues, can field the position well, and that's seemingly all that the Phillies are interested in. But he cannot replace Utley's production on offense, and the Phillies enter the season with essentially two automatic outs at the bottom of their lineup until Galvis proves otherwise.

If and when Utley returns, you have to wonder if he'll be able to play the position on a regular basis.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Shortstop

Over the past three seasons, Clint Barmes has hit .242 with a .303 on-base percentage and a .398 slugging percentage.

Those are pretty awful numbers, and for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team who hopes to make some noise in the wide open NL Central this season, Barmes is an odd choice to start at shortstop.

San Diego Padres: Starting Pitching

Of the five pitchers slotted into the Padres starting rotation, only two have career ERAs below 4.00: Tim Stauffer (3.95) and Cory Luebke (3.38).

Granted, they pitch in spacious PETCO Park, but with a weak Padres offense behind them, any run that the starters allow could be one run too many.

Luebke has the potential to turn into a front-of-the-rotation arm, but the rest of the Padres rotation is mediocre at best—and a mediocre pitching staff plus a mediocre lineup equals a mediocre season.

A big-time starter would help this team immensely.

San Francisco Giants: Second Base

Emmanuel Burriss is fast, so he's got that going for him.

Aside from that, he is a below-average defensive player and a mediocre hitter with no power whatsoever.

I understand that Freddy Sanchez, the man the Giants expected to fill the position, is still out as he recovers from shoulder surgery, but there's no guarantee that Sanchez will recover at all. If he does, what shape will he be in upon his return?

Ryan Theriot could play the position, but he's more valuable to the Giants in a utility role.

Seattle Mariners: Shortstop

Brendan Ryan is the starting shortstop for the Mariners; he of the .235/.296/.310 batting line over the past two seasons.

An average defensive player, Ryan struggles to get on base and has absolutely no power.

Their other choice, 30-year-old Japanese import Munenori Kawasaki, hit well in spring training, but is coming off of his worst professional season in Japan, where he posted a .267/.310/.327 line.

The Mariners have a future All-Star playing second base in Dustin Ackley. They'd be wise to find their shortstop of the future to pair with him sooner rather than later.

St. Louis Cardinals: Shortstop

It's not a question of if Rafael Furcal will get hurt, it's a question of when—and how much time will he miss in the process.

With Tyler Greene the only backup infielder on the roster, the Cardinals are woefully unprepared to handle an extended absence for Furcal.

Tampa Bay Rays: Closer

With Kyle Farnsworth likely to start the season on the disabled list while the Rays try and figure out what the problem with his elbow is, 35-year-olds Joel Peralta and Fernando Rodney become the two most likely candidates to take over as closer.

Peralta has two career saves to his name, while Rodney has closed in the past, saving 37 games for the Detroit Tigers in 2009 before being banished to middle relief with the Los Angeles Angels.

The last time Rodney's ERA was under 4.00 was 2006, when he had a 3.52 ERA for the Tigers. Peralta has seemingly found the fountain of youth, as he never had an ERA lower than 3.80 up until 2010.

Neither one is a long-term replacement for Farnsworth. The Rays may have to give some serious consideration to sliding one of their excess starting pitchers into the role.

Texas Rangers: Fifth Starter

The Rangers have a pretty complete team, so it's hard to find a weakness, but an area to keep an eye on will be how Neftali Feliz handles the transition from closer to starter, and conversely how Alexi Ogando handles the bullpen after starting last season.

It may behoove the Rangers to flip them again at some point this season should either one begin to show signs of trouble.

Toronto Blue Jays: Starting Pitching

After Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow, the Blue Jays rotation is full of question marks.

With Dustin McGowan starting the season on the disabled list and Brett Cecil in Triple-A, the Blue Jays are rolling out Henderson Alvarez, Joel Carreno and Kyle Drabek as their final three starting pitchers.

All three have promise and upside, but all three come with concerns that could become major issues in a powerful AL East that I, along with many, expect the Blue Jays to make a four-team race this season.

Washington Nationals: Center Field

Center field is a concern for the Nationals, but it's only a temporary one.

Neither Roger Bernadina nor Rick Ankiel are good enough to start in center field on a regular basis, and Bryce Harper is playing the position in the minors.

If Harper takes longer than expected to acclimate himself to the position, the Nationals will have to look outside of the organization for a replacement if they have any thoughts of competing for a playoff berth this season.