Stock Up, Stock Down on Preseason MLB Contenders Entering February
Football season ran out the clock. The groundhog showed his furry face. And baseball is right around the corner.
Yes, we've got another week-plus to endure before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. More trades will be consummated, more free agents will be signed.
Still, we're close enough to the start of the 2015 campaign to smell the grass and draw a few conclusions.
Like, say, which contenders increased their stock this winter and which clubs took a dive.
For our purposes, we'll focus on teams that qualified for the postseason in 2014. So no should've-beens (New York Yankees), almost-weres (Seattle Mariners) or might-bes (Chicago White Sox).
Also, we'll consider any additions or subtractions on their own, irrespective of what other squads in the same division or league did (or didn't do).
So who got better, who got worse and who stood pat? Let's break it down.
Baltimore Orioles
1 of 10
Stock: Even
The Baltimore Orioles won their first division title and advanced to their first American League Championship Series in 17 years in 2014.
The offseason has been less momentous.
The O's lost slugger Nelson Cruz, who signed with the Seattle Mariners, and outfielder Nick Markakis, who inked with the Atlanta Braves.
On the other hand, Baltimore is anticipating the return of catcher Matt Wieters and third baseman Manny Machado from injury and first baseman Chris Davis from an amphetamine suspension.
Another quandary: The Orioles enter camp without a clear leadoff hitter, though skipper Buck Showalter brushed that question aside with a tongue-in-cheek rejoinder, per Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun: "Somebody’s going to lead off Opening Day, I’ll bet you. Our guys don’t talk about it a lot."
What will be discussed ad nauseam is Baltimore's place in the wide-open AL East.
Detroit Tigers
2 of 10
Stock: Down
The Detroit Tigers rotation is worse entering 2015, even with last year's deadline acquisition, David Price, locked up for a record-smashing arbitration-eligible deal.
Max Scherzer, the 2013 Cy Young winner, is bound for the nation's capital after signing a seven-year, $210 million pact with the Washington Nationals.
And sinkerballer Rick Porcello is off to Boston in exchange for Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes.
Speaking of sluggers, nine-time All-Star, two-time AL MVP and one-time Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera is recovering from offseason ankle surgery.
Add lingering questions in the bullpen, and you've got a Tigers club hovering on the brink—still a legitimate contender, but pocked with question marks.
Kansas City Royals
3 of 10
Stock: Even
If the Kansas City Royals were the Cinderella squad of 2014, it's unclear whether they've found the glass slipper.
Yes, KC lost key pieces from its oh-so-close World Series run (Nori Aoki, Billy Butler) and is almost certain to miss out on ace James Shields, who remains on the market as of this writing but is highly unlikely to fall into the Royals' small-market lap.
Yet Kansas City has been quietly active on the free-agent market, inking outfielder Alex Rios, first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales and starters Edinson Volquez and Kris Medlen (who's recovering from Tommy John surgery).
Oh, and they still boast a shutdown pen and what Sam Miller of Baseball Prospectus termed possibly "the greatest defensive outfield of all time."
Enough for another fairytale Fall Classic run? Maybe. Enough to stay in the conversation? No doubt.
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Los Angeles Angels
4 of 10
Stock: Even
It's tempting to toss all of the Los Angeles Angels' hopes at Mike Trout's feet. And maybe that's fair; the 23-year-old stud did just win his first MVP award and guide his club to a division title.
But the Angels ran away with the AL West on more than Trout's dominance.
They also got exemplary starting pitching for much of the season, particularly from hard-throwing right-hander Garrett Richards, who went down with a season-ending knee injury Aug. 20.
Not coincidentally, Los Angeles was bounced in the American League Division Series.
If Richards logs a full season while maintaining his Cy Young form and other Angels (like outfielder Josh Hamilton) avoid the injury bug, expect the Halos to soar once again.
Oakland A's
5 of 10
Stock: Down
It was a busy offseason for the Oakland A's and general manager Billy Beane, who jettisoned four All-Star players (Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss, Derek Norris and Jeff Samardzija) and appeared, for all intents and purposes, to blow up the club after going all-in for a championship that didn't materialize.
Hang on, though. A's fans should know by now that their "Moneyball" guru always has a plan.
In this case, as Sporting News' Jesse Spector notes, Beane has added 36 years of team control to players on the 25-man roster.
Yes, they ditched productive fan favorites. But the A's have gotten younger and cheaper, a must for all spendthrift franchises.
At the same time, as Spector outlines, they could still make noise in 2015:
"The A’s are rebuilding on the fly, to avoid having to embark on a lengthier project down the road. There is enough talent still on hand to field a respectable roster in 2015 — a legitimate contender if things break right, which is part of the reason for adding [trade acquisition Ben] Zobrist — and with all the youth that has been added in trades, the future appears much brighter than it otherwise may have.
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Washington Nationals
6 of 10
Stock: Up
The Washington Nationals won 96 games last season and dominated the National League East.
All they've done this winter is sign Max Scherzer, the best pitcher on the market, to bolster an already stellar starting five.
Rumors will continue to swirl around the Nats' other arms, including impending free agents Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister and former No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg. If no deals go down before spring training, the chatter will intensify at the July trade deadline.
For the moment, however, Washington appears committed to keeping its newly minted super-rotation intact and making a legitimate championship push.
St. Louis Cardinals
7 of 10
Stock: Even
It's been a subdued winter in St. Louis.
Last year, the Cards flew to their fourth consecutive National League Championship Series before losing to the eventual champion San Francisco Giants. And they opened the offseason with a bang, sending pitcher Shelby Miller to the Atlanta Braves in a package that netted outfielder Jason Heyward.
The 25-year-old Heyward brings undeniable value, fresh off a season that saw him swipe 20 bases, win a Gold Glove and rack up 7.0 WAR, per Baseball-Reference.
But there is uncertainty in St. Louis, and it's centered on the right elbow of Adam Wainwright.
The 20-game winner recently played catch for the first time since going under the knife, per Stan McNeal of Fox Sports Midwest.
If there are no bumps in the road and Wainwright resumes duties as the Cardinals' unquestioned ace, there's no reason to doubt St. Louis' supremacy, even in a competitive NL Central.
If anything goes awry on the Wainwright front, watch the mood in Missouri switch from subdued to panicked in a heartbeat.
Pittsburgh Pirates
8 of 10
Stock: Up
The Pittsburgh Pirates aren't usually at the center of major offseason moves. They're the perennial low-rollers, the small-market also-ran that stays in the background, shuffling its feet.
Not so much this winter.
Pittsburgh began by re-signing left-hander Francisco Liriano to a three-year, $39 million deal. At the time, yours truly opined, the move signaled "a philosophical shift for the spendthrift Pirates."
Pirates GM Neal Huntington then proved me right by signing Korean slugger Jung Ho Kang to a contract Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette labeled a "bold leap of faith."
Then there are the players the Bucs have had all along, including four-time All-Star and 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen.
The end result? A team primed to shed the also-ran label and sail toward a third straight postseason berth.
Los Angeles Dodgers
9 of 10
Stock: Up
When Andrew Friedman jumped from the small-market Tampa Bay Rays to the Los Angeles Dodgers, owners of baseball's highest payroll, it was worth wondering if he'd behave like the proverbial kid in the candy store.
So far, the answer is no. During his first winter at the helm of the Dodgers, Friedman has displayed remarkable restraint, avoiding blockbuster trades and massive free-agent paydays and electing instead to engineer mid-level upgrades.
Case in point: the starting rotation.
With headliners Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu already in place, Friedman signed Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson to flesh out the starting five.
Not world beaters, but serviceable replacements for the parade of mediocrity LA endured in 2014.
Or how about second base, where Friedman quietly flipped speedy Dee Gordon and his 2.3 WAR (per Baseball-Reference) for Howie Kendrick and his 5.2 WAR.
Taken in isolation, these aren't the mega-splashes Dodgers fans were hoping for as they impatiently await their first championship in 26 years (and counting).
But they unequivocally illustrate the Friedman way: calculated, restrained, pragmatic and, just maybe, effective.
San Francisco Giants
10 of 10
Stock: Down
After three Commissioner's Trophies in five years, the San Francisco Giants have earned the benefit of the doubt.
So take the departure of beloved third baseman Pablo Sandoval and slugging outfielder Michael Morse in stride.
Watch as GM Brian Sabean replaces them with journeyman Casey McGehee and punchless ex-Royal Nori Aoki.
Gaze upon a starting rotation that features aging arms (Tim Hudson, Jake Peavy), a surgically repaired question mark (Matt Cain) and a downright enigma (Tim Lincecum).
Just make sure you stare long and hard at that trio of trophies, and enjoy a few Madison Bumgarner snot rockets while you're at it.
Yes, on paper the Giants are worse than they were a year ago. If you buy into the whole even-year mojo theory, you've already written 2015 off.
At the same time, say it again: Three trophies, five years…benefit of the doubt.
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