MLB Teams Under the Most Pressure as the Winter Meetings Arrive
Every team enters MLB's annual winter meetings with a wish list. No one has addressed every need and shored up every weakness, be it a buyer or seller.
But as players, agents, general managers and the media descend on Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center beginning Sunday, some clubs will be hungrier than others. Some, in fact, will be downright famished.
While GMs and front-office decision-makers know enough to formulate plans and contingencies—and contingencies on top of those—a strong sense of urgency can begin to set in as free agents and trade targets fall off the board.
Every offseason has winners. Which means, inevitably, there will be losers as well.
It's too early to slap anyone with the "loser" label just yet. But as the meetings kick off and the deals start flying, here are six squads that face intense pressure to plug holes, make something happen and tick at least a few items off their winter wish lists.
San Diego Padres
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The San Diego Padres were the "it" team of the 2014-15 offseason under GM A.J. Preller, who made a flurry of signings and trades to reshape the roster and position the Pads for contention.
So much for that.
Instead, San Diego limped to a sub-.500 record and a distant fourth-place finish in the NL West. Now, Preller's job is to clean up the mess he made.
He got off to a solid start by shipping closer Craig Kimbrel to the Boston Red Sox and sending setup man Joaquin Benoit to the Seattle Mariners for a bushel of prospects, but his work is far from done.
He needs to shop other expensive veterans such as outfielder Matt Kemp and right-hander James Shields if this is truly a rebuild and then fill the Friars' glaring vacancy at shortstop in a thin market at that position.
It won't be easy, but it's necessary if Preller hopes to keep his job. Because, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times opined, what Preller has done so far "seems like a frenetic example of running in place."
Chicago White Sox
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Speaking of active offseasons that curdled into losing campaigns, the Chicago White Sox added multiple shiny pieces a year ago but wound up going 76-86, "good" for fourth place in the AL Central.
Now, the Sox have holes to fill in the infield, the starting rotation and the bullpen. And they need to shore up a defense that was the worst in baseball, according to FanGraphs.
General manager Rick Hahn had better get cracking, because he's in a division with the world champion Kansas City Royals, up-and-coming Minnesota Twins, pitching-rich Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers, who have already added right-hander Jordan Zimmermann and closer Francisco Rodriguez.
In words at least, Hahn seems to understand the urgency.
"We have not closed off any modes," he said Friday, per ESPN.com's Doug Padilla. "We are active both in trade conversations as well as with a handful of free agents."
As with San Diego, there are reasons to wonder if the White Sox can succeed where they failed last winter.
St. Louis Cardinals
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The St. Louis Cardinals finished 2015 with the best record in baseball, but the Chicago Cubs bounced them in the division series.
Now, the Cards risk letting the Cubbies slip past them again.
Already, Chicago has signed veteran right-hander John Lackey, a key piece of the Cardinals' rotation a year ago. Add the loss of Lance Lynn to season-ending Tommy John surgery, and St. Louis is in need of an arm at least.
The Cardinals are also facing a bidding war for outfielder Jason Heyward, who figures to draw widespread interest as a 26-year-old legit five-tool stud.
Heck, the Cubs might have a gap to plug if center fielder Dexter Fowler bolts via free agency. And while Heyward will be Brink's-truck expensive, signing him would be another chance for the upstart Cubbies and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to stick it to their archrivals.
Here's the bottom line: In a tough NL Central that also features the dangerous Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cardinals can't afford to rest on their laurels.
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New York Mets
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Fresh off a trip to the World Series, the New York Mets have questions aplenty.
Sure, the Amazins boast a stable full of young studs, a rotation they can ride fast and far. But with outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and second baseman Daniel Murphy both on the free-agent block, their lineup is fraught with uncertainty. The bullpen, too, could use bolstering.
If Cespedes and/or Murphy walk, the Mets will need to spend on capable replacements such as super-utilityman Ben Zobrist, who can play both second base and the corner outfield positions.
A trade of an arm like Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler seems unlikely, but New York should at least listen to offers if the return is good enough.
Oh, and these winter meetings will be set to the unfortunate backdrop of general manager Sandy Alderson's cancer diagnosis, which further complicates the picture. According to Marc Carig of Newsday, Alderson will be unable to attend the winter meetings and will have to work remotely, though Carig notes the GM "will lean heavily on his top lieutenants" and "will remain engaged in the decision-making process."
New York Yankees
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That other New York baseball club has issues of its own.
While the Boston Red Sox have traded for closer Craig Kimbrel and inked ace David Price, the Yanks have been eerily quiet, unless you count the under-the-radar trade that brought in outfielder Aaron Hicks.
That deal didn't begin to address the Bronx Bombers' needs, which include at least one starting pitcher (ideally a front-line arm), a right-handed power bat and possibly a second baseman.
With so much cash tied up in veterans such as Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees might not be serious players for the top-shelf free agents. But the trade market remains a possibility, as chatter around closer Andrew Miller and outfielder Brett Gardner "could rekindle," per the New York Post's George A. King III.
New York isn't the only AL East club with questions. In fact, every team in the division (including the Red Sox) has issues.
But if general manager Brian Cashman is planning to construct a roster that can get further than last season's wild-card one and done, he'd better get busy.
Los Angeles Dodgers
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First, the Los Angeles Dodgers watched co-ace and NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Greinke sign a mega-deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Then, the rival San Francisco Giants snatched up Jeff Samardzija, one of the second-tier starting pitching selections.
Now, Los Angeles is staring at one hole, at least, in its rotation and a dwindling list of options to fill it.
Johnny Cueto is still floating out there, but his price tag has surely skyrocketed with the deals Price and Greinke landed. And there will be competition for his services, even if the Dodgers go all-in.
Japanese stud Kenta Maeda is also an option, and there are a number of No. 2 and No. 3 quality names still on the free-agent and trade markets, though they could get snapped up quickly, as ESPN's Jayson Stark opined.
Los Angeles also needs to beef up its bullpen, and the trade speculation surrounding mercurial outfielder Yasiel Puig won't go away, even if president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is unlikely to sell low on the ultra-talented Cuban.
No matter what, the Dodgers will be players at the meetings. They're baseball's biggest spenders, after all, and this is the offseason's biggest stage to date.
All statistics current as of Dec. 5 and courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
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