Grading NL East Offseasons

The National League East saw a number of key additions and departures this offseason, potentially changing the power dynamics of the division. Today, we are going to take a look at how each team fared this offseason and grade their performances.

New York Mets – A

The Mets entered the offseason in a difficult situation, as a number of top contributors from their 101 win roster in 2022 were set to reach free agency. Despite losing players like Jacob deGrom and Chris Bassitt, New York was able to retain Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo among others, while reloading and replenishing the team in free agency to keep their title window open.

A discussion about the Mets’ offseason has to start with the signing of Justin Verlander. It’s nearly impossible to replace deGrom’s talent atop the rotation, but Verlander is about as good of an alternative as there is. He is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he put up a 1.75 ERA and 6.1 fWAR over 28 starts as part of a Cy Young and World Series-winning season. He will join forces with former Tigers teammate Max Scherzer this season and form a 1-2 punch that is among the best in the league.

Kodai Senga and José Quintana were the other additions to the Mets’ rotation in the wake of Bassitt and Taijuan Walker’s departures. Senga’s production is a bit of an unknown coming over from Nippon Professional Baseball, but he provides a ton of potential and experience and is worth the gamble as a middle-of-the-rotation arm. As for Quintana, he is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, in which he recorded a 2.93 ERA and 4.0 fWAR over 32 starts. He should have a seamless transition into the rotation and supply valuable innings as a back-end arm.

New York’s bullpen was set to be in a state of flux this offseason, but re-signing Diaz early on set the tone and was a move that simply had to be made. The team also brought back last year’s set-up man in Adam Ottavino, who finished 2022 with the second-lowest ERA total of his career (2.06) and added a pair of veterans in David Robertson and Brooks Raley as reliable late-inning options. The Mets also made it a priority to bring on relievers with minor-league options such as Elieser Hernández and Jeff Brigham to provide much-needed depth and upside.

The offense remained largely intact from last season outside of the signings of outfielder Tommy Pham and catcher Omar Narváez. Pham figures to fit in as a platoon bat against lefties while Narváez is likely going to enter a time share with Tomás Nido. It’s debatable whether or not the Mets did enough to bolster this area of the roster, especially as it pertains to adding power, and the whole Carlos Correa debacle doesn’t help things. However, that’s the only real criticism that can be made about yet another stellar offseason for New York.

Philadelphia Phillies – A-

Coming off a World Series appearance and their core locked up for the foreseeable future, the Phillies didn’t need to accomplish much to have a productive offseason. While they didn’t make an exorbitant number of moves, Philadelphia opted for a quality over quantity approach that made them an intimidating opponent once again for 2023.

The Phillies were all over the shortstop market from the beginning of the offseason and eventually landed Trea Turner, signing him to an 11-year, $300 million deal. Turner, who profiles as one of the league’s elite position players, will slot in at the top of a potent lineup and offers a perfect mix of speed, power and contact. He slashed .298/.343/.466 with a 128 wRC+ and 6.3 fWAR in 2022, and his plus defense at short will have positive ramifications up the middle for the Phillies, as it also allows Bryson Stott to move to second base.

Philadelphia also brought in former Met Taijuan Walker, who will slot into the middle of their rotation after the team lost Kyle Gibson, Zach Eflin and Noah Syndergaard. Walker had one of his best seasons to date in 2022, finishing with a 3.49 ERA and 2.5 fWAR over 29 starts.

Where Philadelphia did most of its work, though, was in the bullpen. The Phillies added lefty Matt Strahm during the Winter Meetings before later bringing in Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto as backend options. Soto, who the team acquired in a trade from the Tigers, is a high-upside option who recorded 30 saves for Detroit in 2022. His control issues often hurt him, but the Phillies’ experience with making José Alvarado work should give the team some confidence that they can do the same with Soto.

As for Kimbrel, he is coming off of a solid season with the Dodgers in which he put up a 3.75 ERA and 22 saves over 63 games. However, he struggled mightily in high leverage spots and thus has become less dependable in late game situations. He won’t be the primary closer in Philadelphia, but it bears watching whether or not he can turn things around in that regard.

Miami Marlins – B

The Marlins went into the offseason knowing that they needed to switch things up in order to contend for a playoff spot in 2023. While it took them a while to get things going, Miami came away with an improved and more balanced roster that could make them dark horses this season.

The addition of Luis Arraez, while costing the Marlins a front-of-the-rotation arm in Pablo López, was necessary. Miami has a surplus of arms and needed to acquire a top-of-the-order bat in whatever way they could, and Arraez provides them exactly that. He slashed .316/.375/.420 in 2022 on his way to a batting title and All-Star nod, and he immediately becomes one of the team’s best hitters.

Miami also signed Jean Segura to a two-year deal to be the team’s starting third baseman following the departure of former stalwarts Miguel Rojas and Brian Anderson. He has put up a wRC+ of 100 or better in six of his last seven seasons and can do a little bit of everything offensively, making his presence invaluable to a Marlins lineup that needs all the help it can get.

Veteran Johnny Cueto, who had a resurgence with the White Sox in 2022, is primed to take Lopez’s spot in the rotation and should give the Marlins a reliable veteran starter in what is a young group of arms. Miami also brought in a pair of established relievers in Matt Barnes and A.J. Puk to bolster a bullpen that looks to be one of the team’s strengths.

Atlanta Braves – B-

The Braves have positioned themselves to where they don’t need to make a splash in the offseason for it to be considered a success. A majority of their talent is slated to be in Atlanta for the foreseeable future, and despite losing one of their faces of the franchise in Dansby Swanson, the team still boasts one of the league’s better rosters.

Atlanta’s biggest addition this offseason was Sean Murphy, whom they acquired from the Athletics. While the deal cost them a young All-Star in William Contreras, Murphy is one of the best all-around catchers in the league and will help the Braves on both sides of the ball. He slashed .250/.332/.426 with a 122 wRC+ and 5.1 fWAR in 2022.

With the rotation largely remaining the same as it was in 2022 outside of Michael Soroka’s return, the bullpen is the only other area of the roster that underwent change for Atlanta. The team did lose its closer in Kenley Jansen, but they brought in Joe Jiménez and Lucas Luetge via trade to supplant the ‘pen following that loss. Luetge figures to be a middle reliever for the Braves, but Jiménez is in line to pitch important innings after he posted a 3.49 ERA, 2.00 FIP and 1.4 fWAR in 62 games for the Tigers last season.

The one question mark Atlanta failed to address is the shortstop position. Replacing Swanson is no easy task, and while Vaughn Grissom showed flashes as a rookie last season, having him and Orlando Arcia split time there feels as though it could backfire.

Washington Nationals – C+

It’s always tough to evaluate the offseason of a team like the Nationals, who are in the throes of a rebuild. However, they added some veterans and non-tenders that could play a sizeable role and be productive as they trudge on through the 2023 season.

Dominic Smith is the addition that’ll be of particular interest to Mets fans, as the former top prospect failed to gain any steam following a spectacular 2020 season in which he received MVP votes. He’s expected to be the team’s starting first baseman heading into spring training and has a prime opportunity to rebuild his value. Washington also signed another former Met in Trevor Williams, who should provide stability and a veteran presence to an inexperienced rotation after pitching to a 3.21 ERA over 30 games last season for New York.

Jeimer Candelario, who was non-tendered by the Tigers following a brutal 2022 campaign, provides upside for the Nationals as he slashed .271/.351/.443 with 3.9 fWAR in 2021 and has proven himself to be a plus-starter at points during his career. Stone Garrett, who was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks, had an impressive debut over a limited sample size in 2022 and is an intriguing option off Washington’s bench.

The Nationals’ hopes for the near future aren’t high, but they recruited some interesting names that could play themselves into becoming trade candidates or long-term pieces for the franchise.