Every team’s 2017 roster is almost set with pitchers and catchers coming next week. So that means that most of the offseason moves have been done, and we can finally start completely evaluating how well teams have done during the offseason.
There was no marquee acquisition in the National East this offseason, but it was far from a mundane offseason for any of the division’s five teams. So with that being said, here are the NL East’s offseason standings:
1. Atlanta Braves
Added: R.A. Dickey, Bartolo Colon, Jaime Garcia, Sean Rodriguez, Micah Johnson
Lost: Mallex Smith, John Gant, Williams Perez, A.J. Pierzynski, Tyrell Jenkins
Atlanta is the only team in the division that substantially improved their team this offseason. Adding Colon, Dickey and Garcia to a rotation that already includes All-Star Julio Teheran gives this rotation a tremendous upside that could mean the Braves become the most improved team in baseball. Atlanta was 35-27 over the last 62 games of the season, so they could be a dark horse Wild Card contender this year.
2. Miami Marlins
Added: Edinson Volquez, Jeff Locke, Brad Ziegler, A.J. Ellis, Junichi Tazawa
Lost: Mike Dunn, Fernando Rodney, Chris Johnson, Jeff Francoeur, Jeff Mathis
The Marlins blew 29 saves last year, the second-most in the National League. They’ve shored up that need by adding Brad Ziegler to the back-end of that bullpen, and Junichi Tazawa should help them in middle relief. Miami has also added two serviceable starters to their rotation, and they’ve done so without losing any key contributors to last year’s team. But they will sure miss Jose Fernandez, as will every baseball fan.
3. New York Mets
Added: Ben Rowen, Tom Gorzelanny, Adam Wilk, Cory Burns
Lost: Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese (But is that really a loss?), James Loney (same with that one), Alejandro De Aza (and this one), Logan Verrett, and possibly Kelly Johnson
Sometimes, no news is good news. And that’s what the Mets are going to have to hope this year. They didn’t add anyone despite bringing back Yoenis Cespedes, Neil Walker, Fernando Salas and Jerry Blevins. But aside from Colon and Johnson they have pretty much every key contributor to last year’s team again this year. Everything for the Mets will rely on the rotation’s health.
4. Washington Nationals
Added: Adam Eaton, Derek Norris, Joe Nathan, Matt Albers
Lost: Wilson Ramos, Mark Melancon, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez
The only reason why they aren’t in last is because the Adam Eaton trade will definitely help them in the short term. As Mike Rizzo noted, he has a very good WAR, and has a statline a rotisserie baseball owner would kill for. Trading your top two prospects– including someone as elite as Lucas Giolito— may hurt in the long-term, but that probably won’t have much bearing this season. They also lost Wilson Ramos, who was key piece for them in 2016.
And that wasn’t even the worst aspect of Washington’s offseason. After talk arose that they were trying to trade for both Andrew McCutchen and Chris Sale, they ended up with neither. Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen both rejected them as well. In short, they got rejected more times than Beavis and Butt-Head when they glued hair to their face to get girls. No, nobody remembers that show?
But the worst part of their offseason was by far the fact that they did not add a closer. As things currently stand now, Shawn Kelley would be their closer. He has 11 career saves. The only other guy on their roster with extensive closing experience is Joe Nathan, a 42-year-old with nine appearances in the last two seasons. Outside of that, the rest of their bullpen is pretty abysmal. I wrote this article on why the 2017 Nationals look like the 2008 Mets, and as an impartial observer I must say it’s pretty accurate.
There are rumors that the Nats are in talks with the White Sox for David Robertson. If this deal were to go through, they’d probably one-up the Mets and Marlins on this list. If they don’t, it could be the undoing of their entire season.
5. Philadelphia Phillies
Added: Michael Saunders, Clay Buchholz, Joaquin Benoit, Howie Kendrick, Pat Neshek
Lost: Peter Bourjos, Ryan Howard, Cody Asche, Darin Ruf, Charlie Morton, A.J. Ellis
None of the players the Phillies acquired are particular difference makers. Michael Saunders was an All-Star last year, but he batted .201/.292/.367 after June 19. Kendrick could be a solid addition to the lineup, but he is coming off a year where he posted a career low in batting average. Buchholz, likewise, is also coming off of a down year. The Phillies are still rebuilding.
