We complete the National League section of our review of the MLB offseason so far by taking a look at the ins and outs among the NL East teams.
Philadelphia Phillies
There has been no change in approach in Philadelphia. They are intent on getting back to the World Series after a two-year absence, so they are continuing to plug any holes in their roster with established Major Leaguers.
The Phillies had two main gaps created by current players hitting free agency this offseason. At shortstop, Jimmy Rollins was re-signed on a three-year contract. As for the position of closer, they held talks with Ryan Madson about a potential return, only to sign Jonathan Papelbon on a four-year contract instead.
Roy Oswalt is still on the free agent market and it doesn’t look as though the Phillies are considering bringing him back, but they are not exactly struggling for starting pitchers so any hopes rivals may have of the team being weaker seem unlikely to be realised.
The one problem the Phillies do have is the achilles injury suffered by Ryan Howard on the very last play of the Phillies’ 2011 season. They have brought back Jim Thome to be a potent bat off the bench, but whether his ailing back will allow him to provide temporary cover for Howard at first base remains to be seen.
Atlanta Braves
It has been an eerily quiet offseason so far in Atlanta. The Braves have an enviable crop of young pitchers coming through, so major changes were never all that likely; however their fans would not be too greedy to hope for a signing or two to help get the bad taste of the team’s late season collapse out of their mouths.
And, more importantly, signings to try and prevent such a situation occurring in 2012.
Atlanta opened the offseason by trading away veteran starter Derek Lowe to the Indians and that initial move, alongside picking up their option on Eric Hinske, is basically all the business they have completed. An improvement in leftfield over Martin Prado and potentially a shortstop appear to be the key areas they would like to address, although rookie Tyler Pastornicky may be a viable option to fill the shortstop position internally.Â
Starter Jair Jurjens has been repeatedly linked with trade moves away from Atlanta, so they may look to use their pitching depth to address their needs as other teams assess their options once the main free agent starters have come off the board.Â
Washington Nationals
The Nationals made one of the biggest free-agent signings of the 2010/11 offseason when they acquired Jayson Werth. In the 2011/12 offseason, they have been part of one of the biggest trades.
The Nationals acquired the much-sought-after Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland A’s for four prospects. Gonzalez will combine with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman to make a young and exciting front three in their rotation, with two from John Lannan, Ross Detwiler and Chien-Ming Wang likely to round out their starting pitching.
Washington agreed terms with utility player Mark DeRosa on a one-year contract just after Christmas, but it’s expected that there will be at least one more addition to the offence. The Nationals continue to be linked with Prince Fielder, although adding a centre fielder appears to be the team’s priority. The dream scenario for Nats fans would be to sign Fielder and then get some help for the outfield via a trade package including current first baseman Adam LaRoche; however that would probably be over-optimistic.
New York Mets
There’s little danger of Mets fans being over-optimistic this offseason. Pessimism and depression are much more likely as their team plots an uncertain financial future due to their owners being embroiled in the fall-out from the Madoff investment scandal.
The one player capable of lighting up even a disappointing year such as 2011 was Jose Reyes, but he will now be wearing a Miami Marlins uniform after he left the Mets as a free agent. David Wright has also been linked with a trade away from Citi Field, although nothing appears imminent in that case.
The Mets have brought in three useful relievers in Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez, the latter acquired alongside outfielder Andres Torres in a trade with the San Francisco Giants that saw Angel Pagan head to AT&T Park. Otherwise, the main news has been the decision to bring in the outfield fences at Citi Field in a bid to make the ballpark a more neutral venue for pitchers and hitters.
British baseball fans may also have taken more notice than many others of the Mets’ decision not to tender a contract to catcher Ronnie Paulino. That decision makes it more likely that former Great Britain player Mike Nickeas will make the Opening Day roster as the back-up catcher, although he will face some competition in Spring Training after the Mets signed veteran Rob Johnson to a Minor League contract.
Miami Marlins
The only way is up for the re-named Miami Marlins, and that’s not just because they finished at the bottom of the NL East in 2011. They finally have the new ballpark that their Front Office stated was required for the team to compete on a consistent basis and they have wasted little time in strengthening their roster.
They have gone shopping on the free agent market and picked up a premium position player (Jose Reyes), an established quality starting pitcher (Mark Buehrle) and a leading closer (Heath Bell) in commitments that amount to a combined $191m. The Marlins also made an audacious bid to sign both Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, actually offering more money than both players signed for with the Angels.
It isn’t only the name, logo, uniforms, ballpark and manager (Ozzie Guillen has joined from the White Sox) that have changed in Florida. The skin-flint Marlins are no more and they still have money left to spend, so don’t be surprised if another impressive name or two is added to the roster before Opening Day.
