2019 Major League Baseball Preview
As the month of March rushes through, each day is another day closer to the start of the 2019 Major League Baseball season. With that being said, let’s take a look at how each division shapes up as the season draws closer.
Prior to the 2018 season, the AL East was being hyped as a season-long battle between the Red Sox and Yankees, and in the end, that proved to be the case. As the 2019 season nears close, it appears to be the same story in the American League East.
The Red Sox were mostly inactive in the offseason, and for good reason. The team already had a good balance of both hitting and pitching, and are well set for a chance to repeat as World Series champs.
Despite winning 100 games last year, the 2019 Yankees might be better than last year’s team, due to some key free agent pickups. Reliever Adam Ottavino and starting pitcher James Paxton were the big acquisitions, and under-the-radar pickup Troy Tulowitzki has been a pleasant surprise in spring training. This will be crucial for the Bombers, as they will be without Didi Gregorius for the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Rays were a huge surprise last year, as they were in the hunt for a wild card spot up until the end of September. Led by Cy Young winner Blake Snell, the young and analytic-leaning Rays has a chance to make another surprise playoff run. Toronto and Baltimore both are bottoming out, with the Orioles doing so at a historic level, and both are still a few years away from being competitive.
The Indians easily won the AL Central last year, taking advantage of one of the weakest divisions in baseball in 2018. The team made very few changes in the offseason, and the Indians should be the frontrunners once again as they look for their fourth straight AL Central title.
The AL Central team that made the most improvement in the offseason was the Twins, who added Nelson Cruz, Jonathan Schoop, Marwin Gonzalez, and C.J. Cron; and hired new manager Rocco Baldelli. The White Sox have a lot of young talent, but questions still remain as to whether the youngsters can mesh together and make a run at the division title. The Tigers and the Royals are both in rebuilding mode, and they should not a factor in the division title.
In 2018, the American League West was headlined by an American League juggernaut in the Houston Astros, and two surprising teams in the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners.
Out of the three teams previously mentioned, the team with the best chance to go back to the postseason are the Astros. With most of last year’s team returning, along with the addition of Michael Brantley, Houston should be primed for another deep run in the postseason.
The Athletics were a pleasant surprise last season, pulling off a run to a Wild Card spot despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the majors. Now, Oakland has everyone’s attention, and it will be interesting to see whether the Athletics can match their success from last year.
It’s hard for a team who has a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Mike Trout to not be a shoe-in for the World Series, but such is the case with the 2019 Angels. Even with Trout, it will be a challenge for the Angels to make the playoffs, as I believe they do not have enough talent around Trout to make it. The acquisitions they made in the offseason were questionable, like the addition of a somewhat-mediocre Matt Harvey, and are not enough to help convince Trout to sign long-term with LA.
Finally, both the Mariners and Rangers have evolved into rebuilding mode for 2019. Seattle started strong last year but fading towards the end and then in the offseason, they threw in the towel by trading away James Paxton, Robinson Cano, and Edwin Diaz, among others. Texas has a lot of young talent, but they need a couple years to grow up before they can be a contender.
In the past week, the entire outlook of the National League East changed completely with Phillies signing superstar Bryce Harper to one of the biggest free agents contracts in professional sports history. Now Philadelphia, who also signed JT Realmuto and Andrew McCutchen in the offseason, has set themselves as a frontrunner for the NL East Crown.
Even with all of the Phillies’ moves in the offseason, their not the only team that has a legitimate shot at winning the NL East.
The Braves won this division last year, and with their young talent a year older and with the addition of Josh Donaldson to the mix, they should be a threat for the division crown this year.
The Nationals overcome the loss of Harper by shoring up their pitching staff, with the addition of Patrick Corbin to an already loaded rotation with Zimmerman, Scherzer, and Strasburg.
The Mets made some interesting moves in the offseason, with the additions of Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos, and Edwin Diaz. They have the pieces to make a run for the division, however, unlike last year, their starting rotation has to stay healthy and the bullpen has to be more consistent.
The Marlins are in full-on rebuilding mode, and are a few years away for contending for a playoff spot, let alone a division title.
The NL Central is shaping up to be one of the most open division this season, as the majority of the teams in the division has a pretty good shot of winning the division.
The Cubs lost to the Rockies in the NL Wild Card game last October, and many questioned whether the team could still be the contender they have been the past few years. However, the predictions of the Cubs’ demise may be mistaken, as this team kept their quality roster together, and should be all set to make another run at a divisional crown.
After winning the NL Central crown last year, the 2019 Brewers are out to prove that last year wasn’t just a fluke. The acquisitions of Yasmani Grandal and Matt Albers, along with an already strong collection of hitters and pitchers, should be enough for Milwaukee to contend again this year.
The 2018 season was a tumultuous one for the St. Louis Cardinals, something the team and their fans generally aren’t used to seeing. Hovering around .500 at the All-Star break, the team fired their well-respected manager Mike Matheny, hoping that the firing would change the team’s fortunes. However, that wasn’t the chase, and the Cardinals missed the playoffs for a third straight season, their longest playoff drought since the mid-90’s.
To ensure that 2019 wouldn’t be a repeat of 2018, the Cardinals made a big splash in the offseason, signing big-name free agent Paul Goldschmidt. While Goldschmidt shores up the middle of lineup, there are still come question marks about the rest of the lineup, however, there should be enough talent to make a good run at the NL Central crown.
Like the Cardinals, the Pirates have been trending downwards over the past couple of years. However, unlike the Cardinals, Pittsburgh made no big moves in the offseason, with the lone exception being Lonnie Chisenhall. The Pirates may not have a good enough mix of young talent and veteran leadership to make a run at a playoff spot.
The Reds made some splashy moves in the offseason, acquiring Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark in free agency. While these are nice additions, it won’t probably enough for Cincinnati to make any sort of noise. Their young talent has yet to prove themselves, and it’s unclear how much longer Joey Votto will remain a Red.
The National League West had a very busy offseason, with some of the division’s biggest names both coming into and leaving the division. All in all, it should set up one of the most competitive division races in 2019.
The NL West team that made the biggest move in the offseason was the San Diego Padres, who signed Manny Machado to a 13-year, 300 million dollar contract last month. This move was a long-term play for the Padres, who hope to use Machado as a centerpiece of a World Series contending team for many years to come. However, 2019 is not that year, as the group of young talent around Machado is not yet ready to contend for a championship.
After losing in the World Series for the second consecutive year, the Dodgers made some big moves in the offseason, losing Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig to the Reds, but snatching AJ Pollock from the Diamondbacks. Pollock’s batting skill were more than make up for the losses of Puig and Kemp, and most of last year’s team in place, they should be contending for the World Series yet again.
After a disappointing 2019, the Diamondbacks let some of their best players go in the offseason, including AJ Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt. Even with the acquisition of Adam Jones from the Orioles, Arizona might not have enough talent to make a run for the playoffs.
The Rockies lost in the Division Series in 2018 to the Brewers and, even with the loss of reliever Adam Ottavino, Colorado should be ready to make another run at the playoffs this year. This offseason, the Rockies signed Daniel Murphy, gave a healthy-sized extension to Nolan Arenado, and were able to keep a young core together. These movies should position the Rockies to be in the postseason for the second straight season.
Prior to spring training, the San Francisco Giants received some big news that their manager Bruce Bochy would be retiring from maning after being at the helm of the Giants for the past 12 seasons. San Francisco would like to send Bochy off on a high note, however, for this to happen, the offense needs to be more productive and their top talent has to stay healthy if the Giants want to make a run for the postseason.