The reigning world champion Red Sox brings back most of their team from last year (excluding Craig Kimbrel) as they resigned Steve Pearce and Nathan Eovaldi. An interesting player to watch this year will be Rafael Devers. Can he get to that next level?
For some reason, there have been a lot of pieces out there questioning if the Yankees are the world series favorites, which I don't quite get. They have some questions in that rotation, with Luis Severino dealing with his shoulder injury. They were able to get Gio Gonzalez on a minor league deal, but will that be enough? They were able to acquire James Paxton.
The Rays made an interesting run last year, with there opening man pitching strategy. They were able to add Charlie Morton, further boosting their pitching rotation.
The Blue Jays and Orioles, well, they're just kind of there.
1) Red Sox
2) Yankees (6 GB)
3) Rays (7 GB)
4) Blue Jays (36 GB)
5) Orioles (47 GB)
The Twins added Nelson Cruz to their young team. The question for the Twins will be if last season was the aberration, or their playoff year a couple years back. Have the Indians' window closed? Time will tell this season. The rest of this division is a bit of a mess (though we'll see what a young White Sox squad will do).
1) Twins
2) Indians (2 GB)
3) Tigers (14 GB)
4) White Sox (18 GB)
5) Royals (24 GB)
The Astros continue to look like a powerhouse. Hopefully this year their core will be able to stay healthy. I could see the rest of this division being fairly compacted (though significantly behind Houston). The Mariners added Domingo Santana, but parted with Robinson Cano in a deal to the Mets. Oakland bolstered their bullpen with Joakim Soria. It'll be interesting to see what the Angels will do, with Mike Trout extended.
1) Astros
2) A's (19 GB)
3) Angels (21 GB)
4) Mariners (22 GB)
5) Rangers (34 GB)
Wildcards:
1) Yankees
2) Rays
AL WildCard: Rays v. Yankees
ALDS: Rays v. Astros/ Twins v. Red Sox
ALCS: Red Sox v. Astros
The Phillies did a lot this offseason. The big addition was Bryce Harper, but that wasn't all. They bolstered their bullpen with David Robertson, and added Andrew McCutchen. The Braves brought back a familiar face in catcher Brian McCann. They also made an interesting signing with Josh Donaldson. If the Mets' pitching staff can actually stay healthy, they could be a contender. How will the Nats handle life without Bryce Harper? They do have a set of young, quality outfielders, so we'll see.
1) Phillies
2) Braves (8 GB)
3) Mets (10 GB)
4) Nationals (13 GB)
5) Marlins (27 GB)
The Cardinals added a big bat in Paul Goldschmidt. Its a big bat they've been missing since the days of Albert Pujols. There are some injury question marks with the Brewers. How will Jimmy Nelson bounce back? Same for the Cubs and Yu Darvish. The Pirates didn't do much, but will be relying on a young rotation they hope is promising. The Reds added Yasel Puig, who should make an impact. But the Reds still have a giant question mark with their pitching.
1) Cardinals
2) Brewers (7 GB)
3) Cubs (10 GB)
4) Pirates (19 GB)
5) Reds (21 GB)
The Dodgers will really need Clayton Kershaw to stay healthy (which is a big 'if' at the moment). The Rockies added Daniel Murphy, and extended Nolan Arenado. Will they be able to build off of last year? The Padres made one of the most surprising free agent signings in Manny Machado. They'll also have top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr start the year on the big league squad. I could see the D'Backs taking a giant step back, losing Goldschmidt and A.J Pollock.
1) Dodgers
2) Rockies (1 GB)
3) Padres (8 GB)
4) Giants (15 GB)
5) D'Backs (19 GB)
Wildcards:
1) Brewers
2) Rockies
NL Wildcard: Rockies v. Brewers
NLDS: Rockies v. Cardinals/ Dodgers v. Phillies
NLCS: Phillies v. Cardinals
World Series: Phillies v. Astros
I think the Astros (coming off a rough playoff series with the Red Sox last year) will power through this year (if they're healthy). I'm really trusting the Phillies here. They have what it takes to win the NL, but going up against the Astros I think will just be too much for them.
AL MVP: Alex Bregman
Bregman's coming off a power number year with 31 HRs and 103 RBIs, with a line of .286/.394/.532. He finished in the Top 5 last year.
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale
I think Sale finally gets that Cy Young. He was on pace last year before injuries started cropping out towards the middle of the season. He still finished in the top 4.
NL MVP: Nolan Arenado
Coming off a Top 3 mvp finish, with 38 HRs and 110RBIs, with a .297/.374/.561 line. He'll get this in part by powering the Rockies back to the playoffs.
NL Cy Young: Aaron Nola
Nola is coming off of a 2018 that saw him win 17 games with 224 Ks and a 2.37 ERA. He finished in the top 3.
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