Fantasy Baseball-Biggest Winners and Losers of the offseason

As we get ready to crank up the baseball coverage here at FantasyCPR, here’s some of my quick thoughts on the teams that improved themselves this offseason as well as some of the teams that struggled with the hot stove. We’ll look at what new scenery means to certain players the next few weeks as we preview the season, but let’s take one more quick look back at who has changed the most this offseason for the better or the worse.

Winners

New-look Miami Marlins new player Jose Reyes is interviewed during a press conference after he signed. Mandatory Credit: US PRESSWIRE

1. Miami Marlins-The Marlins entered this offseason with a purpose and money to spend and succeeded in  completely remaking their image (new name and logo), their lineup (Jose Reyes), their rotation (Mark Buehrle), and their bullpen (Heath Bell). The money and the years may be excessive, and the deals at the end of their tenure may not look prudent, but what the Marlins have done as far as redefining who they are as a team in just one offseason is incredible.

2. LA Angels-The Angels added the biggest bat on the market in Albert Pujols and arguably the best starting pitcher on the market in C.J. Wilson. The money again in both deals is questionable long-term, but for the next few years they’ll be a contender for the Championship each year.

3. New York Yankees-The Yankees went from being thin in the starting rotation to fully loaded in just a few days. (OK, calling any rotation with CC in it thin might be a stretch, but you know what I’m sayin’…) They landed Michael Pineda from Seattle in a great trade for NY and then signed Hiroki Kuroda. They also brought back Freddy Garcia for another 1-year deal giving them 6 starters (CC, Nova, Hughes, Pineda, Garcia, Kuroda, not in that order) not counting AJ Burnett who appears to be on the move. The Yankees also resigned Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones while tacking on Bill Hall and Russell Branyan for depth just recently. There are questions to be sure, but as a Red Sox fan I’ll begrudgingly admit that their offseason looks pretty good.

Detroit Tigers general manager David Dombrowski helps Prince Fielder with his new jersey at a press conference. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

4. Detroit Tigers-The Tigers landed Prince Fielder in an end-of-the-offseason coup to replace Victor Martinez who is expected to miss this season after suffering an off-season injury. Fielder’s addition along with the re-signing of Jose Valverde and Roman Santiago make the Tigers again the team to beat in the Central and adds them to the elite tier of AL clubs with the Angels, Yankees, Rangers, and maybe Rays/Red Sox.

5. Cincinnati Reds-The Reds added Mat Latos to the front end of their rotation and signed Ryan Madson to be their closer. They’ve got one of the better young infields in the National League and have added some nice pieces for depth late in the off-season, namel Ryan Ludwick and Jeff Francis. The rotation is extremely young, but will be one of the better ones in the Central if their development continues. The Reds would almost make this list without making any moves since both Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols leaving their division gives them a much brighter outlook heading into next year.

Losers

Ryan Braun's trouble is just the beginning of the issues facing the Brewers. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

1. Milwaukee Brewers-The Brewers knew that Fielder was probably gone, but their offseason started poorly when Francisco Rodriguez took their arbitration offer and locked them in to paying big money to two closers (K-Rod and Axford). The gloom in Milwaukee went from bad to worse when the Ryan Braun story broke and the PED cloud came firmly to rest over Miller Park. Braun will probably miss the first 50 games of the season (he’s still appealing) which would be a devastating blow to an offense that will already be missing Prince from last season. I like the addition of Aramis Ramirez, but don’t think it’s enough positive to trump all the major negatives in Brew-ville.

2. Chicago White Sox-The White Sox offseason was confusing if nothing else. They traded away Sergio Santos their affordable young closer and Carlos Quentin their number 2 run-producer. They firmly went into rebuilding mode trying to save money and accumulate prospects. That strategy may pay off in the long run, but for this year the White Sox look to be in trouble.

3. Atlanta Braves-The Braves didn’t do much this winter. They traded Derek Lowe all the way back on October 31 to Cleveland then seemed to go into hibernation. The Braves collapse last year would have been the story of September if the next team on the list didn’t choke even worse. While the Red Sox moves may be contradictory and a little confusing, at least they made moves. Atlanta didn’t move Jair Jurrjens, Martin Prado, or Michael Bourn leaving them with the exact same core group they had last year. The strategy may pay off if the Braves prospects mature, but it’s just as risky not to react as to become too reactionary which is what some people think happened to the next team on the list.

Are Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine (right) and general manager Ben Cherington headed the right direction? Time will tell... Mandatory Credit: Justin Neohoff-US PRESSWIRE

4. Boston Red Sox-My beloved Red Sox make this list and not on the positive side. I get it that change was necessary, and I will cheer for whoever goes out there, but as a fan it’s hard for me to get psyched about Nick Punto and Mike Avlies after we traded Jed Lowrie, who showed some offensive promise, and Marco Scutaro, who was the only guy who played well in September. Carl Crawford is out for the first part of the season, so not just one but two of the Cody Ross-Ryan Sweeney-Ryan Kalish-Darnell McDonald platoon will be in the game each day until he returns. I like Ben Cherington as GM, and I like Bobby V as our manager. They’ve done a good job turning over the clubhouse as much as possible while rebuilding what appears to be a pretty solid bullpen. I think the Sox needed another starter and an upgrade at SS, and I’m still hopeful one may come. Until things pan out, the verdict is out on this offseason in Boston, but some of the moves seem to be contradictory and confusing.

5. St. Louis Cardinals-Anytime you lose the face of your franchise and the player widely regarded as the best hitter in the game, you’re going to be a loser during the off-season. I think Beltran will be fine, but he’s not Albert. The reigning champs also last LaRussa, Punto, Ryan Theriot, Gerald Laird, and Edwin Jackson. They kept their young core, and long-term I think they’ll be fine, but I think for this season they’ve definitely digressed a little bit.

Fortunately, soon we’ll have actual games to break down so it won’t all be “on paper,” but those are my initial reactions to this year’s offseason.

Agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below, or better yet, join our team for baseball season and write your first article on who you think got better or worse during this year’s hot stove. Enjoy the sunshine, spring training’s just around the corner.

Tags: Albert Pujols, Featured, hot stove, LA Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB Offseason, New York Yankees, Winners/Losers