While you were watching basketball and football bundled up on the couch escaping the cold weather, MLB general managers have been trying to piece together new rosters for the 2014 baseball season.
It is time for spring training once again, and pitchers and catchers have already reported to camps. Everybody else will be in camp by Thursday.
The general managers worked tirelessly to add and subtract from their teams in hopes that they will improve. Free agents changed jerseys and could be the missing pieces to a championship run.
With the offseason almost over, here are my winners for each league.
National League
St. Louis Cardinals: The National League champion St. Louis Cardinals improved a roster that was already impressive. They added infielders Mark Ellis and Jhonny Peralta. Peralta will bring a lot of power to the shortstop position with 156 career homers. They also had to replace outfielder Carlos Beltran who left for the Yankees. St. Louis replaced the slugger with a young athletic Peter Bourjos. Bourjos is considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the league, and will fit perfectly with the team.
Washington Nationals: After a disappointing 2013 and missing the playoffs, the Nationals had a great offseason. The Nats were favored by many last year to go to the World Series, as they won over 100 games in 2012. But it wasn’t so. General manager Mike Rizzo knew he had to make a few tweaks to get them back into contention. Rizzo made one of the best trades of the offseason when he obtained starting pitcher Doug Fister from the Tigers for two utility players and a minor-leaguer. Fister has a 3.53 ERA for his career and has a 3.46 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Nats also added outfielder Nate McLouth for depth and athleticism in the outfield.
American League
New York Yankees: The Yankees had the biggest spending offseason in a major-league history. New York missed the playoffs last year for only the second time in 19 years. General manager Brian Cashman decided not to bring back his best player from last year. Robinson Cano left for Seattle for $240 million. With that money saved and the suspension of A-Rod, Cashman spent his money on other players. They signed prized Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and Brian McCann, one of the best offensive catchers in the year. They also signed Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, two outfielders who played against each other in the World Series.
Oakland Athletics: Billy Beane, who is notably known for his style of “moneyball,” signs players with a low budget based on numbers and sabermetrics. He had another great offseason for the Athletics creating one of the best, if not the best, bullpens in baseball. They acquired Luke Gregerson, Josh Lindblom and Jim Johnson, all through trades. Gregerson and Johnson both posted ERAs under 3.00 last year. They also signed Eric O’ Flaherty to a two year contract who is coming off Tommy John surgery. Starter Scott Kazmir was signed for a great deal of $22 million for two years. Kazmir won 10 games last year with a 4.04 ERA. Look for Oakland to return to the playoffs this year.
