While there is a bunch of people who say Spring Training is way too long each year, don’t blink – Opening Day will be here before you know it. I outlined one burning question for every National League team last week. Naturally, it only felt right to do the same thing for the American League this week.
Can the Kansas City Royals defend their World Series title? Can the Boston Red Sox stop finishing in last place? What about the other 13 AL squads preparing for the regular season?
Each club will have to answer multiple questions once the grueling 162-game schedule kicks off next month, but here’s just one for each:
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Baltimore Orioles: They spent a ton of money, but did they actually get any better?
Between Matt Wieters agreeing to the qualifying offer, trading for Mark Trumbo, re-signing Chris Davis and Darren O’Day and signing Hyun-soo Kim, Pedro Alvarez and Yovani Gallardo, Baltimore has spent over $250 million this winter.
However, most of these moves merely retained talent instead of adding to it. While adding Gallardo helps the starting rotation, it doesn’t replace Wei-Yin Chen’s production to what already was an underwhelming group last year.
When they were both still available, I said the Orioles had to sign both Gallardo and Dexter Fowler to actually get better, but that didn’t happen. They’ll hit a lot of home runs, but they’ll strike out a bunch, have some questions in the leadoff spot and tons of defensive questions in right field.
Boston Red Sox: Can Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval bounce back from awful seasons?
Dave Dombrowski made a few big splashes this winter by landing Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith to solidify the back of the bullpen, while signing David Price to a mega-deal gives Boston a much-needed ace.
Those moves put the Red Sox back into the conversation of being an AL East contender, but their eventual success could hinge on how Ramirez and Sandoval bounce back from terrible seasons. The way the lineup is currently constructed, it appears to be very top-heavy if these guys can’t produce at their career norms.
Chicago White Sox: Did they acquire enough offense to support Jose Abreu?
When looking at Abreu’s home run and RBI totals from his first two years with Chicago, they look nearly identical (36 HRs and 107 RBI in ’14 & 30 HRs and 101 RBI in ’15), but other offensive metrics show he was much less valuable last year than his rookie season.
His fWAR dropped from 5.3 to 3.0, his slugging percentage decreased nearly 80 points and his wRC+ went from an elite 167 to a much less elite 129. The reason? Well, Chicago’s offense ranked last in the MLB with a 3.1 fWAR.
The man needs some help! Acquiring Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie will give Abreu the lineup protection and support he needs, but that still leaves six other hitters who need to carry their own weight.
Cleveland Indians: Can Michael Brantley return and give this team the offensive punch it needs?
The Indians already have one of baseball’s best starting rotations with Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco leading the way. What they needed was some legitimate offense, especially since Brantley will likely start the year on the disabled list while finishing his rehab from shoulder surgery.
Instead of making a play for a major free agent, they signed Mike Napoli for first base, Rajai Davis for the outfield and Juan Uribe for third base. Cleveland was reportedly interested in Austin Jackson, but he just signed with the White Sox for one year and $5 million.
Brantley is progressing well in his rehab, and while his surgically repaired shoulder doesn’t involve his throwing arm, his bat is a crucial piece of this offense that has a lot of “if this goes well, then we’ll be in good shape” scenarios. As good as he says he feels, it could take some time to get his power back.
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Detroit Tigers: They’ll hit, but will they pitch?
If there was any doubt before this winter, the Tigers’ offseason acquisitions have made it clear they’re trying to win right now. At least, that’s what pouring over $200 million between Jordan Zimmermann and Justin Upton says.
Adding Upton to a lineup that already includes J.D. Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler and a hopefully a bounce back from Victor Martinez, we know this team is going to hit. The biggest question surrounds their pitching staff.
While they had Price in the first half of 2015 and watched Justin Verlander put together a great second half, the rotation ranked 23rd in fWAR (8.3), which was worst in the AL Central. The bullpen was even worse, posting the third lowest fWAR in baseball (-0.1).
That’s why they signed Zimmermann, Mike Pelfrey and Mark Lowe, while also trading for Francisco Rodriguez and Justin Wilson. With a large amount of future payroll commitments already on the books, they had almost no choice but to go all in and hope to be the latest team to go from worst-to-first.
Houston Astros: Is this Jon Singleton’s last shot with Houston to make good on his top prospect pedigree?
What a difference a couple years makes, right? Entering 2014, Houston was fresh off three straight 100-loss campaigns. This year, they’re fresh off an unlikely postseason appearance. The rebuild was painful to watch, but worth it.
After acquiring Ken Giles and Doug Fister to solidify the pitching staff, the only real uncertainty this roster has is at first base. Houston non-tendered the all-or-nothing Chris Carter, leading to a competition that’s headlined by top prospect A.J. Reed and Singleton.
While Singleton conceivably has more upside than Carter, it hasn’t shown yet. Through 357 career MLB at-bats, he owns a .171/.290/.331 line with 14 homers and 50 RBI.
Kansas City Royals: How long will the championship window stay open?
After winning two straight American League pennants and the organization’s first World Series title in 30 years, the window is open for the Royals to be MLB’s latest dynasty – no matter what the preseason projections say.
Kansas City has done a great job of building a roster from top-to-bottom that can contribute on a daily basis. While general manager Dayton Moore would like to keep his core group together for the long-term – as evidenced by extending out of their comfort zone to re-sign Alex Gordon – they appear to be operating with a two-year window in mind.
ESPN’s Buster Olney pointed it out (subscription required) as teams began reporting for Spring Training. Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Wade Davis (has a team option for ’17) can all become free agents after 2017. Even new acquisition, Ian Kennedy, has an opt-out after the first two years of the five-year pact he signed this past winter.
The Royals will be a really good team in the short-term, but how long with this stretch last?
Los Angeles Angels: Will this be another year of wasting Mike Trout’s prime?
In recent years, the Angels have shown a propensity to spend, but went in another direction this winter. They revamped the left side of their infield with trades for Andrelton Simmons and Yunel Escobar, but the offense is still suspect outside of Mike Trout.
Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry are currently slated to platoon in left field and Albert Pujols is another year older, along with his Opening Day playing status in doubt. Plus, the starting rotation has a couple huge question marks in C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver.
Will this be another lost opportunity to take advantage of Trout’s prime? Looking at the rest of the AL West, it’s a distinct possibility. At least he’s only 24 years old.
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Minnesota Twins: How will they build upon a surprising 2015 season?
After four consecutive 90-loss seasons and the presence of first-year manager Paul Molitor, there weren’t high expectations for the Twins in 2015. However, they surprised everyone and placed second in the AL Central with an 83-79 record.
Despite having one of the worst performing offenses in baseball (according to fWAR), the pitching staff ranked 14th with a 13.7 fWAR. One would assume having a full year of Ervin Santana to pair with Phil Hughes would help combat an iffy back-end of the rotation.
Byung Ho Park was the only major offseason acquisition Minnesota made on offense, but they should get boosts from players like Eddie Rosario, Eduardo Escobar and a full year of Miguel Sano.
After trading away Aaron Hicks to acquire John Ryan Murphy, all eyes will be on Byron Buxton to make good on his top prospect promise in center field.
New York Yankees: Can Joe Girardi keep his vets fresh, healthy and productive for another year?
Yankees manager Joe Girardi probably thanks his lucky stars about being in the American League. Without the designated hitter, it’d be impossible to keep his aging (and expensive) veterans healthy and productive.
Alex Rodriguez will take on most of these duties in 2016, but Girardi has done a great job of rotating Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira in that spot to give them a breather while keeping their bat in the lineup.
It worked in 2015 for New York, who made a playoff appearance for the first time since 2012. Those large contracts are still on the books this year, which forced them to make creative offseason deals for Hicks, Starlin Castro and Aroldis Chapman instead of just spending a bunch in free agency like we’ve gotten used to seeing.
Oakland Athletics: How will the gamble on players coming off bounce back campaigns go?
Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics very rarely do what everyone else does with regard to player acquisition and building a roster. This past winter was a great example of that, agreeing to deals with Rich Hill (one-year, $6 million), Ryan Madson (three years, $22 million) and John Axford (two years, $10 million).
Preseason projections have them finishing last in the AL West, but they have a chance at competing with a lineup that consists of Khris Davis, Billy Burns, Josh Reddick, Stephen Vogt and Jed Lowrie. Their roster is not a typical one, but that’s probably how they like it, anyways.
Seattle Mariners: Will Jerry Dipoto’s active offseason bring immediate dividends?
I recently wrote that the Mariners should be the winners of the MLB offseason because their flurry of moves greatly improved the club without adding a huge amount of payroll. While these deals were mostly not high-profile ones, nearly half of the 40-man roster was turned over this winter.
So, that means it’ll take some time for the eventual Opening Day roster to gel together. Judging from the ages of core players like Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano and Felix Hernandez, the front office hopes everything comes together sooner rather than later.
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Tampa Bay Rays: Can their deep roster compete with AL East heavyweights?
Already armed with a deep starting rotation, a slow-moving free agent market allowed the Rays snag Steve Pearce on a one-year deal to inject power in the lineup. Also, let’s not forget the trades that netted them Logan Morrison, Brad Miller and Corey Dickerson.
Tampa Bay’s depth chart is crowded, but it could help take them to the next level with second-year manager Kevin Cash. After having a top-10 pitching staff and top-five defense last year (according to FanGraphs), their biggest weakness was on offense, which it seems they’ve addressed.
Texas Rangers: Will this be another year of best-case scenarios?
Everything had to go right for the Texas Rangers to make the postseason in 2015. Despite losing Yu Darvish to Tommy John surgery during Spring Training, that’s exactly what happened, as they became unlikely AL West champs.
Entering 2016, it appears they’ll need the same things to happen. Cole Hamels is a legitimate ace at the top, but Texas lacks a solid one-two punch until Darvish returns, while hoping he also returns to form quickly.
On offense, they’ll once again have to depend on aging players like Shin-Soo Choo, Prince Fielder and Adrian Beltre. That’s why getting Ian Desmond’s bat into the mix was an important move.
Toronto Blue Jays: Is this the year Marcus Stroman becomes an ace?
Nobody will argue that Toronto’s offense is the best in the league – a full year of Troy Tulowitzki will only help. However, the starting rotation has some question marks, and specifically at the top.
The Blue Jays took a huge step forward after acquiring Price at last year’s trade deadline. Since he left town for the Red Sox, the only moves the organization made for the rotation included re-signing Marco Estrada and signing J.A. Happ. With them and R.A. Dickey, Aaron Sanchez, Gavin Floyd and Jesse Chavez, there’s no true ace.
Which is Stroman’s cue. He missed most of 2015 because of a torn ACL during Spring Training, but returned to post a 4-0 record with a 1.67 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in 27 innings of work, along with a solid showing in the postseason. He’s their best chance of having an ace, and Toronto hopes he can be successful in doing so while taking the ball every fifth day.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter so we can celebrate the return of baseball together: @mmusico8.
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