At Home Plate - Offseason report card: NL East

Offseason report card: NL East

Written by Jonathan Leshanski

Saturday, 19 January 2008

Atlanta Braves

Added: Tom Glavine (Free Agency), Mark Kotsay (Trade), Omar Infante (Trade), Will Ohman (Trade), Josh Anderson (Trade), Jair Jurrjens (Trade)
Lost: Andruw Jones (Free Agency), Willie Harris (Free Agency), Edgar Renteria (Trade), Oscar Villarreal (Trade), Joey Devine (Trade), Ron Mahay (Free Agency), Chad Paronto (Free Agency), Jose Ascanio (Trade)
Other Free Agents: Octavio Dotel, Chris Woodward, Julio Franco

The Braves made a mistake by not taking what they could get for Andruw Jones at the trading deadline last year and now are facing a future which includes a big lack of power in the center of their lineup. They haven’t made it up although they’ve signed Mark Kotsay to take over the duties in centerfield. Kotsay will hit for better average than Jones, but offers little in the way of offensive punch.
Veteran Tom Glavine comes back to the team for a curtain call and will end up pitching at the tail end of the rotation along with Mike Hampton and that will force the bullpen to pitch a lot of extra innings.   No doubt Glavine still has a few more wins locked up in that arm of his, but at this point in his career he’s not a frontline starter and really won’t advance the Braves rotation much more than he did for the Mets last season.

Verdict: Loser, fewer runs scored and more stress on the bullpen are not good things.

Florida Marlins

Added: Cameron Maybin (Trade), Mark Hendrickson (Free Agency), Andrew Miller (Trade), Mike Rabelo (Trade), Eulogio De La Cruz (Trade)
Lost: Miguel Cabrera (Trade), Dontrelle Willis (Trade), Miguel Olivo (Free Agency), Aaron Boone (Free Agency), Carlos Guevera (Trade)
Other Free Agents: Armando Benitez, Byung-Hyun Kim

The Marlins have once again cast their expensive and much coveted stars to the trade winds and reaped a deluge of high end prospects in return. Of the bunch only Cameron Maybin will really make an impact in ’08. The rest will head to the playground and wait to grow up enough for the team to need them, although Mike Rabelo might be pushed forward faster to take over the catching duties.

Verdict: Long term winner, but it may be a very long time before that becomes apparent. For this year expect to see a last place team.

New York Mets

Added: Matt Wise (Free Agency), Johnny Estrada (Trade), Angel Pagan (Trade), Ryan Church (Trade), Brian Schneider (Trade), Brian Stokes (Trade)
Lost: Tom Glavine (Free Agency), Paul Lo Duca (Free Agency), Lasting Milledge (Trade), Guillermo Mota (Trade)
Other Free Agents: Jose Valentin, Aaron Sele, Shawn Green, Sandy Alomar Jr.

The Met have made a lot of moves this offseason but they don’t really amount to much. The departure of Tom Glavine and Paul Lo Duca will make the team a little younger and offers a chance for players like Mike Pelfry and Phillip Humber to make a name for themselves, but the Mets haven’t made any real big splashes.
Catcher Brian Schneider should help improve the defense behind the plate and adding Ryan Church gives the Mets the flexibility to trade away Carlos Gomez if the team can put together an acceptable offer for a frontline pitcher - their biggest need.   However the team did give up on the much hyped Lastings Milledge who flashed five tools in the minors but never made them translate to the big league team.   That could be a move the team desperately regrets if Milledge ends up a star in Washington.

Verdict: Nominal loser.

Philadelphia Phillies

Added: Brad Lidge (Trade), Chris Snelling (Trade), Geoff Jenkins (Free Agency), Chad Durbin (Free Agency), So Taguchi (Free Agency), Eric Bruntlett (Trade)
Lost: Tadahito Iguchi (Free Agency), Aaron Rowand (Free Agency), Jon Lieber (Free Agency), Michael Bourn (Trade), Chris Roberson (Trade), Geoff Geary (Trade)
Other Free Agents: Jose Mesa, Kyle Lohse, Freddy Garcia, Rod Barajas, Antonio Alfonseca, Abraham Nunez

The Phillies were a flawed team last year and they’ve taken the offseason to address some of their issues. The best of their moves however wasn’t directly acquired via trade or free agency. That of course was to move Brett Myers from the closers role back into the starting rotation where he was much more desperately needed.   To fill the closer’s role they brought in accused steroid user Brad Lidge who will be under extreme scrutiny for signs of steroid use. They’ve also brought in veteran Geoff Jenkins to take over in right field and his power should help keep the Phillies lineup as one of the most feared in the National League.
However the Phillies still have two gaping holes in their infield at the third base and catching positions which could be very problematic.   The other issue is just how good their pitching staff will be.   It dragged the down last season and could do it again - which will put a lot of pressure on the offense unless Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer and Adam Eaton can find a little magic.

Verdict: Nominal winner.   Myers back in the rotation may not be as good as acquiring Danny Haren, but considering the rest of the division didn’t improve their starting staffs at all this has to be seen as a positive development.

Washington Nationals

Added: Elijah Dukes (Trade), Lasting Milledge (Trade), Paul Lo Duca (Trade), Aaron Boone (Free Agency), Willie Harris (Trade), Rob Mackowiak (Free Agency), Tyler Clippard (Trade)
Lost: Ryan Church (Trade), Brian Schneider (Trade), Jonathan Albaladejo (Trade)
Other Free Agents: Tony Batista

The Nationals have made a big search for undervalued players as the try to turn around a franchise that has been an ongoing joke for a number of years. On the cheap they managed to pick up a number of troubled, or troubling players like Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge who have a lot of talent but have yet to develop it to its potential.   One or both of them will get some serious playing time this season as the team looks to grow out of its laughingstock image and compete for a division title. This won’t be the year however but it’s a start in the right direction while the youngsters show what they can do.

Verdict: Winner, but it might not show in the standings.

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