By
Nate Kelly[Editors Note: This is the second of three installments breaking down offseason grades division by division. Check back soon for the West grades and click HERE for the East grades.]
Key Acquisitions: Jamey Carroll, Masahide Kobayashi
Key Losses: Kenny Lofton, Trot Nixon
To be honest, the Indians went into this off-season
with no blaring weaknesses. They did lose two veteran presences in the
locker room with Kenny Lofton and Trot Nixon, and did very little to
improve their team. They add some infield depth with the addition of
Jamey Carroll, but they did not acquire any real impact players. The
Tribe made a clear decision. Hope their young stars improve and develop
even more, but if there are any major injuries this season, look for
possible depth issues. While the Tigers brought in All-Star talent, the
Indians brought in…well nothing.
Grade: C-
.png)
Key Acquisitions: Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Edgar Renteria,
Jacque Jones
Key Losses: Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin
The Tigers were one of the most active players this
off-season from start to finish. They were made the first big splash
when they acquired Edgar Renteria from the Atlanta Braves. As if that
was not a big enough addition to a playoff quality team, the Tigers were
the talk of the winter meetings when they pulled off the blockbuster
trade for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. All of these moves give
the Tigers the hands-down best line-up in baseball to go along with a
solid pitching staff that could become a great pitching staff if they
can stay healthy. They definitely could have used another middle
reliever with the continuing injury problems with fireballer Joel Zumaya.
By not filling that need, they fall just short of a perfect off-season,
but still put themselves in the thick of the list of possible World
Series contenders.
Grade: A-
Key Acquisitions: Delmon Young, Craig Monroe, Mike Lamb, Carlos Gomez
Key Losses: Johan Santana, Torii Hunter, Carlos Silva, Matt Garza,
Rondell White
Everyone looks at what the Twins did this
off-season and calls it an immediate failure. Sure they lost 3/5 of
their starting rotation and their perennial all-star and gold glove
centerfielder. But did you really expect them to be able to afford all
of that talent? Even thought they lose all of that talent, then bring in
two bats in Craig Monroe and Mike Lamb as well as a great prospect in
Chris Gomez and a rising star in Delmon Young. You can’t ask for much
more from a small market team put in a seemingly lose-lose situation.
They come out of this off-season with some solid and sometimes great
talent that they can bring into their new ballpark in 2010.
Grade: B
Key Acquisitions: Octavio Dotel, Scott Linebrink,
Key Losses: Jon Garland
Ken Williams stuck with his “win now” mentality
this off-season by looking to bring in Major League talent. After a
somewhat confusing trade that sent Jon Garland to the Angles for
underrated shortstop Orlando Cabrera, Williams made another impact trade
by picking up OF/1B Nick Swisher from the Oakland A’s for Ryan Sweeney
and a couple other prospects. Swisher brings even more pop to a lineup
that is already very solid throughout. Even though they brought in
players who can make an impact this coming year, they did not do
anything to improve their biggest weakness, their starting rotation.
Their rotation was the biggest problem last season and yet they did
nothing to improve that position.
Grade: B
Key Acquisitions: Jose Guillen, Ron Mahay, Brett Tomko
Key Losses: Emil Brown, David Riske, Mike Sweeney, Reggie Sanders
The Royals are another small-market team that
seemingly doesn’t have the means to make impact moves in the off-season.
They did make some moves that could help them this season, but more so
in the future. Bringing in a veteran like Jose Guillen can help mentor
the young outfielders the Royals are full of. Likewise, pitchers like
Brett Tomko and Ron Mahay can help develop some of their young arms as
well. While they did not bring in All-Star, team bolstering talent, but
they did acquire quality veterans that can be an influence to their
young players. Will that result in victories right away? Probably not,
but they are moving in the right direction.
Grade: C
NL CENTRAL
Key Acquisitions: Kosuke Fukudome, Jon Lieber
Key Losses: Cliff Floyd, Mark Prior, Jacque Jones, Angel Pagan
The past three months have seemed like spring
cleaning for the Cubs. They have been getting rid of the excess fat on
their team. They were able to get rid of the contracts and obligations
to Cliff Floyd, Mark Prior and Jacque Jones. Getting rid of these
players opens up their roster to bring in new players and develop young
players. On the other hand they did not bring in as much of an impact as
they should have. Kosuke Fukudome has potential to be a good supporting
player to the team, but other than that addition, very little was done
to improve a playoff team that is a couple players away from a
championship team.
Grade: C-
Key Acquisitions: Eric Gagne, Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall, David Riske
Key Losses: Francisco Cordero, Geoff Jenkins, Scott Linebrink
The Brewers concentrated on bringing in role
players and veterans who they can mix in with their young stars. They
brought in a still great defensive player in Mike Cameron who will still
be a solid contributor even with his 25-game suspension. After losing
closer Francisco Cordero in free agency, they replaced him with
inconsistent Eric Gagne, but backed him up with free agent David Riske
who sported a sub-3 ERA last season. They did not risk their young
players in any moves, but were still able to improve their roster in
multiple areas.
Grade: B
Key Acquisitions:
Key Losses: Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, Miguel Cairo
It is tough to look at the Cardinals and see a
bright spot. Last year they had injury problems throughout their
rotation and yet the only addition to that rotation is Matt Clement who
missed the entire season last season due to injury. Then they trade
Scott Rolen for Troy Glaus, another player who missed time last season
with injury. They have also lost some infield depth by letting both
David Eckstein and Miguel Cairo leave in free agency. They still have a
decent bullpen, Rick Ankiel for the entire season, and…oh yeah…maybe the
best hitter in baseball in Albert Pujols. None of those bright spots
came from moves made this off-season.
Grade: D
Key Acquisitions: Michael Bourn, Miguel Tejada, Kazuo Matsui
Key Losses: Brad Lidge, Luke Scott, Jason Jennings
This team will be leaning on Miguel Tejada this
season to become the third big hitter they need in their line-up next to
Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman. If Tejada gets the chance to hit the
entire season with the short porch and two top-of-the-line hitters
around him, his power numbers are sure to increase. The addition of
Michael Bourn from the Phillies gives the Astros an exciting player that
can cover a lot of ground in the spacious centerfield of
Grade: B
Key Acquisitions: Francisco Cordero, Jeremy Affeldt
Key Losses: Josh Hamilton
The Reds definitely racked up a nice phone bill
this off-season trying to improve their pitching staff. Most noticeably
were their efforts to pull in Erik Bedard from the Orioles. However they
were one of the few teams that would not risk their farm system to do
so. They were able to bolster their bullpen by bringing in Francisco
Cordero to be their closer, a position that they had tremendous problems
with the last few seasons. That move also allows them to move last years
closer David Weathers to set-up man, giving their bullpen a much needed
upgrade. The Reds’ ability to improve a need while still holding onto
their best prospects allows for their players to develop and gain some
tremendous experience this season. No need to rush a team this young and
far away from major success.
Grade: B
Key Acquisitions: None
Key Losses: Cesar Izturis, Salomon Torres
You would think after a year where there is a fan
protest during a game where fans simply walk out of the stadium that the
organization would try to improve somewhere this off-season. Instead,
the basically do nothing. When your “best” Off-season pick up is Chris
Gomez, something is wrong. The Pirates do have some very promising
pitchers in their rotation and bullpen, but they can’t expect them to do
it alone. Their line-up right now just won’t cut it and they need to do
something to improve that or they will stay in the NL Central basement
for a long time.
Grade: D