The 2014 Offseason

With the World Series fully underway, 28 other MLB teams have their sights set on everyone's least favorite part of the baseball season: the offseason. This year was a great year in terms of competition; if you look at any of the division races from the 90s or early 2000s, many of the division winners had run away with the division by Labor Day and oftentimes the Wild Card was the best of the worst. Compared to the last few years where many races are decided on the final day of the season, it is no question that the current baseball is more competitive top to bottom than baseball of the 90s.

How great were the 90s? Pictured here (from left): Ken Griffey, Jr., Larry Walker, Barry Bonds

While that has made the sport much more exciting, it also has given the current middle-of-the-road teams a glimmer of hope at contention. 

Teams are much more inconsistent year to year than from what I remember. For example, the Red Sox finished last in 2012 under Bobby V, won it all in 2013, and finished last again this year (in the AL East). The Braves finished 30 games above .500 in 2013, winning the NL East, but suffered the same fate as the Sox and plummeted to 79-83, a 17 win difference, but still good enough for 2nd in the East (and people thought the AL Central was bad...). The Rangers went from 91-73 to 67-95 (although their injury bug was worse than Ebola), and in the same division, the Astros improved from 51-111 to 70-92 and still fired Bo Porter. Poor guy. 

What I'm getting at is that you never know what can happen, and the last 3-5 years have been better indications of that more than ever. Teams that are counted out in Spring Training can show up in October and teams that are hailed and praised bow out in August. So that said, who will be the team making the most moves this offseason?

This is sort of a loaded question because of how many moving parts are attached to each trade. We'll know more when the Winter Meetings roll around in beautiful San Diego when big names are always moved (Mark Trumbo last year, Pujols in 2011, you never know what can happen). But my first thought was the Red Sox. They are a winning city impatient for another championship after they've had 3 in 10 years, and another sub .500 season will cost John Farrell his job. GM Ben Cherington showed some serious guts trading away Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes for one of Cuba's finest in Yoenis Cespedes and then signing essentially a carbon Cuban copy in Rusney Castillo, which creates a logjam in the outfield. Promising rookie Mookie Betts hit .296 in just over 50 games, the flyin' Hawaiian Shane Victorino will be coming back for 2015, and Jackie Bradley Jr. will be there again just because for whatever reason he keeps getting a chance despite hitting .198 in 127 games. Third basemen Will Middlebrooks is like a cat at an open door, you never know what you're going to get. 

Now that you're finished laughing at my bad joke, you'll see that I'm serious. Even though he's just 25, Middlebrooks hit only .191 in 63 games, but still had 7 multi-hit games. It just doesn't make sense for a sub .200 hitter. David Ross is an aging backstop and equally as inefficient at the plate, hitting only .184 in 50 games. 

The Sox had 3 starters hitting below .200 (rarely was it all at the same time given injuries and DFAs) and they will not stand for that again, so I expect them to be in the market for some bats to protect Napoli, Papi, and Cespedes.

I wouldn't quite classify the Red Sox as a "win now or bust" team like the Tigers; they have a healthy farm system and a good starting rotation as long as they remain healthy. They just need enough hitting to complement the aforementioned sluggers to be competitive. Yes, Papi and Napoli are aging, but you don't need to be 24 to turn on a waist high fastball and send it to the boroughs. 

The first solution for third base that comes to mind is Ben Zobrist. Zobrist, a utility/journeyman for the Rays, was an All-Star in 2012 and is always commended for his spectacular defense regardless of where Joe Maddon used him on the diamond (career .987 fielding percentage, .997 in the OF).

He has played 4 games at third base over 3 years and has made one error so take that .750 F% with a grain of salt. Zobrist is also a career .264 hitter with average home run power. At age 33, he will come cheap, play good defense, and perhaps swing a few home runs around the Pesky Pole in right field.

As far as catching goes, I think Geovany Soto would be a great fit for Boston.

After winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 2008 for the Cubs, Soto has yet to find similar success with anyone. He has bounced around from the Windy City to Texas and then to Oakland where he is currently. He is only signed through 2014 so he will be on the free agent market, and like Zobrist, will be cheap. Soto's track record of all-defense no-offense is attractive to a lot of teams and for the Red Sox, who already have tons of offense, he can simply throw runners out and not worry about his at-bats. In split time between Oakland and Texas in 2014, Soto hit .250 in 24 games - quite respectable and a huge improvement from his .198 performance in 2012. His hitting is trending upward and his defense has always been the best part of his game - that's why he started the Wild Card game for the A's in 2014 despite only playing 10 games for them up to that point. He didn't allow a steal through 3 innings and then replacement Derek Norris allowed 7 - goes to show you that he can stop the run.

In 2013, the Red Sox hit at a torrid pace on their way to a World Series title. First in the AL in runs scored, 3rd in steals, 2nd in average, and 1st in slugging was a winning formula in Farrell's first year as manager. 2014 was a completely different story as the Red Sox scuffled to 12th in the AL in average and 11th in runs scored - but when you have 3 starters who hit below .200, what can you expect? I think Zobrist and Soto would be great additions to an already stellar team. The Red Sox dynasty is far from over, I think it was merely dormant in 2014. 

I enjoyed writing this. I felt like a GM and a detective at the same time, figuring out who would fit where and whose contract was compatible...I'll do the busiest NL team tomorrow. Thanks for reading.