A long winter of change has finally come to an end and many teams look entirely unrecognizable from last September. Perhaps the most talked about teams during the offseason have been the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and the Seattle Mariners. The Marlins and Padres undertook almost complete roster overhauls. The Mariners and the White Sox did enough to add what were already strong cores. No matter how these front offices went about it, it is clear they are making a push towards contending on the short term. Whether these additions will be enough to make these teams into contenders remains to be seen.
In a bit of a landmark year, the Seattle Mariners were really close to making the postseason last year, only missing the playoffs by one game. They were able to sign last off-season’s biggest free agent in Robinson Cano. Cano was seemingly the one piece the team was missing. He contributed an impressive .314/.382/.454 triple-slash line with 14 HR and a 5.1 WAR. The power struggles are understandable. As a left-handed hitter, it is much easier to hit home runs in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium than in Safeco Field.
This could not have been overlooked when pursuing Nelson Cruz this offseason. In 2014, Cruz led all Major League Baseball with 40 HR on a .525 SLG and a .254 ISO. Safeco is less punishing towards right-handed hitters than lefties, but it is hard to foresee Cruz even coming close to hitting as many homers as last year. Although adding a certified power bat was important, the Mariners will thrive off what is one of the best rotations in baseball. Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton, J.A Happ and Taijuan Walker make up a very impactful starting five.
The Mariners core of Cano, Cruz, and Kyle Seager are complemented by sLogan Morrison and Austin Jackson. This could create one of the most balanced teams in the American League.
Another AL club that had a very busy off-season and winter meetings was the Chicago White Sox. Despite being in a rebuilding phase for the past few years, the White Sox still had some impressive young talent. Since 2012, Chris Sale has averaged 193 IP, 9.71 K/9, with a 2.79 ERA (3.03 FIP) on 14.4 WAR. Jose Quintana is another unheralded young left-handed pitcher, although his win-loss record seems to betray him. Quintana has at least 200 IP his last two season. Though not as much as of a strikeout pitcher as Sale, he still has only given up a 3.50 ERA on a 3.55 FIP.
The White Sox also saw the end of the Paul Konerko era and went after Cuban slugger Jose Abreu, who ended the year as AL Rookie of the Year. No doubt this award was thanks to his 36 HR on a .964 OPS and a very impressive 26.9% HR/FB rate.
The major additions made by the White Sox included adding one of the best relief closers in the game, former Yankee David Robertson. They also picked up a very solid pitcher in Jeff Samardzija and two excellent veteran additions — Adam LaRoche and Melky Cabrera. Although he is not a slugger, switch-hitting Cabera’s career .330 wOBA and very good plate discipline make him a very nice pick up for the Pale Hose. LaRoche, who is entering his age-35 season, is probably not going to be able to have the same offensive output that he had at the peak of his career. However, he is one of the premier defensive first basemen in the game the past few years and this versatility can give Jose Abreu the odd day off at first base if necessary.
Adding Samardzija to what already was a very impressive rotation gives the White Sox and even better shot at contention. Samardzija, in his first three years as a full time starter, has consistently gone more than 170 IP and been a good strikeout threat. ZiPS projects Samardzija to go 194 IP with 9.14 K/9 and 3.90 ERA this year for the South Siders. Robertson had also been a very good reliever for the Yankees, ably taking over for Mariano Rivera last year converting 39 saves with a 3.08 ERA on a 13.43 K/9 and a slightly inflated 15.6% HR/FB against.
Arguably the most radical roster overhaul of any team was taken by the San Diego Padres, who added so many pieces that they rendered themselves almost unrecognizable. The Padres have been historically an offensively.challenged franchise. The offseason additions of Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, and Wil Myers will definitely give that offense a much-needed boost.
There are still major question marks regarding the majority of the infield, including once-thought-of future of the franchise Jedd Gyorko. San Diego is a much improved offensive club and much credit to AJ Preller for doing what he could to make a splash and add some excitement to a moribund franchise.
Adding James Shields to a rotation featuring Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy and Brandon Morrow could ultimately also take them over the top. The last notable addition to this Padres club was Craig Kimbrel, who the Padres acquired from the Braves in a last minute trade. Kimbrel is one of the best closers in all of baseball, racking up 186 saves since 2011 all on a 1.61 ERA and an insane 42.2% career strikeout rate. Adding Kimbrel sends Joaquin Benoit and Dale Thayer, two very high leverage type relievers, to roles in the 7th and 8th innings.
Each of these franchises have taken different paths to possibly contending in 2015 ,but they have all showed some sort of willingness to fill their rosters right now. Whether it be adding one piece that takes over them top, adding a few that could take a pretty good team to actual competitiveness, or by taking a franchise that hasn’t been relevant in a long time and creating some buzz around the club and the city, they all have shown the willingness to win. They may not all make the playoffs, but it will be exciting to see the product they put on the field in 2015.