Like the proverbial rearrangement of deck chairs on the Titanic, it's not clear that after all the dust has settled in the wake of GDP-sized signings and multi-team swaps that anything much has changed in the AL West.
The Texas Rangers, in effect swapped Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder and Shin-soo Choo in order to free up this year's model, Jurickson Profar, to play second base. If nothing else, the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit better now. Fielder is an upgrade on Cruz, especially the Cruz who got himself docked for a third of the season. Choo fills Cruz's spot in the outfield and fills the bases in Kinsler's place, while 21-year-old Profar provides the Rangers an opportunity to sport enviable youth in the middle infield alongside 25-year-old Elvis Andrus.
Texas still has the issue of perennial late-season wilting, which might be a function of Dallas heat, but until Fielder eats his way out of stardom the dealing keeps them around the top of the division.
The Seattle Mariners signed the best keystoner in the game and continue to wave American legal tender at free agents in a futile attempt to acquire enough hitting to keep King Felix above .500. As of now, their lock on the cellar (Houston not withstanding) remains uncontested as Cano pushes them five wins closer to mediocrity. If Cano is simply the opening salvo in their free agent push, that seven-year deal might pay off starting in years two or three. Seattle is said to have one of baseball's best farms.
The Los Angeheim Angels will attempt once again to parlay a trio of superstars into something better than third place. They'll need the real Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols to stand up in support of Mike Trout's to-scale imitation of Willie Mays. They have spent the off-season flipping a statuesque corner outfielder (Mark Trumbo) for a pair of promising starting pitchers and swapping center speedster Peter Bourjos for hot cornerman David Friese. That leaves the Halos secure at the corner but one short in the outfield, all of which is window-dressing unless Hamilton and Pujols move away from the kryptonite.
The Houston Astros are also allowed to play in this division as they claw their way back from the Minors. The Spacemen inked one average player (pitcher Scott Feldman) and traded for another (outfielder Dexter Fowler) who will instantly become the team's two stars. Wait 'til three years ago!
Finally there is the Oakland A's, the Soviet Union of this era. They remain a riddle wrapped in an enigma whose best hitter (Josh Donaldson) knocked in 35 runs in his career prior to 2013. Their best pitcher was an overweight 40-year-old (Bartolo Colon) coming off a steroid conviction. Their best player was a center fielder who notched his career year at age 33 (Coco Crisp) in the worst-hitting park he's ever called home. Their 2013 payroll, third lowest in the league, is projected to rise three whopping percent in 2014. Divesting themselves of Colon and their closer (Grant Balfour, 2.56 ERA, 38 saves) and retaining just seven players beyond arbitration helps keep the cost down, though the head-scratcher signing of perpetual puzzle Scott Kazmir (11% worse than average since 2005) to a two-year, $22 million bank breaker offsets some of that.
In any case, the A's will once again project to 83 wins before again leapfrogging Texas for the division title at year's end. Because that's what the Wild Wild AL West does.
No comments:
Post a Comment