Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays shocked everyone by reaching the World Series for the 2nd time in franchise history, only to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Series.
However, the Rays, because of being a small market team, have overhauled their roster, and the chances of repeating in 2021 are not as good as you'd think because of all the moves that were made in the off-season.
For example, Charlie Morton & Blake Snell, their top pitchers, chased the money to the National League (Atlanta & San Diego, respectively). Conversely, Chris Archer (Pittsburgh) returns to the Rays, joining the man he was traded for, Tyler Glasnow. Colin McHugh comes over from Houston. Michael Wacha (Mets) will be competing for a rotation role. Expect those Fozzie Bear posters from St. Louis to find their way to Tropicana Field. Chris Mazza, another ex-Met, pitched for Boston last year. Rich Hill came over from Minnesota.
Offensively, though, the Rays are, for the most part, intact, although outfielder Hunter Renfroe is gone (Boston). Catcher Francisco Mejia actually came over from San Diego in a swap for Snell, which may still end up biting the Rays' collective corporate tuchis. Brett Phillips (Kansas City) replaces Renfroe.
What is it about the teams in Florida and being cheap?
The popular pick in the division, though, is Toronto after getting outfielder George Springer from Houston via free agency. That was just the tip of the iceberg, as the Blue Jays also netted pitchers Steven "Welcome" Matz (Mets), Robbie Ray (Arizona), and Ross Stripling (Dodgers), plus infielder Marcus Semien (Oakland) in the off-season. Pitching had to be a priority, as the Jays also picked up potential closer Kirby Yates from San Diego, and starter Tyler Chatwood from the Cubs.
With Springer adding to a young offensive core with second generation sluggers Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., & Cavan Biggio, Toronto looks like it means business.
Baltimore can't help but be a doormat, no matter what changes were made. The Orioles recently signed infielder Maikel Franco (Kansas City), reuniting him with former Philadelphia teammate Freddy Galvis (Cincinnati). Otherwise, nothing special.
In Boston, Alex Cora returns after a year's suspension for the Houston sign stealing scandal. Unfortunately, while the team still has some punch with the additions of Marwin Gonzalez (Minnesota) and ex-Valleycat Enrique "Kike" Hernandez (Dodgers), along with the aforementioned Hunter Renfroe, the pitching isn't exactly top shelf with Chris Sale starting the season on the injured list. Adam Ottavino comes over from the hated Yankees, and the Red Sox heisted Garrett Richards from the Angels. It's not going to be enough in the long term.
The Yankees ended up 7 lengths in arrears of Tampa Bay last season, and, like the Blue Jays, prioritized pitching. Masahiro Tanaka returned home to Japan. James Paxton decided to return to Seattle. So they picked up starters Jameson Taillon (Pittsburgh) and Corey Kluber (Texas), along with reliever Darren O'Day (Atlanta), who is added to the list of players who've been on the rosters of both the Mets & Yankees over the years. Speaking of which, Justin Wilson returns to the Bronx after spending 2020 with the Mets. Still another ex-Met, Jay Bruce (Philadelphia) is a non-roster invitee. The offense is still there, and with Tampa having dropped down, the Yankees should move back up, and will.
Projected order of finish:
No comments:
Post a Comment