2021 baseball preview, conclusion

 We're going to wrap up the preview, as we're three days away from opening day.

National League Central:

The talk in Chicago regarding the Cubs is centering on pending free agency for infielders Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez, either after this season or next. The Northsiders have already lost Kyle Schwarber & Jon Lester (Washington), and can't risk any further losses of their core players if they want to be players in the division title chase in 2021.

On the positive side, they've replaced Schwarber with Joc Pederson (Dodgers), while Jake Marisnick comes over after being underused by the Mets last season. Zach Davies (San Diego) came over when Yu Darvish was traded away. Reliever Jonathan Holder (Yankees) could make a quality 5th starter.

Cincinnati has been underachieving more often than not in recent years. They would be well served to have reliever-pinch hitter Michael Lorenzen move into the rotation, adding another power bat to the lineup every 5 days. There are rumors, though, that this could be the last season that pitchers would be allowed to bat in the NL, if they go through and add the DH next year. 

Milwaukee picked up outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. in the off-season (Boston), and snagged ex-Tri-City Valleycat Derek Fisher & ex-Yankee prospect Billy McKinney (Toronto) as a bonus. Lorenzo Cain returns after sitting out 2020 due to COVID concerns. A starting outfield of Cain, Bradley, and Christian Yelich should be interesting.

In Pittsburgh, the hot talk in camp surrounds 2nd generation infielder Ke'Bryan Hayes, whose father, Charlie, played for Philadelphia and the Yankees, among others, winning a World Series with the Bombers in 1996. Otherwise, nothing to be scared about, especially after losing pitchers Joe Musgrove (San Diego) and Jameson Taillon (Yankees) in the off-season. St. Louis remains largely intact, adding only power hitting 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado (Colorado), which strengthens infield defense.

Projected order of finish:

1. St. Louis.

2. Milwaukee.

3. Chicago.

4. Cincinnati.

5. Pittsburgh.

American League West:

Houston welcomes back catcher Jason Castro (Minnesota), who will back up starter Martin Maldonado. Otherwise, the scandal-scarred Astros will stand pat, although their big free agent acquisition, pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who also comes over from Minnesota, starts the season on the injured list. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim reloaded the pitching staff, picking up Alex Cobb (Baltimore), Raisiel Iglesias (Cincinnati), Jose Quintana (Cubs), and Dylan Bundy (Baltimore) in the off-season. They also improved their outfield defense with Dexter Fowler (St. Louis), and had ex-Met Juan Lagares in camp, but it does not look like the rocket-armed Lagares will be on the opening day roster.

The rest of the division is loaded with underachievers who will make noise. I don't see Oakland getting back to the postseason, and Seattle and Texas will be cannon fodder by Labor Day.

Projected order of finish:

1. Angels.

2. Houston.

3. Oakland.

4. Seattle.

5. Texas.

National League West:

Everyone knows by now that the Los Angeles Dodgers, coming off their first World title in 32 years, won the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes, adding to an already very good starting rotation. Bauer will help Clayton Kershaw mentor younger hurlers Dustin May and Walker Buehler. Not only that, but with David Price returning after sitting out 2020, the Dodgers could repeat. Arizona begins year 2 with Madison Bumgarner as their ace. They picked up outfielder Kole Calhoun from the Angels, but didn't do much else. San Diego may be the only legit challenger to the Dodgers. They picked up catcher Victor (Beta)Caratini in the Yu Darvish deal with the Cubs, and added Austin Nola (Seattle) as insurance. Of course, Darvish wasn't the only big ticket coming west, as the Pads also snagged Blake Snell (Tampa Bay).

Colorado will regret letting Nolan Arenado go (St. Louis), but the lineup isn't as scary as it once was. San Francisco stood pat for the most part. Not a good idea.

Projected order of finish:

1. Los Angeles.

2. San Diego.

3. Arizona.

4. San Francisco.

5. Colorado.

Of course, I could be wrong.