2023 National League preview

 We are one week away from Opening Day of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. With the World Baseball Classic having ended on Tuesday, it's back to business as usual. Well, at least for most teams.

National League East:

After getting pwned by the Atlanta Braves & the Mets last season, Philadelphia shocked everyone by winning the NL title, only to be brought back to reality after losing the World Series to Houston. The Phillies have said good-bye to Jean Segura (Miami) and Didi Gregorius, and signed Trea Turner (Dodgers) to take over at shortstop. All Turner did during the WBC was fall in love with the home run. The Phillies now need this burst of power, with Rhys Hoskins lost for the season with a torn ACL sustained today vs. Detroit. Bryce Harper isn't due back until perhaps July after undergoing Tommy John surgery. That means two of last year's free agent signings, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber, have to step up. Castellanos in particular disappeared during the World Series. Josh Harrison (White Sox) will be Turner's double play partner.

As we've noted the Phils fortified their rotation by signing Taijuan Walker away from the Mets, but lost Noah Syndergaard, as he went back to California (Dodgers). We'll get to "Thor" later.

In Miami, Don Mattingly stepped down as manager, and Skip Schumaker will be the new manager, coming over from St. Louis. He may have already made one big mistake by moving Jazz Chisholm, Jr. from second base to the outfield, the better to utilize Chisholm's speed. That means Jorge Soler, in his 2nd season in Miami, is going to be mostly a DH. Outside of Sandy Alcantara, the Marlins' best arm may be ageless Johnny Cueto. AL batting champ Luis Arraez (Minnesota) replaces Chisholm at second.

We talked about the Mets the other day. Now that their front line players have returned from the WBC, they should be fine. Washington? Fuhgeddaboutit!

That leaves Atlanta. Shenendehowa graduate Ian Anderson starts the season at Gwinnett (Triple A) to try to correct his control issues that plagued him last year. The Braves picked up catcher Sean Murphy (Oakland) to back up Travis d'Arnaud, but otherwise, it's pretty much the same cast as last year, save for Dansby Swanson (see below).

Projected order of finish:

1. Atlanta.

2. Mets.

3. Miami.

4. Philadelphia.

5. Washington.

National League Central:

The Chicago Cubs made some moves in the off-season, plucking pitcher Jameson Taillon away from the Yankees, and signing away shortstop Dansby Swanson from Atlanta. DH Trey Mancini just won a World Series ring with Houston. Willson Contreras is gone (St. Louis), but the Cubs signed Tucker Barnhart (Detroit) to take his place. Eric Hosmer flopped in San Diego, but he might find a home at Wrigley.

Cincinnati welcomed back catcher Curt Casali (San Fransisco), just in case Tyler Stephenson isn't 100%. Former Yankee farmhand Nick Solak was last seen in Texas. Otherwise, not much to write home about. The same can be said for Pittsburgh, although they are addressing defensive and offensive issues in signing Ji-Man Choi (Tampa Bay) and Austin Hedges (Cleveland). Prodigal son Andrew McCutcheon is back, but likely not for long. Rising star Connor Joe comes over from Colorado.

In St. Louis, the rich simply get richer. Lars Nootbar became a household name playing for Japan in the WBC. As noted Willson Contreras comes over from Chicago to succeed Yadier Molina behind the plate. Adam Wainwright returns for another season, but starts on the IL (groin). Milwaukee can also say they got richer. Jesse Winker returns to the NL after a year in Seattle. Brian Anderson was without a job in Miami, so he finds a home with the Brewers. The pitching largely remains the same. William Contreras (Atlanta) joins his brother in the Central division, so he & Willson will see each other frequently.

Projected order of finish:

1. St. Louis.

2. Milwaukee.

3. Chicago.

4. Cincinnati.

5. Pittsburgh.

National League West:

It used to be that it was the easy pick to set up Los Angeles as your division champion. Not so fast. San Diego tired in the NLCS, easy prey for Philadelphia, so they made some upgrades. Fernando Tatis, Jr. will finish his PED suspension to start the season, then move to the outfield to make room for Xander Bogaerts (Boston). Seth Lugo (Mets) projects as a starter, at least for now. Michael Wacha returns to the NL after spending last year in Boston. Matt Carpenter finished last year with the Yankees. Lugo & Wacha will join Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, and Yu Darvish in the rotation. The Dodgers won't be easily put down, of course, but they did lose Cody Bellinger (Cubs). Their outfield has been fortified with the addition of David Peralta (Arizona), although JD Martinez (Boston) is being projected strictly as a DH. There will be a pool on when Noah Syndergaard finally takes the mound as an opposing pitcher against the Mets, as he ducked them when he was with Philadelphia and the Angels last season.

If anything, San Francisco stocked up on pitching, signing Mets prospect Thomas Szapucki, Taylor Rogers (Miami), Ross Stripling (Toronto), Jakob Junis (Miami), Sean Manaea (San Diego), and Luke Jackson (Atlanta). The outfield has been bolstered with Mitch Haniger (Seattle) and Michael Conforto (Mets). Manager Gabe Kapler hasn't settled on a specific DH, so that position is by committee.

In Arizona, Evan Longoria (San Francisco) is hoping to resurrect his career, squeezed out of a job with the Giants. In what has been a trend, the Diamondbacks shopped for outfielders, getting Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. (Toronto) and Kyle Lewis (Seattle). The less said about Colorado, the better.

Projected order of finish:

1. San Diego.

2. Los Angeles.

3. San Francisco.

4. Arizona.

5. Colorado.

Of course, I could be wrong.