Friday, February 28, 2014

MLB Offseason Losers

Here are five teams that didn't do so hot during Hot Stove season:

1. Cincinnati Reds
Cincy lost one of their top offensive players in Shin-Soo Choo and didn't do much else besides give Homer Bailey a whole lot of money he didn't deserve.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Bucs are guaranteed to take a big step back after an offseason of inactivity and letting A.J. Burnett go.

3. Boston Red Sox
Boston lost backstop Jarrod Saltalamacchia, shortstop Stephen Drew, and the team's most valuable player per fWAR from last year--Jacoby Ellsbury--to free agency. At 37, A.J. Pierzynski is likely too old to replace Salty's production, and the Red Sox are banking on Xander BogaertsJackie Bradley, Jr. and Will Middlebrooks to step up big this year. Given that Bogaerts is just 21 and the latter two struggled last year, that might prove to be a giant mistake.

4. Philadelphia Phillies
Thanks to a lot of questionable moves (signing Marlon Byrd, bringing back Carlos Ruiz), Philly's already aging roster is even older. Their nucleus is too old and washed-up to be championship caliber, but rather than admit that and rebuild the Phillies are tied down by the likes of Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and Jonathan Papelbon.

5. Detroit Tigers
They gave away Doug Fister for nothing and traded a still-in-his-prime Prince Fielder for a clearly declining Ian Kinsler, thus weakening both their starting rotation and their lineup. They still figure to be pretty good in an otherwise light division, but those moves will likely come back to haunt them in the postseason.

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