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The long, cold winter is over! The clocks have sprung forward, which can only mean one thing! The Boys of Summer are back and the 2019 Major League Baseball season is officially upon us.
The season technically began this past week as the Seattle Mariners swept a two-gem series against the Oakland Athletics in the Tokyo Dome. This also marked the end of Ichiro Suzuki's legendary career as he retired after Thursday's game.
The "real" Opening Day is this coming Thursday as all of the teams will have their first game of the season. After a climatic end to last year's season, which saw two Game 163's in the NL Central and West, this season is looking to be just as competitive.
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The Yankees and Red Sox will battle it out for the AL East Crown once again, with no team having a clear edge over the other. While the AL Central and West might not be as competitive, it will be interesting to see which teams will be contending for the second Wild Card spot.
On the other side, the NL is shaping up to be the most competitive league. There is no clear favorite for the NL East, which is shaping up to be the most competitive division in baseball this season.
The Braves, Phillies, Nationals, and Mets each have a legitimate case as to why they can be considered the favorites.
In the NL Central and West, none of the top teams were extremely busy this offseason, with only the Cardinals being the most competitive team to make moves. Unlike past years, the second-place team in either division can't depend on the Wild Card this season with how competitive the NL East will be.
With that being said, here are the predictions for each division for the 2019 MLB season.
AL East: Boston Red Sox
The current World Series Champions are set to defend their title this season and that will begin with trying to win their AL East title.
The Red Sox had a pretty quiet offseason, but they did lose two major names in the bullpen in Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly.
The bullpen was the one weakness of the Red Sox last season, so losing two big arms won’t do them any favors. However, their offense is still intact and can carry them.
The Yankees would be the favorites this season, but they have been decimated by injuries this spring.
Ace Luis Severino, CC Sabathia, Delin Betances, Aaron Hicks, Greg Bird, and Didi Gregorious will all miss time this season due to injuries so it will be interesting to see how the Bronx Bombers respond. The additions of Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino will definitely help matters.
The Rays and Blue Jays will battle it out for 3rd and 4th. The Rays had a great season last year and would have made the playoffs if they were in almost any other division, but the Red Sox and Yankees were just that much better.
The Rays didn’t add much this offseason, but Blake Snell and Charlie Morton can be a nice 1-2 punch. The Blue Jays added some decent names with Clay Bucholtz, Bud Norris, and Clayton Richard, as well as Freddy Galvis.
The winner of the AL East will likely be decided by who beats up on the rebuilding Orioles the best.
The Yankees struggled a bit last year against Baltimore, while the Red Sox beefed up against them, which was the difference last season as it will be this season.
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
While the future may be bright for the AL Central, namely the White Sox, the general consensus is that the Central is the weakness in baseball.
Much like the last couple of years, it will likely come down to the Indians and Twins, with Clevland being the favorites.
The Indians added two bullpen pieces in Tyler Clippard and Oliver Perez as well as adding outfield depth with veterans Carlos Gonzalez and Matt Joyce and the re-addition of Carlos Santana.
Meanwhile, the Twins had a less sexy winter with signings such as Nelson Cruz, Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Schoop.
The most interesting team this year will be the White Sox, as this is the year that we need to see whether or not their farm system, which is among the tops in the league, will be as good as advertised or not.
If there is no improvement this season, then it might be time to consider trading some pieces or not on the South Side.
The Indians are still the favorites to win the division once again, but the only thing that might change that is if they decide to trade off some of their pitching, namely Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer, which had been discussed this winter during the Winter Meetings. The Twins will give them a run for their money, but will ultimately fall short.
AL West: Houston Astros
The AL West is in a weird position, as of this writing the Mariners are 2-0 and hold a two-game lead over everyone else after sweeping the opening series in Tokyo, Japan.
The Mariners are also interesting since they sold off most of their pieces this winter including Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano. This is weird since they were in contention for a Wild Card spot for most of last season.
The Athletics, who are 0-2, are also interesting since they made the playoffs last year as the 2nd Wild Card, but didn’t add much in the offseason to their major weakness, which was starting pitching.
They added Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada, as well as Jerry Blevins and Joakim Soria to their bullpen but is that good enough to replicate their success last season?
The Angles had a decent offseason, adding Trevor Cahill and Matt Harvey to their starting rotation, in addition to Cody Allen to the bullpen.
They also added Justin Bour and Jonathan Lucroy to their offense, which are decent additions to help Mike Trout, who just signed the largest contract in professional sports.
However, the Astros still remain the favorite to win the division once again. While they did lose some starters due to free agency and injury, the addition of Wade Miley should be enough to do with Justin Verlander, Gerit Cole, Colin McHugh, and Brad Peacock.
Their offense is still as dangerous as ever and should be more than enough to win the AL West once again.
NL East: Washington Nationals
For years, the NL East has always been known as one of the weakest divisions in baseball, often referred to as the “NLeast”. However, that won’t be the case this year as four teams have a legitimate shot at winning the division.
The reigning NL East champion Atlanta Braves had a quiet offseason, only adding former MVP Josh Donaldson and bringing back Brian McCann.
They did not address their biggest weakness though, which is pitching and the bullpen. They are in talks with Craig Kimbrel though, which would definitely help them.
The Mets had the most active offseason of the NL East teams, adding Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz from a trade with the Mariners.
They also brought back Jeurys Familia and signed Justin Wilson to bolster their bullpen, which was a disaster last season.
They also helped their offense by signing Wilson Ramos and Jed Lowrie. They also made a bunch of moves to help their depth. The question is are these moves enough to bump them from 4th place to 1st place?
They still lack starting pitching depth behind reigning Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Zack Wheeler. Steven Matz is still inconsistent and Jason Vargas is a huge question mark.
The Phillies had a great offseason. They signed arguably biggest free agent in Bryce Harper to a 13-year deal.
They also added to their offense by signing Andrew McCutchen, as well as trading for J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segarra. They helped their bullpen by signing David Robertson. Much like the Braves, their biggest question is their starting pitching.
Behind Aaron Nola, you’re not quite sure what you are going to get. They starting out well last season but fell apart in the second half. If they add soma pitching, then they definitely have enough offense to be the favorites in the East.
The favorites though, have to be the Nationals at this point. They have the most balanced team on paper in the division. Their starting trio of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and newly signed Patrick Corbin is only rivaled by the Mets top 3.
Their backend of Jeremy Hellickson and Anibal Sanchez is arguably the best in the division. The additions of Yan Gomes, Brian Dozier, and Tony Sipp feel like much better signings than the Mets made.
The Davison will likely be decided by who beats up on the Marlins the best, much like the AL East and the Orioles.
The Mets are notorious for struggling against Miami for some reason, so if that trend continues and the NL East is as competitive as many believe, then that puts them in a hole.
The Nationals seem like the most balanced team in the division and have fewer questions and holes than the other three teams, so they should be the slight favorites to win the East.
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
The NL Central is an interesting case, since the team that made the most moves isn’t even in contention to win the division, and probably not even the Wild Card.
The defending champion Milwaukee Brewers only major move this offseason was signing free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal.
They also brought back Mike Moustakas, so their offense will be more than fine. They have arguably the best bullpen in the majors, but definitely the best in the National League.
Their major weakness is their starting pitching depth. They are rumored to be a finalist for Craig Kimbrel, which would be big since Corey Knebel and Jeremy Jeffress are injured.
The Cubs also had a silent winter, making no major signings. However, they are still a very dangerous team with a lineup that has Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javy Baez.
They have a decent starting rotation featuring Kyle Hendricks, Cole Hamels, and Joh Lester is certainly good enough to regain control in the Central.
The Cardinals arguably had the best offseason of the Central teams. They signed Andrew Miller, who if he can return to his form from a few years ago, is a huge addition to their already deep bullpen.
They also traded for arguably the best 1st basemen in the NL in Paul Goldschmidt. The Cardinals were in contention for a Wild Card berth until the last weekend of the season, and with a better team this season you can expect them to do the same this year.
The Reds are the most interesting team in the division and the ones to keep an eye on. They acquired Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, and Yasiel Puig from the Dodgers in a huge trade. They got Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark from the Yankees and Nationals respectively.
They also added Zach Duke and Jose Iglesias. The Reds have a good enough offense to contend with the other teams in the Central, but their huge weakness is their pitching. Wood and Roark will help that, but that probably isn’t good enough to contend.
If they are out of contention by the trade deadline, keep an eye on the Reds as the team others talk to about making moves with.
In the end, the Central will be a three-team race between the Brewers, Cardinals, and Cubs much like last year.
The difference this year is that I think the Cardinals will overtake the Cubs for the second but will fall short to the Brewers. Also, like last year, the division will come down to the final weeks of the season.
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
The NL West feels a lot like the NL Central in the fact that the team that made the biggest splash probably won’t be in contention come to the end of the season and everyone else didn’t make a big move.
The Diamondbacks were in control of the divisor for the majority of the season until a late-season collapse sent them down to 3rd place.
They then lost Patrick Corbin, AJ Pollack, and Paul Goldschmidt in the offseason. It appears that the Diamondbacks are doing what the Mariners are doing, which is tearing down a team that didn’t quite live up to expectations.
The Dodgers, who many thought would sign either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, didn’t sign either and had a silent offseason. They signed Joe Kelly and AJ Pollack and traded for Russell Martin. Besides the Yasiel Puig trade, that was about all they did.
However, if we have learned anything from the past few years, it is to never doubt the Dodgers. They went from barely making the playoffs to making the World Series for the second year in a row.
The Rockies, who finished in second place, signed sluggers Daniel Murphy and Mark Reynolds, which should make up for losing DJ LeMahieu.
As usual, the Rockies offense is never the issue due to Coors, it is their pitching which they failed to improve on this winter. Losing Adam Ottavino will also hurt their bullpen.
The Padres are the team that had the biggest offseason in the West. They shocked the world and signed Manny Machado to a 10-year deal.
They also signed Ian Kinsler, Adam Warren, and Garrett Richards which are nice adds to the team.
However, the Padres don’t have much pitching and their lineup isn’t really that deep. Their saving grace is that they have the best farm system in the league, so while they may not contend this season their future is really bright.
With all of that being said, with the two closest teams to them not making huge improvements to overtake them, expect the Dodgers to remain the kings of the West once again this season.
Their lineup depth along with their pitching will be enough to hold off the Rockies once again. The Padres could contend for third as the Diamondbacks, Giants, and Padres are not that far apart from each other.
