MLB 2014 Look Ahead. AL West Edition

[TheGame]

Oakland A's
Player	Pos	2014 Age	Former Contract
Grant Balfour	RHP	36	3 yrs/$12.25M (11-13)
Bartolo Colon	C	41	1 yr/$3M (13)
Kurt Suzuki	C	31	3 yrs/$15.65M (11-13)
Chris Young	OF	30	5 yrs/$28M (09-13)

Kick this off with the division champs.
There is probably a good shot they don't bring any of their free agents back.
Balfour probably pitched his way out of their price range.

What they might do.
They will do what they do best.
Explore trades and discount free agents to plug holes.
A guy like Chris Perez might be in the price range for them at closer.
They do have a few in house candidates to choose from.
Unless something falls in their laps. They will probably fill out the rotation from within.

What could happen.
They decide to spend up a little and grab a guy like Justin Morneau.
He could be plugged in at first base and DH.
Due to his battle with concussion problems. They might get him at a decent price.

What I would do.
If not able to grab the guy from above. Go for a buy low on Corey Hart.
Coming of an injury, he might come cheap.
I would not be shocked to see him land a 1 or 2 year prove it deal.
But you have to keep in mind baseball players get paid on what they have done and perception.
So it's a very good chance he could get a nice 3 year deal from another club.
Besides that. The A's like the Rays are good at what they do.
Why fix something that isn't broken.

[TheGame]

Texas Rangers
Player	Pos	2014 Age	Former Contract	New Team	New Contract	Coverage
Nelson Cruz	OF	33	2 yrs/$16M (12-13)
Matt Garza	RHP	30	1 yr/$10.25M (13)
Colby Lewis	RHP	34	4 yrs/$10M (10-13)
A.J. Pierzynski	C	37	1 yr/$7.5M (13)
David Murphy	OF	32	1 yr/$5.78M (13)
Geovany Soto	C	31	1 yr/$2.75M (13)	Rangers	1 yr/$3.05M (14)
Jason Frasor	RHP	36	1 yr/$1.5M (13)
Joe Nathan	RHP	39	2 yrs/$14.75M (12-13)
Lance Berkman	DH	38	1 yr/$11M (13)

After two division near misses. Do they reload or rebuild ?
Most of the guys on their free agent list will probably not be back.
They have a small army of arms returning from injuries.
Good chance they fill out the closer role and rotation in house.
They just extended Perez for 4 years. So you have to figure he is already penciled in as a starter.

What they might do.
Fill the need for starting catcher with Brian Mac from the Braves.
Commit to Martin as the leadoff hitter and everyday center fielder.
Shop around for a second baseman or finally give up on switching Kinsler out from there.
If he stays at second base. You could see them go after a left fielder or give a guy like Gentry the job.

What could happen.
They make a run for a guy like Stanton from Miami.
The Rangers probably have enough bullets to pull off a move like this.
When you have guys like Beltre, Kinsler, Andrus and a solid group of starters under contract...
You reload and not rebuild. So trading away future prospects for a win now approach is not out of the question.
Going after a guy like Morales for DH, even with BMac behind the plate is possible.
So is bringing back Nelson Cruz. Not sure what kind of offers he would get on the open market.
Then you have to consider how much of his production was due to cheating or being his real numbers.
Either way...They brought him back for the last game with open arms. So a reunion is not out of the question.

What I would do.
I would at least kick the tires on Stanton. Would love to see what he could do surrounded by other decent hitters.
If that works and I land him. Maybe lower the bar at catcher and bring AJ back or check in on Ruiz.
Miami is honest and decides to build around Stanton.
Then I call the Dodgers and check the asking price on Kemp.
Same as above if I can land him.
If both trades fail.
Then I would go ahead and grab a guy like Brian Mac to catch.
This allows me to lower the bar a little for the rest of my lineup.
Martin
Kinsler
Beltre
Brian Mac
That is a pretty solid top 4 of my lineup.
Myself I like a balance of big fly and base snatchers.
So starting Gentry and Martin in the outfield would give me 3 solid stolen base guys in my everyday lineup.
You could do worse then bringing a guy like Cruz back. So I probably would consider him if the price is right.
Also would look to spend a little for my DH and would consider a Michael Young reunion.
Speaking of reunions...Napoli would also fit in at DH / 1B
If there was no chance of landing BMac.
Then most of the same plan built around Granderson is something I would consider.
What the Rangers have to know....
Teams like the A's and Angels are gunning for them...
Then a team like Seattle is starting to put together a nice young team.
This is going to be one of the toughest divisions in baseball.
What they do before the season probably means more this year, then any other one before it.

[TheGame]

Los Angeles Angels
Player	Pos	2014 Age	Former Contract
Jason Vargas	LHP	31	1 yr/$8/5M (13)

The good news is they don't have a lot of free agents. The bad news is they overpaid the past two off seasons with nothing to show for it.
Word on the street is the Angels are willing to deal Trumbo, Kendrick and Peter Bourjos for pitching.
Outside of some lower end free agents. The Angels will be looking at trades to add talent.

What they might do.
There has been rumors that the Padres would be interested in a guy like Trumbo.
The problem is, they don't have a lot of pitching to trade.
A team like the Angels is in win now mode. Any pitcher they add needs to be MLB ready and project as the 2nd or 3rd best rotation guy.
My feeling is they at least talk to the Tigers. The Tigers are rumored to be shopping Max, Porcello and even Fister.
The Tigers have needs in spots where two of the above players would fit.
There has also been talk that the Cardinals might be interested in trading for SS Eric Aybar.
We all know they have the pitching to swing pretty much any deal they want.
Not sure they're looking to add payroll. So they might not want to overpay to rent Max for a season.
You could argue that Porcello is a third starter. So he could be in play and in their price range.

What will probably happen.
I think they value Trumbo more than other teams do.
He might fetch a guy like Ian Kennedy from the Padres or they swing a deal with the Braves wrapped around Kendrick.
I think Porcello and Peter Bourjos line up in a trade as well.
Again. This team will be looking to compete without adding payroll.

What I would do.
I would look at a guy like Fister. He is more of a top of the rotation guy then Porcello is.
In Detroit you hardly hear about him due to guys like Max and Verlander.
Not sure the Angels would unload Kendrick in a swap for Fister. But it would be worth a shot.
I don't know that I would trade Peter Bourjos. He is a potential top of the order guy for years to come.
Trout has decent power and should be down in the order and given more RBI opportunities.
Trumbo is what he is. A power guy that will rarely hit for a high average. Those guys tend to get overvalued on the free agent market.
So if the Padres are willing to give you Kennedy for him, then do it.

[TheGame]

Seattle Mariners
Player	Pos	2014 Age	Former Contract
Joe Saunders	LHP	33	1 yr/$6.5M (13)
Kendrys Morales	1B/DH	31	1 yr/$5.25M (13)
Raul Ibanez	OF	42	1 yr/$2.75M (13)
Oliver Perez	LHP	32	1 yr/$1.5M (13)
Endy Chavez	OF	36	1 yr/minors (13)
Humberto Quintero	C	34	1 yr/$900k (13)
Franklin Gutierrez	OF	31	4 yrs/$20.25M (10-13)

Chavez and Perez are probably two guys they will consider bringing back.
Perez may have pitched his way into a raise. So if the market raises his price too much. The Mariners probably let him walk.

What they might do.
I think they will look at all options regarding adding a 1B / DH.
This is probably the last chance to see if Smoak is the guy at first base.
Right now they seem to have the infield set everywhere else with solid and affordable talent.
They found a closer in the second half of last season. They also switched Ackley from the infield to the outfield.
Without a doubt they have a solid 1 - 2 punch in the rotation. With even some solid young starters on their way up.
There was talk that Wedge wanted out because of the direction of this team.
I honestly don't see anything wrong with the direction of this team.
You have good young talent. Let them play and see if their potential is more than just potential.
Sure you can go out and add some older free agents. Maybe you get lucky and find another Raul or you whiff and find another Jason Bay.

What might happen.
They have been linked to some top of the market free agents. Maybe they pull the trigger on a guy like Ellsbury.
He is young enough to still be productive when all the young arms arrive to fill out the starting staff.
At the end of the day if the money is equal. Ellsbury would just return to Boston.
I think they dip their toes in the big boy pool of free agents. But probably don't land one.

What I would do.
Rumors are swirling that the Royals are shopping a guy like Billy Butler.
This guy is a hitter that is more of a DH, but can play first.
So you could park him there if Smoak struggles.
This team needs guys that can drive in runs. They have guys that can get on base and punk an extra base if needed.
Outside of a trade for a guy like Butler. I would stand pat and do next to nothing on the free agent market.
This team has a good young core group of talent. The goal should be to grow with them and have the money down the road to keep them.
This team is not one free agent away from beating Texas or the A's.
Sure if everybody plays a little above their potential it could happen. But not at a 100 million or higher price tag do you risk it.