2013 MLB Spring Training Thread

[Gohron]

I know spring training hasn't officially kicked off but most teams have already moved south and just about finalized their 40 man rosters.

There's a couple of impact free agents still available. Who would have thought that Michael Bourn and Kyle Lohse would still be available at this point with no immediate indication of them signing somewhere? Will they still be unemployed when spring training games start? When the regular season starts?

I know a lot of jobs are still available on the 25 man rosters but it's time for predictions!

AL East: Baltimore Orioles
If their season wasn't a fluke last year, they're in a pretty good spot. The Yankees didn't do anything significant and will have a team that's one year older. The Jays may show huge improvements but there's still a lot of questions on their roster.

AL Central: Detriot Tigers
They have a lot of muscle in their line up and a decent pitching staff. I think their lack of domination last year was more bad luck than anything. I don't see any of the other teams being all that good.

AL West: Los Angeles Angels
They probably have the best line up in the game and a good enough pitching staff. A lot will rest on Pujols and Hamilton as well as a follow up by Mike Trout. The early season struggles aren't likely to occur again. This will probably be a pretty tight division outside of Seattle and Houston.

AL Wild Cards: Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees
Tampa Bay just missed the post season last year and their young players will have another year of development under their belts. New York is probably worse off but their team is still pretty stacked. Texas and Oakland may grab a spot but have some big questions about their rosters.

AL Darkhorse: Toronto Blue Jays
They look good on paper. Will Josh Johnson be healthy? Will Edwin Encarnacion keep it up? Is Jose Bautista over his wrist injury? Can Ricky Romero rebound? Will all the new faces mesh well? The answers will be the difference between another season near .500 and a season in which they're the class of the league.

NL East: Washington Nationals
I hate this one. The Nats look to have one of the best pitching staffs and a line up that has a more experienced Bryce Harper and a healthy Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman. An available Stephen Strasburg down the stretch will help them finish strong. Atlanta probably won't be far behind.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
They return with many of the same pieces from a season in which they were better than their record suggested. The Reds are probably going to be battling them in the standings all year.

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Their improvements were significant and major to an already contending team. Last year didn't work out but they're looking at a more healthy season of Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsly to go along with their new expensive toys.

NL Wild Cards: Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves
Cincinnati will be fighting for the Central and Atlanta will be fighting for the East. If they don't manage to take their divisions, they probably are still looking at 90+ wins. San Fransisco will probably be in the mix of the wild card race but I don't see them beating out the Dodgers.

NL Darkhorse: Philadelphia Phillies
A lot went wrong before the trade deadline that sunk the season of a team that had 102 victories the year before. Is Ryan Howard fully recovered and can he put the breaks on his steady decline? Is Chase Utley going to start the regular season and will he still be one of the better second basemen in the league? Can Roy Halladay maintain his health and join Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee to once again produce one of the best starting pitching staffs in the game? Will the young bullpen continue the success they had late last season to go along with the addition of a (hopefully) healthy Mike Adams? Does Michael Young have another good season in him? Can Darin Ruf translate his power to the big leagues and will Domonic Brown finally become the player he was projected to be as the #1 prospect in baseball a couple of years ago? The Phillies still have a team that could potentially be the best in the NL but really has a ton of questions about their both aging and inexperienced roster. If at least one of the young outfielders step up and they get more reliable innings out of the bullpen, they'll have a shot. The division is a lot better from 2011 but they'll be a tough team to beat if some of these things go right this year. If not, they have close to $80mil potentially coming off the books with which to rebuild with in 2014.

Predict away.

[Timber]

One prediction...

Reds, world series champs.

[Yoshi]

Pitchers and catchers in a week!

[Diff-chan]

Worst team: Mets

[Gohron]

The Marlins are still an MLB team Diff, don't be silly.

[raystorm]

God I can't wait! Spring training soon....the WBC in a month. The Mets will be shitty again. I mean really that outfield is a joke. I hope Sandy doesn't give Bourn some stupid contract. Who the fuck is Michael Bourn? Fuck Frank Frank too. Shitty ass closer. I CAN FEEL MY BLOOD BOIL ALREADY AND ST HASN'T STARTED! IT FEELS GREAT!

[Gohron]

As he is, Michael Bourn is among the top center fielders in MLB. Based on his age and the likelihood of it's affect on his talents, a 5 year contract may not be the greatest idea but he's not exactly negotiating from a position of strength right now. Mandatory reporting dates are a week away and the number of teams in the market for a CF has dwindled. At this point, Bourn may have to settle on a one year contract and try again next year.

[Yoshi]

I'd give him a couple years and a team option for a third if Alderson is able to circumvent the draft pick penalty.

[raystorm]

Zack Wheeler who should be up in September ...maybe earlier?


Travis d’Arnaud


Dave getting some swings in..

[Gohron]

I'd give him a couple years and a team option for a third if Alderson is able to circumvent the draft pick penalty.

That'd be a pretty good deal for the Mets if they could hammer it out. I think that Boras would probably go for the one year deal with the hope of succeeding with the longer contract next year though. It may not have been a wise move but Bourn probably would've gotten his asking price already if the market wouldn't have flooded with cheaper alternatives through trades and free agency for the teams who were looking for help in CF. The class of available centerfielders was abnormally saturated with very similar players this year. I don't think it was expected that the Twins were going to move Denard Span and Ben Revere so easily. I also think that Justin Upton's availability was underestimated.