Major League Baseball's annual winter meetings begin Monday, with many arriving Sunday. Generally speaking, the winter meetings have long been a place for lots of offseason action, notably trades and free-agent signings. Activity has been ratcheted down in recent years because of the influx of technology and front office personnel being able to easily communicate all the time, not just when they are all in one building.
Leading up to the meetings, we've already taken a look at the five other divisions, so now it's time it's the AL West.
The Astros have already been incredibly active, having already signed Josh Reddick and Carlos Beltran while trading for Brian McCann. So it would seem they aren't going to sit around passively this offseason. What else can they do?
Pitching depth. Don't expect a huge splash, though:
Right now, the rotation appears to be Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers, Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton. In case of injury, you're looking at Joe Musgrove or Brad Peacock. With a team having aspirations of a deep playoff run, that's probably not going to cut it. Plus, the Astros surely learned their lesson from not having enough rotation depth to combat injuries last season. Look for them to add at least one and maybe two starters who could also work out of the bullpen.
There have also been rumors that Evan Gattis is on the trade block now that the team has flexibility there. If he is moved, again, count on the return being pitching.
The Angels continue to be in quite the odd situation. They have the best player in the world in his prime but not much more around him. They have a terrible farm system, so trading a bunch of prospects to surround Mike Trout with good talent is not an option. They already have a high payroll, so a free-agent spending spree is out.
What to do?
As things stand, they look at the major holes on the big-league roster and continue to try and stock the farm system while hoping things turn around in Trout's prime.
One of the key needs is second base and the Angels have been connected to Stephen Drew in rumors.
Another aspect would be rotation depth, namely in light of the way it was ravaged by injuries last season. Garrett Richards should be back, but Nick Tropeano and Andrew Heaney are still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Thanks to C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver departing via free agency, the Angels do get some money freed up, so maybe they patch up the rotation with a few short-term deals.
In all, though, the rumor mill concerning the Angels this offseason has been incredibly boring (see Drew, Stephen), so expect a quiet one.
The word among most execs this offseason has been that no team is in a full-on rebuild. While that's true, the closest team very well might be the A's. They were one of the worst teams in the AL last season and there doesn't appear to be a quick turnaround formula. Veterans Stephen Vogt and Jed Lowrie are surely available via trade while relievers Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle will probably join them once the big-time free agents (Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, Mark Melancon) are signed.
And then there's Sonny Gray. Is he permanently broken or was 2016 just an aberration? With such a weak free-agent class, Gray still has trade value, though the A's might need to wait until Chris Sale is either traded or it's reported that the the White Sox won't move him.
Reports have indicated that Billy Beane wants to build the next A's nucleus around youngsters like Ryon Healy, Jharel Cotton and Sean Manaea, who are under 25. Gray is 27.
It should be noted that Khris Davis is 29 and coming off a huge season, too.
Ultimately, the A's look to be one of the most prolific sellers this offseason, even if they hold onto Gray and Davis, which is very possible.
Seattle has already been active this offseason, grabbing Jean Segura, Danny Valencia and some bullpen help. The lineup looks pretty good, as does the bullpen.
The rotation right now could really be an issue, though. Felix Hernandez is clearly past his prime while Hisashi Iwakuma is zeroing in on 36 years old. James Paxton has lots of talent, but hasn't been able to put it all together -- or remain healthy -- for long stretches yet. Then it's Nathan Karns and a heap of futility.
The Mariners have been connected to Doug Fister in rumors. Given that they don't seem to have much payroll flexibility, expect them to be in on bargain bin type shopping in free agency for a starter. Names like Fister, Derek Holland, Brett Anderson, Jorge De La Rosa, Mat Latos and C.J. Wilson are bound to pop up here.
Beyond that, don't expect the Mariners to do much more than look for positional and bullpen depth.
The defending AL West champs right now figure to have Delino DeSheilds in center and either Joey Gallo or Ryan Rua at DH. Additionally, this would be assuming that Jurickson Profar is the everyday first baseman.
Sure, it's possible all of these things could turn out a positive. It just doesn't seem likely. Expect the Rangers to be aggressive for a center fielder and then a corner-infield/power-hitting type that could fill either DH or first base. On the latter, I wonder about the Rangers waiting out the market for Edwin Encarnacion? He'd be a perfect fit in that lineup.
Thing in center seem to start with holdover Ian Desmond, who is now a free agent after a good bounce-back season in 2016. Rumors have connected the Rangers with Desmond, though it's far from a sure thing. In fact, this is from Saturday:
There's also word that the Rangers are looking to fill their center field void via trade -- don't count on Andrew McCutchen, though -- and they do have a deep farm system.
Speaking of which, simply adding Andrew Cashner to the rotation doesn't necessarily fill it. The Rangers have been strongly connected to Chris Sale in trade rumors. Even if they don't grab Sale, don't count them out on adding a cost-controlled starter through trade.
So the Rangers checklist appears to be:
- Center fielder
- DH/1B type
- Starting pitcher
Of course, we can add on "depth" here, because that's what every team is after through the offseason.