One of the biggest signings of the off-season was the New York Yankees’ pickup of Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka for a reported $155 million over seven years. Some baseball analysts have expressed skepticism at the amount of money being given to the pitcher, who previously has only pitched in the Japanese league. He was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in Japan in 2013. Yu Darvish, a Japanese pitcher for the Texas Rangers who entered the MLB in a similar manner, publicly stated that he thinks the Yankees gave Tanaka too much money.
Another new addition to the Yankees, catcher Brian McCann, has been quoted as saying that Tanaka is “as good as advertised.” His split-fingered fastball has dazzled the players and coaching staff. “His motion’s completely the same as his fastball, and that’s the key to getting swings and misses,” McCann said of his splitter.
Tanaka is not the only big signing for the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers also inked McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran to multi-year deals. Former Yankee Robinson Cano, however, signed
a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners, who made a splash of their own in the off-season.
The National League East is expected to be dominated by the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves. The Nationals have a great starting rotation that includes star pitchers Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman. They also have a fairly deep lineup with players like Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond, Adam LaRoche and Jayson Werth. The New York Mets are getting better and could be a contender. They added Bartolo Colon to their starting rotation, and they have a pretty solid infield led by starting third-baseman David Wright.
The Philadelphia Phillies are not expected to be very competitive. They have an aging starting rotation and, during the offseason, have added older players to their roster, including 39-year old Bobby Abreu, who last played for the Phillies in 2006.
The American League East should be very competitive. The 2013 World Series champions, the Boston Red Sox, could very likely be the team to beat in the AL East in 2014. The Tampa Bay Rays avoided arbitration with starting pitcher David Price and re-signed him to a multi-year deal. The Yankees hope that Tanaka can add a big kick to their starting rotation. If Ellsbury performs as well as his contract indicates, they could find themselves playing postseason baseball after missing the cut last season. The Orioles have a deep lineup, which could easily lift them to the top of the division. They signed starting-pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez to a four-year deal. Their signing of power-hitting, outfielder Nelson Cruz could add a spark to their offensive lineup as well. It would not be too surprising to see the Orioles at the top of the AL East come the end of the regular season.
The central divisions in both leagues are pretty straightforward on paper. The NL Central should be the St. Louis Cardinals’ division to lose. Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina will lead a team that made it to the World Series in 2013 only to lose to the surging Red Sox. The Cards have a deep, firm system that should be able to pick up the slack in case of injuries. The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to follow their first postseason birth in 20 years with another shot in the playoffs, but they will have their work cut out for them in a division with the Cardinals.
The AL Central should be dominated by the Detroit Tigers, who have an outstanding pitching trio in Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez, as well as arguably the best hitter in the major leagues, Miguel Cabrera. As far as predictions go, the Tigers seem to be a lock for top of the division.
The west divisions are not so cut and dry. The Los Angeles Dodgers of the NL West have arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, as well as Zack Greinke and Yasiel Puig, who will look to expand on a phenomenal start to his career in his sophomore season. They could find themselves at the top of the division at the beginning of October. The San Francisco Giants, with players like Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Mike Morse, could be an offensive force that could lift the Giants over the Dodgers.
The Texas Rangers of the AL West could end up having the best offense in the league. They acquired Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo, who should strengthen their offensive potential significantly. Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish could also lead their defense well enough to clinch the division. The Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics could give the Rangers a run for their money. With another great season from Mike Trout and a healthy Albert Pujols, the Angels could break into the postseason for the first time in five years. The A’s scored almost 800 runs last season and signed a resurging Scott Kazmir in the offseason to add to their starting rotation. The A’s are not giving people many reasons to count them out of the playoff picture.
The Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks will open the 2014 regular season with a historic two-game series in Sydney, Australia on March 22 and 23. Opening Night for baseball in America will be March 30, as the Dodgers take on division rival, the San Diego Padres.
