Fix Your Broken Team in One Offseason: AL West
Your favorite baseball team is broken. There is lots of work to do this winter, whether they need a shortstop, more starting pitching, or a front office facelift. If they took the field today, they would be a total disaster. Hell, they probably don’t even have enough players! Don’t despair— here are three reasons why everything will work out just fine (probably).
- Your 29 rivals are also broken. They all exist on the spectrum between “moderately flawed” and “Colorado Rockies.”
- It’s only November. There’s a cold, dark, expansive offseason ahead of us to suck the joy out of life— possibly including a work stoppage— in which your team’s front office can maneuver, supplement, and revise the roster.
- (Most important) – Off the Bench knows how to fix everything! With our years of part-time blogging experience, we have the panacea for each of the 30 MLB clubs.
In an act of pure largesse, we have decided to tell each franchise how to fix itself. You’re welcome, MLB. AL East/ NL East / AL Central / NL Central
Houston Astros
The AL champion Astros must reload (again) to perpetuate their streak of five consecutive ALCS appearances.
What went right: Same as usual. The Bregman-Correa-Altuve-Gurriel infield drove the engine, but the two best hitters were actually Kyle Tucker and Yordan Álvarez. No team is better at manifesting #2 starters out of nowhere.
What went wrong: For as long as the core remains together, no franchise in baseball will be more universally reviled. The stench of the cheating scandal and the sordid, macabre efficiency of Jeff Luhnow still lingers, no matter how beloved Dusty Baker may be. It will take a full baseball generation to clear it out.
How to fix them: After the pre-lockout frenzy, the biggest free agent remaining— not just for the Astros, but in the entire league— is Carlos Correa. One of their top prospects is Jeremy Peña, a Major League-ready defensive stud at shortstop, but he certainly can’t make up for Correa’s 7.2 WAR. If they don’t bring back their superstar, they will need to find a stable option somewhere else in case Peña doesn’t hit.
Los Angeles Angels
Only the Angels could finish in fourth place with a once-in-a-lifetime talent. No, not that once-in-a-lifetime talent, the other one.
What went right: What more is there to say about Shohei Ohtani? The AL MVP compiled the most uniquely dominant, drop-what-you’re-doing-and-watch-him season in MLB history.
What went wrong: On May 17, Mike Trout, who was hitting .333/.466/.624, strained his right calf. He was expected to miss just a few weeks but remained mysteriously sidelined for the rest of the season. The other, other superstar, Anthony Rendon, struggled in the first half and didn’t take the field again after July 4. Almost every pitcher other than Ohtani pitched like a DH.
How to fix them: Obviously they need to keep Ohtani, Trout, and Rendon healthy, but it’s a running joke that the greatest player of the generation hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2014 (you know which one we mean). It’s unfathomable that they perpetually fail to find pitching. Rolling the dice on Noah Syndergaard and re-signing Raisel Iglesias were smart moves, but they need more quality arms in the rotation and bullpen.
Oakland Athletics
The A’s situation is about to get ugly, both on and off the field.
What went right: Matt Olson has bloomed into arguably the best all-around first baseman in the game. The Bassitt-Manaea-Montas-Irvin-Kaprielian rotation was outstanding and durable, starting 144 games in total. Even though the club came up short, it was nice to see the front office make a run at the trade deadline. They won’t do that again for a while.
What went wrong: It seems like the A’s have been threatening to leave Oakland since the Bash Brothers Era. Now they’re eyeing a move to Las Vegas. If they can afford to put a $1 billion bid on Vegas Strip property to erect a $1 billion ballpark, they can surely afford to pay for their own stadium in Oakland. Taxpayers and their elected representatives shouldn’t give them a dime. Speaking of money…
How to fix them: The portrayal of the A’s as a cash-strapped David surrounded by Goliaths is a falsehood. Principal owner John Fisher is a multi-billionaire who profited enormously during the pandemic as the rest of the nation struggled, and the club is worth an estimated $1.125 billion— more than six times greater than his initial purchase price in 2005. Now the club is initiating a massive firesale that will likely send off Olson, Matt Chapman, and several pitchers. Don’t believe the narrative that Fisher and the A’s can’t afford to pay players arbitration salaries. If he’s no longer interested in competing, he should cash out and sell the team.
Seattle Mariners
The upstart Mariners made it all the way to the Black Card at the end of CharDee MacDennis only to have their game pieces stomped yet again.
What went right: Well, they won 90 games. How? That’s a difficult question to answer. They slashed .226/.303/.386 as a team and were outscored by 51 runs. Their best pitcher was Chris Flexen, who only compiled 6.3 K/9. Wait, this is supposed to be about what went right. Uh… they won 90 games… somehow.
What went wrong: 2020 Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis was hurt and superprospect Jarred Kelenic didn’t hit at all. 13 of their 26 position players hit under .200.
How to fix them: Seattle may have played over their heads, but they need to build on their success nevertheless. Julio Rodriguez is on the way and Kelenic should get things figured out. Singing reigning Cy Young Robbie Ray before the pandemic was a fantastic move. Trading for Adam Frazier should at least boost their team contact rate. They still have a few gaps in the lineup, but they’re off to a great start building a team that can break MLB’s longest postseason drought.
Texas Rangers
The 60-102 Rangers have already turned the page.
What went right: The story of the season was written in the days before the lockout. Texas signed two of the biggest free agents on the market: shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien. They also brought in outfielder Kole Calhoun and starting pitcher Jon Gray.
What went wrong: Gray is inarguably their best pitcher now, while Calhoun is probably their fourth or fifth-best position player (Seager and Semien are obviously the top two). That demonstrates how barren this roster was heading into the offseason.
How to fix them: Clearly, they’re on the right track. Despite all the massive signings, they’re still the fifth-best club in the AL West. It’s going to take a few years, but if they continue acquiring good players, they can only go up from here.
