Welcome to Part II of our Remaining Pieces series - a series focused on identifying the biggest need for each team and one that goes division-by-division. As we explained last time, Mondays will be dedicated to American League teams, while Wednesdays will be focused around National League clubs, which brings us to today's report on the National League West.
Last season, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the division for the sixth consecutive season, but it wasn't an easy task and something that the Dodgers had to fight and claw for. After all, the Colorado Rockies finished one game behind the Dodgers with a 91-72 record, while the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team that occupied first place on the 1st of every month of the season, finished third ten games behind Los Angeles at 82-80. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants, a team that some thought could make the division really competitive and potentially the best in baseball, concluded the season in fourth place with the San Diego Padres rounding out the division in the fifth spot, nearly 30 games back of the Dodgers.
How will the division look this coming season? That has yet to be seen, but one thing is for certain - all five teams still have a need to fill out their roster - all of which will be discussed in length below.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (Outfield) - The Los Angeles Dodgers are a team that should arguably be in the derby for Bryce Harper even though there's been no mention of them even being close to interested. After all, this is a team that traded away from its outfield depth, cutting ties with Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, while focusing on trimming some payroll earlier this offseason, meaning that there are holes in the outfield and a need for a left-handed bat, something that Harper could provide to the everyday lineup. It's easy to automatically think that the Dodgers are in a pinch for money considering that their main goal in their blockbuster trade earlier this season, with the Cincinnati Reds, was to trim payroll, but you can't overlook the market that the Dodgers play in, the fact that they continue to post impressive attendance numbers year in and year out, and have a tremendous revenue stream constantly flowing into the team. Maybe the Dodgers will ultimately decide to enter the Harper derby, but it's getting late in the game and they haven't necessarily been too excited about it when they've been asked about the potential fit. If the Dodgers ultimately continue to avoid Bryce Harper, then their next best option would be free agent outfielder, AJ Pollock, who has played his entire career with the rival, Arizona Diamondbacks. Pollock would fit in nicely in centerfield with Cody Bellinger shifting over to left field and a combination of Enrique Hernandez/Chris Taylor/and Andrew Toles occupying right. If the Dodgers are serious about finally getting over the hump, they need to add some thump to their lineup and this is the winter to do it.
2. Colorado Rockies (Another Offensive Piece) - When you look at the Colorado Rockies on paper, you might automatically think they need to bolster their pitching staff with another addition, but that is not necessarily the front burner issue for the team right now. In fact, the Colorado Rockies starting rotation finished with a 4.17 ERA over 932 innings of work last season, while the bullpen posted a 4.62 ERA over 520.1 innings. Granted, both ERAs are high, but considering some of the talent in the pitching staff and the fact that the Rockies play at altitude, sort of gives them a hall pass from the argument that they should augment their pitching staff. On the other hand, pitching is ideally what helped keep the Rockies in the race last season, while the offense was something that struggled severely down the stretch and was something that was hard to come across for the entire team it seemed like. Although the Rockies made a nice addition with the signing of free agent, Daniel Murphy, on a two-year deal about two weeks ago, the team needs to focus on trying to bolster it's outfield mix, which likely will lose both Carlos Gonzalez and Gerardo Parra, to free agency this winter. As its slated right now, Colorado would open the season with Charlie Blackmon in left, Ian Desmond in center, and David Dahl in right field. That's certainly a trio that could use some upgrading of some form considering Desmond's offensive struggles and Dahl's potential of injury. Once again, someone like AJ Pollock would be a fabulous fit, but better yet the Rockies could always look to trade for Braves centerfielder, Ender Inciarte, and then reunite with Carlos Gonzalez, on a short-term deal, two moves that would tremendously bolster their roster.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (Infield/Outfield Depth) - The Arizona Diamondbacks are sort of in a tough position right now as they lost Patrick Corbin to free agency, they'll likely lose AJ Pollock to free agency, and ended up trading franchise icon, Paul Goldschmidt, to the St. Louis Cardinals. Now that the dust has settled with all of that, the Diamondbacks are left with talent in nearly every position on their roster, but have a severe lack of depth around the diamond and in the outfield. Arizona took a step towards somewhat addressing that lack of depth, a little while ago, by agreeing to a one-year deal, that includes an option for 2020, with free agent, Wilmer Flores, whom they plan on using at second base. That move likely would put current second baseman, Ketel Marte, in centerfield, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the offseason should be complete for Arizona. In fact, one intriguing name, who would fit very nicely on the Diamondbacks 25-man roster and would provide a high amount of value to the team is free agent, Marwin Gonzalez. Gonzalez has the ability to play all over the diamond, as well as out in the outfield, and would help to address some of the lack of depth that the Diamondbacks currently have. In addition, you can't overlook the championship pedigree that Gonzalez put together with the Houston Astros or the amount of veteran leadership that he could provide within the Diamondbacks clubhouse. Both are those things are very valuable and something that could help Arizona to outperform expectations this coming season.
4. San Francisco Giants (Outfield) - It almost sounds like a broken record at this point in this report, but the outfield is arguably the biggest need for the Giants at the moment considering the fact that it doesn't look like they are going to tear things down and start rebuilding. As it stands right now, you could make a fair argument that San Francisco has the weakest outfield trio in the game, besides the Cleveland Indians and could benefit tremendously, by signing a piece or two among the free agent, veteran outfielder group that remain on the market. Last season, right around the trade deadline, San Francisco was one of the teams that were in on the aforementioned, Adam Jones, and he certainly could fit in centerfield, as Steven Duggar is currently slated to be the Opening Day centerfielder. Besides bringing a level of stability to the position, Jones would bring veteran leadership to the Giants clubhouse and could be someone that could become a valuable trade chip down the line, if the Giants were to find themselves having to sell this coming July. Beyond Adam Jones, the Giants other area of need would be in left field, as Austin Slater is expected to be in right field and is someone that San Francisco probably wouldn't want to block from having constant playing time. The free agent options for left field aren't the most exciting (Denard Span, Colby Rasmus, Derek Dietrich, and Melky Cabrera), but among that group, Dietrich might be the guy that San Francisco needs to target. Dietrich could be a nice top of the order guy for San Francisco and provides some nice pop and versatility to match.
5. San Diego Padres (Starting Rotation) - So far this winter, the San Diego Padres have been linked to a number of notable names on the trade market including Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians, JT Realmuto of the Miami Marlins, and Nick Senzel of the Cincinnati Reds. While the Padres are still realistically a year away from being a true contender, they could surprise people and be competitive sooner than some realize considering the state of their farm system and the waves of big league ready prospects that they have coming. After trading away Brad Hand and Adam Cimber to the Cleveland Indians at the trade deadline last year, San Diego now has a great catching duo in Austin Hedges and Francisco Mejia, but there are some who question Mejia's ability to stay at the catching position, as some foresee him having a higher potential at a position, such as third base. With that being said, the Padres need to forego their wish of trying to land JT Realmuto from the Miami Marlins and instead focus on bolstering their starting rotation with some sort of impact arm, preferably someone that can help to mentor the team's young starting pitchers. Even though San Diego has it's eyes set on Corey Kluber, Kluber would likely be traded shortly after them acquiring him due to the difference in the timeline - Kluber will be 33 this coming season with three years remaining of control. So with that being said, San Diego could benefit from the likes of Wade Miley or Gio Gonzalez off the free agent market or potentially try to reach a deal with Sonny Gray of the New York Yankees, a name they have been targeting all winter long.
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