Five Teams with More Questions than Answers as Spring Training Approaches

Photo Courtesy of MLB.com 

By: Chris Larson 

Pitchers and catchers are getting ready to report at various points of time this coming week and Spring Training is literally right around the corner. In fact, the first Cactus and Grapefruit League live game action gets underway in less than two weeks. However, despite that fact there are still a handful of teams around baseball that have more questions than answers as the calendar gets closer and closer to the official start of Spring Training.

Usually when Spring Training approaches, many teams already have things figured out and are ready to head into camp to see how their 26-man roster competition shakes out. While this offseason was action packed especially on the free agent market, there are surprisingly still teams out there that do not fall into that category. It could be because they did nothing to improve their current roster this offseason, are currently in a holding pattern in regards to a potential trade or two, or because there is uncertainty regarding a star player on their roster.

Therefore, it's time to identify those five teams and encourage them to get those questions answered sooner than later so that they can have a successful Spring Training and not have a bunch of questions looming over their head the entire time.

Photo Courtesy of The Denver Post 

1. Colorado Rockies - Easily the number one team on this list with a ton of questions is the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies have done virtually nothing all offseason, have aggravated and created even more tension with their star third baseman Nolan Arenado, and only angered a fanbase that is excited to make it back to October. As things stand right now, the biggest question revolves around the aforementioned Nolan Arenado and whether or not he will be a member of the team once Spring Training concludes. Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like a trade was inevitable and likely to happen, but since then things have seemed to cool off a bit and there hasn't been nearly as much chatter. Despite that though, General Managers are sneaky creatures sometimes so you never know when a deal could be building behind the scenes.

Furthermore, there are a ton of questions surrounding the Colorado Rockies pitching staff - both in the starting rotation and bullpen. Just three offseasons ago, the Rockies committed north of $100 million dollars in relief pitcher signings and it seemed as though Colorado was trying to build a super bullpen. Despite those efforts, the plan still has yet to surface the way it was meant to and there are concerns regarding the performance and health of many of the teams relievers going into this season. Additionally, the starting rotation is going to need to bounce back to the 2018 version compared to last year's version if the Colorado Rockies want to even have a chance at being a contender. Can German Marquez lead the way and be the team's ace? How will Kyle Freeland fair and can he return to 2018 form? What about Jon Gray? Those are only a few of the many questions surrounding the Rockies starting rotation right now. On paper, those names have a lot of talent and potential so if they are able to live up to those expectations, then Colorado should be in good shape.

Photo Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

2. Chicago Cubs - Next on the list of teams with more questions than answers as Spring Training approaches is the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have had a very slow offseason that has resulted in only a few minor league deals being handed out mainly to bullpen arms that can compete for a spot on the team's 26-man roster this spring. However, there has been plenty of chatter surrounding yet another All-Star caliber third baseman in Kris Bryant all offseason long. One of the reasons why things were to slow on that front was because the Cubs were waiting for an arbitrator to rule how much more control Bryant had remaining on his current contract. Teams wanted to know that before they offered a package of prospects and MLB players in return and the arbitrator ultimately ruled in the Cubs favor signaling that Bryant has two years remaining before free agency. Just this past week, there was a report that multiple National League teams had reached out to the Cubs offering different types of packages.

Although, the team has yet to pull the trigger on any of those packages and seem poised to head into this spring with Kris Bryant as part of their roster. That doesn't mean that a deal can't happen sometime during Spring Training though. Outside of that, the Cubs have questions about how well their position player group can perform and who the team's leadoff hitter will be. The leadoff hitter issue has been something that has plagued the Cubs since the conclusion of the 2016 season which was the year that resulted in a World Series Championship for the organization. When it comes to the position player group, there are questions surrounding whether or not Jayson Heyward can bounce back and how well Ian Happ will do since he is slated to be the team's full-time centerfielder. Finally, just like the Colorado Rockies, there are questions about the pitching staff. Last year, Yu Darvish took a step forward, but can he do that again? How will both Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana perform? How does the competition for the fifth spot shake out? In regards to the bullpen, the biggest question surrounds Craig Kimbrel and how he will perform.

Photo Courtesy of The Boston Herald

3. Boston Red Sox - Right now, the Boston Red Sox seem to be in a complete mess with issues both on and off the field. The biggest issue at the forefront right now is the pending Mookie Betts-David Price blockbuster trade that would have involved four teams: the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Angels. The deal has a lot of moving parts and while there were reports yesterday that the Twins had officially pulled out of the deal, Minnesota is still trying to negotiate with the other teams to get a deal done. Another possibility is the idea of the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers completing a trade which would then allow the Dodgers to trade outfielder Joc Pederson and potentially someone like right-hander Kenta Maeda to the Los Angeles Angels in a separate deal. Until the deal gets done though, there is a lot of pessimistic Red Sox fans out there right now and the whole thing has been a bad look for the team's front office and ownership group.

Beyond that, the Boston Red Sox have questions on the field regarding who their next manager will be and what penalties will come from the current MLB investigation being done on the team. According to a report by Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, the team was reportedly going to hire Ron Roenicke to be the next manager, but that report was later countered by other various reports which indicated that the search is still ongoing. Therefore, it's fair to say that there's probably been little to no clarity that has surfaced from that process. Additionally, the Red Sox still don't know exactly what type of penalties they will incur based on the current accusations that the team cheated during the 2018 regular season which ended up being the year the team won the World Series. Until the results of the investigation are officially released, those concerns and questions will continue to loom over the teams head heading into Spring Training.

Photo Courtesy of The Baltimore Sun

4. Houston Astros - Although there has been clarity regarding the cheating scandal of the 2017 regular season and the Houston Astros have named a new manager in Dusty Baker along with a new General Manager in James Click, there are still plenty of questions to be answered. The Astros players already know that they are going to get bombarded by reporters trying to dig and find out more information about the team's cheating efforts from that season. Reporters, fans and the rest of baseball alike want to know exactly what processes were followed, the tactics and methods that the team followed to cheat and steal signs, and what role various players and coaching personnel played in the entire process. It's a significant issue and one that is going to take quite some time before everything is answered. While that could all happen before the conclusion of Spring Training, it's more likely than not that this is going to be something that looms over the Astros all season long.

Besides those questions, the Houston Astros have an even bigger question in regards to how the team will perform this year. It would not be a surprise to see this as something that negatively effects the teams performance on the field and in the standings this year. In fact, an argument can be made that it could be so detrimental that the Astros end up missing out on the playoffs altogether and the Oakland Athletics end up winning the American League West crown. Granted, the game is played on grass not paper and anything can happen during the course of a 162-game season, but that's definitely an increasing possibility. Furthermore, questions surround how the Astros will replace the loss of starting pitcher Gerrit Cole in their rotation and how the team's catching situation will shake out this season. Right now, Martin Maldonado is the team's starting catcher with Dustin Garneau as the team's backup catcher, but if an injury or two happens at any point this spring, how will the team address the lack of depth at that position?

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

5. St. Louis Cardinals - This offseason has been a very uneventful one for the St. Louis Cardinals and their entire fanbase. St. Louis has failed to add any type of impact to their starting lineup and that is going to be something that looms over the Cardinals head during the entire course of Spring Training. The Cardinals desperately needed to add an impact bat to pair with, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of their batting order heading into this offseason, and that need only increased when the team saw outfielder Marcell Ozuna sign a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves last month. As a result, the Cardinals are left hoping that someone from their current position player group will step up to the plate and be that number four hitter behind Goldschmidt, but they are definitely betting and asking for a lot on that front. Furthermore, the team's outfield situation remains murky especially considering the lack of impact that it consists of. Can Tyler O'Neill hold down the everyday left field job? Will centerfielder Harrison Bader be able to bounce back to 2018 form at the plate and in the field? How is right fielder Dexter Fowler going to perform? Those are the main questions regarding the Cardinals current outfield.

Beyond that, the Cardinals have question marks about Matt Carpenter and the role he will play on the team as well. Carpenter is blocked at first base by the aforementioned Paul Goldschmidt and doesn't have an everyday job at third base either because of Tommy Edman. Therefore, the Cardinals will need to answer where and how Carpenter fits into the team's plans for this coming season. In addition, as with some of the other teams on this list, the Cardinals starting rotation has some question marks as well. Most notably it surrounds around the number two-five spots as ace Jack Flaherty is more than capable of repeating his performance from last season. However, can Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson do enough to provide the Cardinals with substantial value in the middle of the starting rotation? How will Adam Wainwright perform? How is the competition for the number five spot going to shake out and will Carlos Martinez be able to lock down that spot? That's exactly the type of questions the Cardinals starting rotation will face this spring.