Big Changes in the Offseason for Teams with Nothing to Lose

Teams like Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Boston and Los Angeles are probably going to try to retain most of their rosters from last season. Why mess with success, right? But teams that ended the year well out of contention will probably make quite a few major changes in personnel, both on the field and in the dugout. The trick for the teams who finished ’08 low in the standings is to try to win as many games now- keeping their fans excited- while not breaking the bank by making desperate moves to simply buy up talent. Let’s take a look at a few of the NL teams in need of drastic changes:

  • San Diego Padres: This team has one of the best pitchers in the league in Jake Peavy, but they’re thinking of shopping him to shore up their batting order. This move will be about as popular with Pads fans as the recent Wall Street bailout was with taxpayers, and it has a similar cost-benefit strategy.
  • Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates were a substantial team from an offensive standpoint, but they already got rid of Jason Bay and Xavier Nady last season in trades to AL teams Boston and New York, respectively. Their best move might be trading away Nate McClouth, their remaining hitter, for a few starting pitching prospects.
  • Washington Nationals: Opinions are mixed as to how best the Nationals can get back into things quickly. This team might be better off investing long term, rather than trading players away over the offseason, although the desire for improvement might be great enough to warrant shopping Guzman or Milledge.
  • San Francisco Giants: The Giants have limitless potential in their pitching rotation and bullpen, but they need offense to go anywhere soon. The Giants should keep their pitching unit in tact and simply buy a few free agents who can hit.

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