The NL East Will Be Most Competitive Division in Baseball
Previewing the criminally talented NL East.
The Stove couldn’t have been hotter in the NL East this offseason.
A total of 28 Major League contracts have been signed across the division, not inclusive of the handful of minor league deals that will undoubtedly crack the 26-man roster.
That has produced what I now believe to be the most competitive division in baseball. If you think any one of these five teams could win the division, you’d be right.
So before you try to tell me it's the AL East or the NL West, I’ll introduce you to the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The San Diego Padres are this year’s MLB version of the 2019 Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore Orioles have already missed the playoffs. Moving on.
With so many fresh faces, I sat down. I took a look at some of the new names joining the East from the kid’s table, including expired contracts returning for 2021 (i.e., JT Realmuto returning to Philadelphia or Marcell Ozuna in Atlanta).
I also took a look at each team's cumulative WAR following their busy offseasons.
According to Baseball-Reference, the Mets have added 6.7 Wins Above Replacement from 2020 with their flurry of transactions. The Braves and Phillies are behind them with 3.1 apiece.
With kudos going to the Metropolitans, there are many big names on this list, so without further ado, let’s take a look at what each team can plan to look forward to in 2021.
Starting with the New York Mets.
New York Mets
There’s genuine optimism circling this tortured franchise.
In arguably one of the offseason's most significant trades, the Mets welcomed Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians.
Frustrating players like Amed Rosario, Steven Matz, and Yoenis Cespedes are all gone.
The Jed Lowrie disaster will be just a blip on the radar any day now.
If an offseason loss hurt, it was veteran catcher Wilson Ramos (fan favorite everywhere he goes), but they softened the blow by signing James McCann.
They did everything right this offseason — they acted like the Yankees.
For the first time since 2015, Mets fans are unencumbered.
The Wilpons are gone, and it's actually great.
Washington Nationals
You cannot convince me this team’s planning on a rebuild. They’ve been too… active.
Familiar names like Michael Taylor, Kurt Suzuki, Adam Eaton, and Sean Doolittle are all gone but, honestly, good. They replaced all of them with better options:
Incremental change is good, and although they may have overpaid Kyle Schwarber (one-year, $10MM), they kept all of their free-agent investments short.
Schwarber, Jon Lester, Brad Hand, Ryan Zimmerman, and Alex Avila signed just one-year deals. That’s smart baseball following a 60-game season.
If this doesn’t work, they can start over next year. The reality being this team will compete.
You can’t waste these early seasons from Juan Soto and Trey Turner. Why not run it back with some low-risk, high upside additions?
Don’t sleep on Washington.
Philadelphia Phillies
You couldn’t have convinced me that Philadelphia would retain both JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorius after the front office's performance this offseason.
Well, despite all odds, it turns out the Phillies weren’t poor, and the two players who accounted for 25% of their RBIs in 2020 are back.
Now they need to learn from last year.
Philly got off to a hot start and quickly disintegrated thanks to a historically horrible bullpen (ERA of 7.06 in 2020).
First-year Phillies GM Dave Dombroski went out and addressed the bullpen immediately by bringing in Jose Alvardo, Sam Coonrod, and Archie Bradley, along with a couple of veterans on minor league deals like Brandon Kintzler and Hector Rondon.
They’re at least trending in the right direction on paper, but that’s a tired narrative. Time to make something happen, especially with the offense they’ve assembled.
This is what their lineup could look like this season. Tell me that’s not impressive:
This team pretty much has to make the playoffs this year, or that Bryce Harper contract starts to look *ahem* a bit silly.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins surprised just about everyone with a premature Wild Card berth in an abbreviated 2020 season.
With a relatively quiet offseason, it's all about how this young roster responds to a full season.
They made a couple of moves through free agency by fortifying their bullpen and outfield.
Anthony Bass and Ross Detwiler are nice veteran bullpen additions, but I’m not sure they move the needle. On the other hand, Adam Duvall could make a big difference following his 16 home run performance last season, best for third in the NL.
You can do worse than Duvall, Corey Dickerson, and Starling Marte as your starting outfielders.
Combine that with the legitimate power Miami’s gambling on from Jesus Aguilar, Jorge Alfaro, and Brian Anderson, this offense could bring a lot of pop to the table.
Again, with such a young team, and more specifically young starting pitchers, it'll just be interesting watching how they hold up over the course of the year.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves are the best boring team in the NL.
They’re basically returning the same starting lineup, and for a good reason. Atlanta didn’t need to do much in supplementing their roster as reigning champs of the East.
Resigning Marcell Ozuna and his NL leading 18 home runs was a great start.
Adding some pitching, namely, Charlie Morton, was essential, especially with Mike Soroka on the mend. Morton might even end up getting the nod on Opening Day (according to sources).
The aforementioned Duvall left town, along with future Hall of Famer Nick Markakis and one of the most mysterious pitching prospects of my lifetime, Mike Foltynewicz.
But I have a couple of names that may scare you.
Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna. It's a perfect blend of talent, young and old. This team remained quiet throughout the offseason, but I have a feeling they’re laughing at everyone else.
The silent, strong type is always the scariest.
Final NL East Predictions:
NL East Champs: Atlanta Braves
Wildcard Nominee: New York Mets
In the Hunt Until the Final Week: Philadelphia Phillies
Hottest Start: Washington Nationals
Most Trades at the Deadline: Philadelphia Phillies
Biggest Trade Deadline Firesale: Washington Nationals
Most Likely to Have an Owner to Get In Trouble Involving Cryptocurrency: New York Mets
Most Likely to Be in Miami: Miami Marlins
Tommy Orme is a former contributing writer for 247Sports and Fanduel living in New York City working in Media Investment.
For any professional inquiries, please email tg.orme@gmail.com or DM @t_orm3 on Twitter.
