With the conclusion of the divisional round of the playoffs, four teams advance with a shot at a title still alive. Conversely, four more teams join the rest of the league in thinking about next season. For the Rockies, Braves, Indians and Yankees, the offseason starts now. This is what lies ahead for the vanquished four.
The Rockies made the playoffs for the second consecutive season and advanced one round past 2017, when they lost in the wild-card game. They have an offense built around Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. They finally appear to have a decent rotation backed by German Marquez, Kyle Freeland Jon Gray, Antonio Senzatela and Tyler Anderson. David Dahl did enough to earn a starting outfield spot and Brendan Rodgers is probably advanced enough to pencil in for the middle infield with DJ LeMahieu's impending free agency.
While the Rockies have a good base, they've gotten little to no production from first base, catcher and both corner outfield spots, and the team needs to do a better job filling those positions. As mentioned above, Dahl could take one of those spots. The team could opt to give Ryan McMahon the first base job, but they would have to decide if the $40 million owed to 33-year-old Ian Desmond over the next three years is a sunk cost (it is). The team also could try to improve its defense by bringing in a center fielder and moving Blackmon to a corner.
With arbitration raises for Arenado, Story and Gray, the Rockies' payroll looks to be pretty close to their Opening Day payroll from this season at around $135 million. If the team wants to improve, they will have to spend more money next season. The team could opt to trade Gray if they have concerns about his development. Rumors about potentially trading Arenado in his final year before free agency seem likely to chase the team all offseason. Moving the third baseman could certainly fill a few holes, but the team should be good enough with him to contend without having to face a Manny Machado/Orioles-type situation in the summer.
The rebuild arrived a year early in Atlanta thanks to a hot start by Ozzie Albies, a great finish by Ronald Acuna Jr., the emergence of Mike Foltynewicz, and the continued excellence of Freddie Freeman. Last winter, the Braves essentially sat out the offseason with their only big move trading away Matt Kemp's multiple years of salary in exchange for the one-year commitments to Scott Kazmir, Adrian Gonzalez and Brandon McCarthy as well as utility infielder Charlie Culberson. Of the quartet of acquisitions, Kazmir and Gonzalez were released before the season started while McCarthy didn't pitch in the second half.
After a midseason trade, the Braves will have Kevin Gausman for a full season to join Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Julio Teheran and a ton of promising arms such as Max Fried, Michael Soroka, Luiz Gohara and Kolby Allard. They have a host of promising prospects sitting behind that group as well. Albies had a disappointing second half and Dansby Swanson had a rough season, but the pair still represent a promising duo up the middle. Johan Camargo had a surprising season at third base, and the team also has prospect Austin Riley close to the majors should Camargo slump.
In the outfield, the team returns defense-first Ender Inciarte as well as Acuna, the presumed Rookie of the Year. Nick Markakis had a great year in the final season of his four-year deal, but he's a free agent and at 35 years old in 2019, he might not be worth bringing back. The team has a lot of options to get back to the playoffs next season. The club could choose to consolidate its great prospect depth and make an impact trade either in the rotation or the outfield. The team should also have little to no limitations in free agency. Even after arbitration raises, the club has just around $80 million on the books for next season. After sporting a roughly $120 million payroll this season with a fairly new stadium and 2.5 million attendees in 2018, the Braves could make a big splash and land one of the top free agents if they desired.
What do you do when you have two of the top five position players in baseball, a pitching staff with four of top 15 fWARs in the game, and virtually no competition in the division? You run it back and coast to another division title. The team is set to have a few meaningful free-agent departures. Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen all have expiring contracts. Josh Donaldson was only with the team a month, but he will be a free agent as well.
The team already made one big reliever move by securing Brad Hand in a midseason trade, and while losing Miller and Allen could prove difficult, Cleveland's biggest questions are in the outfield. Former top prospect Bradley Zimmer had shoulder surgery and might not be ready until midseason. Trade acquisition Leonys Martin ended the season on the disabled list. Jason Kipnis likely moves back to second base. If the team doesn't bring back Brantley or exercise their option on Brandon Guyer, the Indians might be without returning outfielders heading into spring.
Oscar Mercado, acquired from the Cardinals at the deadline in a prospect swap, might earn some time. The team will need to go outside the organization to fill its lineup holes and make sure they aren't relying too much on Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion. Cleveland doesn't have to do much with a great rotation at the ready and two of MLB's best players at important defensive positioning. They will have to do something, though, to make sure they have a functioning outfield as the team looks to win its fourth straight division title.
The team had little trouble getting past the A's in the wild-card game, but the division rival Red Sox proved too difficult a task to overcome. The lineup for next season looks to be in decent shape with Brett Gardner the only potential significant departure and even he has a reasonable $12.5 million option. With Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar earning starting roles, Didi Gregorius putting together a very good season, and Luke Voit going on the tear of a lifetime, the team doesn't need to add players on the position players side. The question will be whether it wants to.
The Yankees finally went under the competitive balance tax this season so that they could reset their tax amount in future seasons. The franchise could blow past $200 million in salaries next season and then some. That means the team could have $100 million or more available to spend on free agents or trades. That could mean Manny Machado. It could mean Bryce Harper. The Yankees could add one of those players and still have plenty of room to make the necessary upgrades to the rotation.
Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka should ably take two of the Yankees' five rotation spots, but after that, it's a bit of a mystery. Prospect Justus Sheffield could take another. The team could bring back 38-year-old CC Sabathia after another solid season. Sonny Gray is still arbitration-eligible, but lost his starting job in the beginning of August. Domingo German is another internal option.
With all the money the team has available, it seems unfathomable that the Yankees won't chase a high-dollar pitcher in free agency. Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel and Clayton Kershaw figure to be the best names available. New York also could bring back J.A. Happ or Lance Lynn in smaller deals. Their potential pursuit of Machado or Harper will garner the most headlines, but the pitchers they bring in might have a bigger say in whether the Yankees can end their six-season drought without a division title.