Fingers crossed that the 2021 MLB season will begin on time -- and that we get to see some live baseball at the ballpark this year.
As we wait, Buster Olney concludes his annual ranking of the 10 best players at each position heading into the coming season -- based on input from industry evaluators -- with a look at the full squads. With more moves still to be made, which team is No. 1 (and 2 ... and 3 ... ) on paper right now?
Teams
Many of baseball's traditional rivalries are dormant. The Red Sox are retooling, and the Yankees, unpressured by Boston, haven't made any aggressive moves yet this winter. The Cubs are slashing payroll and traded their best starter, Yu Darvish, and the Cardinals' most significant decision was declining the option of Gold Glove second baseman Kolten Wong. The Giants are at least a couple of years away from challenging the Dodgers. The Astros and Athletics are experiencing the departure of some of their best players -- Oakland seems set to lose Liam Hendriks, while George Springer appears certain to leave the Astros.
In that vacuum, we now have the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, clubs that inhabit the same division, play in ballparks 125 miles apart and have the best collections of talent -- and here's the bonus: When they're on the field, at least, these two teams don't seem to like each other very much. The Dodgers have won the National League West in eight consecutive seasons, and the Padres, having grabbed Darvish and Blake Snell, are taking direct aim at L.A. San Diego wants what the Dodgers have owned.
As a high-ranking official said the other day, the Dodgers are clearly the best team in baseball, but the Padres are a close second. Their games will be must-watch in the year ahead.
The top 10 teams in baseball:
The Top 10
Some front offices might feel compelled to make reactive moves after bold strikes by a rival, and no doubt San Diego's deals for Snell and Darvish put the Padres in better position to challenge the Dodgers for NL West supremacy. The Dodgers have the resources to add one of the big names available, a DJ LeMahieu, a Trevor Bauer. But that's not really how the Dodgers have operated under Andrew Friedman, who won't panic and will continue to wait for the best deals to emerge, as he did with Mookie Betts last winter. The Dodgers need a right-handed hitter, whether it's Justin Turner or Kris Bryant, but the organization is incredibly deep, and despite the longstanding success with veterans such as Clayton Kershaw, this is still a young team -- Walker Buehler, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Will Smith and others are still in the first halves of their respective careers.
2. San Diego Padres
San Diego's roster, lineup and starting rotation are loaded with depth, and even after adding two frontline rotation pieces, the Padres still have the best of their prospects to make any necessary additions and plug holes during the regular season. The only real question about the Padres is the back end of their bullpen, but keep in mind -- there are still a ton of free-agent options available, and in light of San Diego's resource investment in the 2021 season, it would make sense to throw more chips into the big bet. The easiest part of any team to upgrade in the short term is its bullpen, and if there is a need, rest assured, owner Peter Seidler will do what's necessary.
The Dodgers are dominant and the Padres are dynamic, and so it's easy to forget how good the Braves are -- they played to the seventh game of the National League Championship Series, and like L.A. and San Diego, Atlanta is built on the exceptional production of young players. In the Braves' case: Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Max Fried and Mike Soroka.
We don't know for sure that the 2021 regular season will contain 162 games, but the longer the season, the better off the Yankees will be, for their daunting lineup to manifest. There are perceived holes in the rotation, but the offensive firepower will create a lot of margin for error.
Francisco Lindor gives the Mets everything they need -- long-term stability at shortstop (assuming he works out an extension to stay, as some agents expect), a switch-hitter, speed. The lineup will be deep and dangerous. The rotation is good. The bullpen could be outstanding. This is a very dangerous team, and Steve Cohen's money could manifest even more deeply this winter, if the Mets pursue Springer or some other big name.
They're all in for this year, in the first season under Tony La Russa, and like the Padres, they are stacked with elite young players. (Just an aside: How ridiculously good would this team look today if Chicago hadn't traded Fernando Tatis Jr. in 2016?)
They've cut ties with Charlie Morton and traded Snell, yes, but these are the Rays, right? They foster and utilize organizational depth better than any other franchise, locate production in places that other teams don't, and find a way.
Nelson Cruz and Jake Odorizzi are free agents and the team has holes to fill, but the Twins seem to be in good shape to eventually take advantage of the mass of available free agents, whenever the tsunami of signings begins.
They played poorly in the 60-game season in what might have been a World Series hangover, but the core of star power returns: Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Patrick Corbin. They'll bounce back.
Agents expect the Jays to land one of the big names available in the winter market -- J.T. Realmuto, perhaps, or LeMahieu, or Springer -- and that star will complement Toronto's excellent group of up-and-comers, including the very underrated Cavan Biggio.
Best of the rest
Cleveland Indians; Oakland Athletics; St. Louis Cardinals; Los Angeles Angels; Houston Astros