Fingers crossed that the MLB season will start in time in 2021 – and that we can see some basic dog ball at the ballpark this year.
While we wait, Buster Olney concludes his annual ranking of the top ten players at each position in the coming season, based on the input of industry judges, with a look at the full groups. With more moves, which team is now number 1 (and 2 … and 3 …) on paper?
Spanne
Many of the traditional competitions of baseball are dormant. The Red Sox are studying again, and the Yankees, who are not under pressure from Boston, have yet to make any aggressive actions this winter. The Cubs are narrowing the payroll and swapping their best starter, Yu Darvish, and the Cardinals’ most important decision was to refuse the option of Goldten Glove’s second baseman Kolten Wong. The Giants have been away for at least a few years to challenge the Dodgers. Astros and Athletics are experiencing the departure of some of their best players – it looks like Oakland will lose Liam Hendriks, while George Springer will definitely leave the Astros.
In that vacuum we now have the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, clubs living in the same division, playing on 125-mile ball parks and having the best talent collections – and here’s the bonus: if they’re on the field, at least these two teams do not seem to like each other very much. The Dodgers have won the National League West in eight consecutive seasons, and the Padres, who have grabbed Darvish and Blake Snell, are aiming directly for LA San Diego wanting the Dodgers owned.
As a senior official said the other day, the Dodgers are clearly the best team in baseball, but the Padres are a close second. Their matches will be mandatory in the coming year.
The top 10 teams in baseball: