Why you all suck - by NY Mets GM

[Mets GM (Phil)]

Why you all suck - a tale of where you are and where you are going by NY Mets GM - one man's opinion that is worth the price you paid for it which is absolutely nothing

We begin with the AL East:

Boston Red Sox -
SP - The Red Sox feature a strong pitching staff. Berrios and Ryu are a formidable duo at the top controlled reasonably through 2021. Ray, Erod, Manaea, and Folty follow carrying some upside while filling out this rotation next year. Dakota Hudson, Freeland, and Teheran should be pieces the BoSox look to trade but will Boston find pieces of value for 3 pitchers notorious for out-pitching their underlying metrics. Maybe, stay tuned.
RP - Strong - Hand will return as a top tier closer and the rest of the bullpen should all factor into saves and holds again next season.
Lineup: The C/IF is really strong in the near term with depth to trade, the OF maybe a piece away.

Alex had little choice but to trade one of Baez or Betts and makes the right choice moving Baez due to his more pressing need in the OF. Alex adds a breakout catcher to pair with the returning Salvador Perez next year. He adds the useful veteran Yuli Gurriel and Reds phenom Aristides Aquino. 2 1st round pick give Alex a couple more assets to improve this team further in the offseason. Alex should be looking to offload some pricier depth to further upgrade this roster that is sure to contend again next year.

Toronto Blue Jays -
SP - Max and Thor front a rotation that screams win now. This rotation will need some filling out over the offseason but he does have Michael Kopech, Yonny Chirinos, Fedde, Elieser Hernandez, and Ian Anderson carrying near term upside behind them.
RP - Osuna should return as a high end closer, Strahm's role is undefined but there is still some upside there.
Lineup - The Jays have 3 building blocks in place - Orioles masher Gleyber Torres and everyone masher Yordan Alvarez should be untouchable and Vladdy Jr. is probably as well or would command a massive haul. These gems are supported by will he ever stay healthy Dahl, will he ever hit Tapia, will he ever carve out a role Calhoun, will he be a full time catcher Mejia, and will he ever truly breakout Winker. Mejia and Calhoun have been making themselves more interesting, a Coors enhanced Tapia may always be interesting to cover for the often injured Dahl, and the answer is yes Winker will truly breakout, his current owners just might not hold him by the time he does!

Matt has to decide when he truly goes for it. 2 more building blocks are coming soon from the farm in Wander Franco and Andrew Vaughn so Matt can play with these pieces or trade a building block piece or two for a massive influx of win now. Matt should be a thorn in Alex's side in this division as early as 2020.

Tampa Bay Rays - 
SP - Cole walked out the door at the deadline and as did any hope for this rotation in the near term. McKay remains as a building block here.
RP - Not impressive but doesn't need a bullpen at this stage of their competitive cycle.
Lineup - There is some talent here but true building blocks are not immediately apparent.

There is more than one way to build a team and you have to respect the Rays for not tanking thus far. I didn't love the Cole trade. Franmil adds another piece to the lineup but this may have been an opportunity to pluck a stronger core piece from another roster. The Duck will have his work cut out for him competing with the Jays and Red Sox in the near term.

Baltimore Orioles -
SP - not great Bob!
RP - who cares!
Lineup - Bell and Devers are building blocks but should they be traded for the multiplier effect

Quiet at the deadline but not in the farm. This is a strongish farm that could be leveraged to build around Devers and Bell but could also be traded with one or more of Devers and Bell for a true multiplier effect and ultimately a roster that competes with the division rivals the Orioles currently stare up at in the standings.

New York Yankees -
SP - not great Bob!
RP - who cares!
Lineup - Riley is not forgotten, Voit stayed home in the Bronx, and Grisham entered sandman at the deadline but let us just say work in progress here.

Trevor was active at the deadline but if I'm being honest and I am, I'm underwhelmed with what arrived. Surely the cluster bleep that has been this league didn't help the Yankees add much needed talent but some big boys left the door and I see a roster short on building block pieces. The Yankees very much have their work cut out for them to be the Evil Empire in MLB Sim. But an active GM should give the Bronx Bombers a nice head start.

[Mets GM (Phil)]

We're on to Ohio but we stop first in Cleveland (NOT Cincinnati):

Cleveland Indians -
SP - this is still a very strong pitching staff fronted by the controllable Luis Castillo and Mike Clevinger. A healthy Carrasco, Kluber, and Arrieta along with Hamels, Maeda, Mikolas, and Mahle make this among the strongest and deepest SP staffs in the league.
RP - bullpen ace Josh Hader is the guy here and he is coupled with Kimbrel on a bizarre 8.1m per contract running through 2026. The bullpen is an area where Chief Wahoo can get stronger next year.
Lineup - Features a controllable stud in Trevor Story and the very underrated Michael Brantley (also bizarrely owned through 2026). Jose Ramirez was rounding into form and should return to help next year. Hunter Renfroe will have to turn around his dreadful slump to start producing again for this lineup next year.

Noah should be able to commiserate with Brodie Van Wagenen this offseason as they wonder together what they can expect from Robby Cano going forward. Quiet at the deadline, it's questionable whether the Indians feature the assets they need to really improve this team going forward (especially given cap constraints) but there is no doubt they will remain in contention in the near term should the key cogs stay healthy.

Chicago White Sox -
SP - the pale hose feature an up and coming SP staff led by Lucas Giolito. Lamet has shown flashes in his return to health he can be another piece to build around while Cease and Keller been slow to adjust to their MLB trials.
RP - Iglesias is the bullpen ace here but probably a good candidate for trade until the White Sox is truly ready to compete.
Lineup - Breakout seasons from Garver, Mancini, Moncada, Meadows, Santander, and the already established Matt Olson show the seeds of this lineup are already in place. Real life pale hose breakout seasons from Eloy and Tim Anderson could take this lineup up a notch.

Tiago has some chips to deal so the White Sox can contend for the AL Central crown next year.

Kansas City Royals -
SP - bulk guy - check. breakout SP - check. SP/RP hybrid - check. Yarbrough, Gallen, James are something but this rotation is a ways away and while guys like Nick Nelson, Logan Allen, JB Bukauskas, Patrick Weigel, Tony Santillan may have something to say in the coming season, the Royals be best advised to seek a rotation externally.
RP - Clase is a nice add and the way this bullpen will be built
Lineup - bopper - check. older breakout - check. Giancarlo Stanton and Hunter Dozier are the prime bats in this lineup going forward. Much work to be done here so the Royals are likely to take a major step back in the standings before moving forward.

Max followed the yellow brick road of patience in route to netting a building block piece in Kirilloff for Xander Bogaerts. The wizard of oz further granted Max the courage to add Stanton and his big contract off this lost season for the small price of a couple lesser prospects. But all in all, Dorothy may be waiting a while for Max to take her home and bring the crown back to Kansas!

Minnesota Twins -
SP - not great Bob!
RP - who cares!
Lineup - hide the women and children!

Brian, Brian, Brian, we have a major problem! The good news is there are some building blocks here with Bart, Monte, and Kelenic all likely to come sooner rather than later. Still, much work is needed to bring sunny days to this frozen Minneapolis tundra and the multiplier effect could be in order for those 3 prospects.

Detroit Tigers -
SP - Lester
RP - Andrew Miller
Lineup - Nelson Cruz, Miguel Cabrera, Wil Myers

What more could you ask for? Ryan of course is rebuilding and Chavis, Frazier, and the aforementioned vets may have some trade value to that rebuild. Meanwhile, Jo Adell was banished from the mile high and came riding in to Motown at the deadline. He is the building block piece here and this farm does offer some more pieces so while progress might be slow, it should come in time.

[Mets GM (Phil)]

Tonight we visit the left coast:

Texas Rangers -
SP - this rotation's fortunes have gone about as well as their Ace's stateside debut. Signed through 2026, Creeg will be hoping Kikuchi's round 2 in MLB goes better than his debut season. Velasquez is a swing guy currently in the rotation and fine for now. Stephenson is a swing guy who made some strides in the pen so maybe he can ultimately be a building block piece for the Rangers if given a chance to start again.
RP - featured the best closer in the league this year but do the Rangers really need that at this point?
Lineup - veteran lineup that doesn't really excite you. Great guy Cutch is signed egregiously through 2026 and will likely fall well short of those expectations. Creeg swung a trade with Max for Castellanos at the deadline so you figure the 2nd half breakout Castellanos will be a mainstay in the Rangers lineup going forward.

They say everything is bigger in Texas and they must have been talking about some of these bad contracts (Kikuchi, Cutch, and Harvey)! The farm isn't barren but it won't be the solution here either. Texas looks like a roster in the need of a reboot. I'd personally sell off some of the more valuable pieces but Texas may want to defend their surprising AL West crown in 2020.

Seattle Mariners -
SP - Had to take a magnifying glass to find this but Marco Gonzalez is a somewhat interesting asset despite being a soft tosser.
RP - The Mariners added Ginkel and he could certainly find himself closing for the Dbacks next year but do these Mariners really need Ginkel closing for them? Maybe a RP trade is in order this offseason.
Lineup - This lineup is about as interesting as its DH Evan Gattis' MLB career prospects going forward. Bobby Bradley can mash and mash he did this year but we still don't know if he can hit. At least there is something to build around or trade to recoup some value.

Well I'll just head down to the farm to check on prospects and WOAH is that Tim Tebow!!! At least his former teammate Justin Dunn is arriving with him!

Los Angeles Angels -
SP - a building block piece is in place with Soroka but there is not much else
RP - nothing really exciting here either
Lineup - Interesting lineup. The halos will wait another year for the Buxton star breakout. Buxton will have the company of other potential breakout bats in Naylor, Hampson, and Robles.

Solid farm that should bear fruit eventually so the Halos outlook is probably better than some of its division rivals. But this team isn't going anywhere until the Angels in this Outfield soar to a new level. And where the big files coming from, this is LAA!

Oakland Athletics -
SP - Ohtani!
RP - who cares!
Lineup - Ohtani!

Ever tried to build a roster with 1 player, then this roster is for you. Ohtani should be worth a ton on the trade market though!

Houston Astros -
SP - Beckett is playing for next year and this rotation should deliver as the best in division with Glasnow returning and the reigns loosening on Paddack and Ross. Just as importantly, Luzardo, Deivi Garcia, and Forrest Whitley should factor into the mix as well.
RP - Beckett has time to address this before it matters
Lineup - Beckett put his imprint on the deadline adding Manny Machado, Javier Baez, and Xander Bogaerts.

Debatable whether building around 2 SS is the best roster construction but it does immediately make Beckett the favorite in this division next year. 1 stud SS was probably good enough to win this division! Beckett still has more work to do to make this team compete outside of the division so this is a team to watch in the offseason.