MLB Weekly Update - 2/25/21
Spring Training is in full swing! Full squad workouts have begun and games will begin at the end of the week. A few moves were made to add some final pieces to teams as we head toward the 2021 season. Let’s get to it.
The Dodgers brought back arguably the most important player on their roster, third baseman Justin Turner. The 36-year-old signed a 2-year $34 million deal with a club option for 2023. It is no surprise that the So Cal native signed back with Los Angeles. Turner has been a staple in the Dodgers lineup since he arrived in 2014 and holds the team postseason record for hits and home runs. It took awhile for this deal to take place, making all Dodger fans nervous he might sign elsewhere. JT is getting up there in age, and he will most certainly miss some time with aches and pains, but he is a cornerstone of this Dodgers team and will be vital to their success in 2021.
The Oakland A’s added pieces to their bullpen, signing three relievers to 1-year deals. Trevor Rosenthal, Yusmerio Petit, and Sergio Romo all provide vertan arms to a contending AL West team. The A’s game is to sign players no other team wants and piece them together with their young talent to create a team that always does better than expected. Look for that again this season. The AL West is turning into an interesting division with the Astros and Angels also looking to claim the division crown.
The Seattle Mariners signed a couple of vertan arms in James Paxton (1-year, $8.5 million) and Ken Giles (2 years, $7 million). Giles will miss 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. Paxton will add a solid rotation starter for a Mariners team that desperately needs pitching help.
The New York Mets added more depth to their starting rotation in signing Taijuan Walker to a 2-year $20 million contract. Walker has been very inconsistent in his big league career thus far. He has shown moments of brilliance and also moments that would make you question is he is big league material. We’ll have to see which version of Walker the Mets get but this is a risk they can afford as they are already favorites to win the NL East.
On the podcast we talked about our predictions for the American League Central and West Divisions. I wanted to include my final standings for these divisions on this article but checkout Episode 34 and 35 for more details on each team. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you here next week for more MLB Updates!
AL Central Division Predictions
1- Minnesota Twins (96-66)
2- Chicago White Sox (93-69)
3- Cleveland Indians (84-78)
4- Kansas City Royals (74-88)
5- Detroit Tigers (64-98)
AL West Division Predictions
1- Oakland Athletics (90-72)
2- Houston Astros (89-73)
3- Los Angeles Angels (88-74)
4- Seattle Mariners (75-87)
5- Texas Rangers (58-104)