CarterHud

        In 2017, the Cincinnati Reds had yet another bad season, finishing last in the NL Central with a 68-94 record. Since they are in the middle of their rebuild, they didn\’t make too many moves. Let\’s take a look at their offseason.

       Notable additions: OF Ben Revere, RHP David Hernandez, INF Cliff Pennington, U Darnell Sweeney, LHP Kyle Crockett, INF Phil Gosselin, OF Mason Willliams, RHP Kevin Quackenbush, LHP Oliver Perez, RHP Vance Worley.

       Notable subtractions: SS Zack Cozart, RHP Bronson Arroyo, U Arismendy Alcantara, RHP Scott Feldman, RHP Tim Adleman, RHP Drew Storen.

       What they did well: They added some players to minor league deals that have some additional value. I think Revere is a very good addition on a minor league deal.

       What they did bad: They didn\’t trade Zack Cozart at the deadline, or sign him. That\’s kind of awkward for a rebuilding team to do.

       Sneaky sleeper: One of the best defensive catchers in the league, Tucker Barnhart had a productive year at the plate, hitting .270 and seven homers, plus 44 RBIs in 423 Plate Appearances. For a catcher, that\’s decent.

       Incoming outbreak: With Adleman and Feldman, their top two inning eaters gone, a big chance to break out in 2018 was given to Luis Castillo. In his rookie 2017 campaign, Castillo pitched in 89.1 innings, striking out 98 and maintaining a solid 3.12 ERA. 2018 Is Castillo\’s time to shine.

        Unsuspected slump: Though he continued his trend of getting one more stolen base each year, Billy Hamilton\’s OBP fell below .300, and he struck out 133 times. He is a stolen base guy, and could reach 60 this year, but I wouldn\’t keep my expectations for him high, especially if he struggles to get on base.

        Blue-chip Bopper: Entering his age 34 season, Joey Votto hasn\’t showed signs of slowing down anytime soon. He led the league in walks for the 5th time, and in OBP for his 6th time, with a .454 average. By far, he\’s their best player.

        Astounding ace: In his first season as closer, Raisel Iglesias had another good year, with a 2.49 ERA and 92 strikeouts. At just 28 everything is pointing him for Iglesias.

        Here is the projected Reds roster, starting with their lineup.

 CF Billy Hamilton (S)
 3B Eugenio Suarez (R)
 1B Joey Votto (L)
 LF Adam Duvall (R)
 2B Scooter Gennett (L)
 C Tucker Barnhart (S)
 RF Scott Schebler (L)
 SS Jose Peraza (R)
 Pitcher

        Here\’s is their projected rotation (I decided that they could go with a 6-man rotation).

 RHP Luis Castillo
 RHP Anthony Descalfani
 LHP Amir Garrett
 RHP Homer Bailey
 LHP Brandon Finnegan
 RHP Sal Romano

  Raisel Iglesias (R) is their closer, with David Hernandez (R), Ariel Hernandez (R), Jared Hughes (R), Michael Lorenzen (R), Kyle Crockett (L) and Kevin Quackenbush (R) in the bullpen as well.

 INF Dilson Herrera (R), C Devin Mesoraco (R), OF Ben Revere (L), OF Jesse Winker (L) and INF Cliff Pennington (S) are on the bench.

 For my prediction, I think the Reds, a rebuilding team, will not make the playoffs in 2018.

                 After a massive offseason of blowing up their roster, the Chicago White Sox finished 4th in the AL Central with a 67-95 record, 14th in the AL. To continue the rebuilding phase, the Sox had some work to do. Let\’s take a look at their offseason.

                  Notable additions: C Welington Castillo, RHP Joakim Soria, LHP Luis Avilan, RHP Miguel Gonzalez, RHPs Bruce Rondon, Jeanmar Gomez, LHPs Xavier Cedeno, Robbie Ross Jr., Hector Santiago.

                   Notable subtractions: LHP Derek Holland, OF Cody Asche, Cs Rob Brantly, Geovany Soto.

                What they did well: Despite being rebuilders, the Sox added in the offseason, and got some relievers for redemption like Rondon, Gomez and Soria. If they can play like they have in their career, they could make a solid pickup for the Sox. Also, Castillo is a good, underrated catcher.

                 What they did bad: Nothing really. They lose much, and didn\’t sign any bad deals or make bad trades. It was a good offseason for them.

                 Sneaky Sleeper: In his first full season, Tim Anderson wasn\’t too bad, with 17 homers and 15 stolen bases in 606 PAs. Give more time to the 24 year old, and he could succeed.

                 Incoming outbreak: Almost their whole team could qualify here. I\’ll go with the oft-injured Carlos Rodon, The only starter left out of their 2015 rotation that included Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and John Danks, Rodon still hasn\’t made a huge impact. Over his three year career, Rodon has been a solid pitcher with a 3.95 ERA and 383 strikeouts in 373.2 innings. This could be the year he breaks through.

                 Unsuspecting Slump: A couldn\’t find many players to pin this on, but with Yoan Moncada returning, it\’ll be harder for Yolmer Sanchez to get a lot of ABs. In 2017, Sanchez had his best year yet, after announcing he\’ll go by Yolmer, instead of Carlos, his middle name. Sanchez hit 12 homers and .267 in 2017, But will fight with Matt Davidson for the 3B job. I don\’t think he\’ll win.

                  Blue-chip Bopper: DHe\’s really their only good player. Arguably a top three 1B (I say he\’s 4th behind Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman and Joey Votto), Jose Abreu had another good season in 2017. He hit 33 homers, and 100 RBIs in 675 Plate Appearances. He also hit .304. Over his four year career, Abreu has hit .301, and 100 RBIs in each season, totaling for 410. Also, he\’s hit 124 career homers. By far, he\’s their best player.

                  Astounding ace: You know it\’s a problem when your closer, who\’s not even a top 10 reliever, is your best pitcher. But, that\’s the case for the White Sox. With everyone traded, Nate Jones is their best pitcher. Since he\’s barely pitched due to injuries, he hasn\’t proven much. But, in his career consisting of 251 innings, Jones has a solid 3.12 ERA and 276 strikeouts. It may not seem like much, but I think he\’s overlooked a lot.

    Here is the White Sox\’s projected roster, starting with their lineup.

 LF Leury Garcia (S)
 SS Tim Anderson (R)
 1B Jose Abreu (R)
 RF Avisail Garcia (R)
 3B Matt Davidson (R)
 2B Yoan Moncada (S)
 C Welington Castillo (R)
 DH Yolmer Sanchez (S)
 CF Adam Engel (R)

   Here\’s their rotation.

 LHP Carlos Rodon
 RHP Lucas Giolito
 RHP Reynaldo Lopez
 RHP Miguel Gonzalez
 RHP James Shields

Nate Jones (R) is their closer, with Joakim Soria (R), Luis Avilan (L), Juan Minaya (R), Danny Farquhar (R), Xavier Cedeno (L), Bruce Rondon (R) and Jeanmar Gomez (R) in the bullpen.

C Omar Narvaez (L), INF Tyler Saladino (R) and OF Nicky Delmonico (L) are on the bench.

Finally, for my prediction, I think the White Sox, a rebuilding team, will not make the playoffs in 2017.

              In 2017, the Chicago Cubs won the NL Central, with a 92-70 record. They got past the Washington Nationals in the NLDS, but fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. With ace Jake Arrieta entering free agency, the Cubs had some moves to make. Let\’s look at their offseason.

              Notable additions: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, RHP Brandon Morrow, LHP Dario Alvarez, C Chris Gimenez, OF Peter Bourjos.

              Notable subtractions: RHP Jake Arrieta, RHP Wade Davis, RHP John Lackey, RHP Hector Rondon, C Alex Avila, RHP Koji Uehara, OF Jon Jay, OF Leonys Martin, C Rene Rivera.

             What they did well: They lost Arrieta and Lackey, but they definitely made up for it with the acquisitions of Chatwood and Darvish, who are arguably better. They have an even better rotation.

             What they did bad: They lost Davis, and didn\’t get a stable closer to replace him, unless Morrow, Carl Edwards or Justin Wilson can have a really good season. Bullpen is their biggest concern.

              Sneaky sleeper: Expected to be the starting center fielder, Albert Almora was sneaky good in 2017, with a .298 batting average and .338 OBP in 323 Plate Appearances. Ian Happ could beat him out for the starting role, but Almora is a name a lot of people forget about.

              Unsuspected slump: This was a hard one to choose from, but offensively, I\’m not the biggest fan of Addison Russell. He is very good defensively, but his career .240 batting average and .312 OBP stands out negatively. He isn\’t a good hitter.

               Incoming outbreak: Does a 4.69 ERA impress you? No? But does an away 3.49 ERA impress you? These were Tyler Chatwood\’s numbers in 2017, with the Colorado Rockies and the pitching fiasco of Coors Field. Now, he\’s gone from there for good, and should have a breakout year.

              Blue-chip Bopper: A top-10 player in the game, Kris Bryant is still here despite a down year. He still hit 29 homers and had a .295 batting average. His 274 RBIs over the past three years are very good, as is his 94 homers and .288 batting average. He\’s arguably been baseball\’s best hitter over that time.

               Astounding ace: Despite Darvish\’s arrival, The Cubs\’ ace is still Jon Lester. He had a down year in 2017, with a 4.33 ERA, but his career 3.51 ERA is still very good. He still had a 9.0 K/9 in 2017, so it wasn\’t all bad.

                Here is the Cubs\’ projected roster, starting with the lineup.

 CF Albert Almora (R)
 3B Kris Bryant (R)
 1B Anthony Rizzo (L)
 C Willson Contreras (R)
 LF Kyle Schwarber (L)
 2B Javier Baez (R)
 RF Jason Heyward (L)
 SS Addison Russell (R)
 Pitcher

             Here is their rotation.

 LHP Jon Lester
 RHP Yu Darvish
 RHP Kyle Hendricks
 LHP Jose Quintana
 RHP Tyler Chatwood

 Carl Edwards Jr. (R) is their closer, with Justin Wilson (L), Brandon Morrow (R), Steve Cishek (R), Brian Duesinsing (L), Justin Grimm (R), Pedro Strop (R) and Mike Montgomery (L) in the bullpen.

 OF/2B Ian Happ (S), C Chris Gimenez (R),  U Ben Zobrist (S) and 3B Tommy La Stella (L) are on the bench.

 For my prediction, I think the Chicago Cubs will end up running away with the NL Central again, making the playoffs.

           At the beginning of the 2017-18 NHL season, there was talk about who would win the Calder trophy. Now, there isn\’t any conversation. New York Islanders center Mat Barzal has absolutely run away with the trophy, awarded to the best rookie of the season. The 20 year old Coquitlam, British Columbia native was drafted 16th overall by the Isles in the 2015 NHL draft. The pick was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers along with the pick the Isles traded up for Barzal\’s best friend, Anthony Beauvillier for defenseman Griffin Reinhart. In his rookie season, Barzal has scored 18 goals and 49 assists for 67 points in 66 games, first among rookies by far. He played in two games in 2016-17, so his career totals are 67 points in 68 games. Also, he became the first rookie to score five assists in a single game twice. He\’s also the first rookie with three five point games since Joe Malone in the NHL\’s inaugural season, 100 years ago. Many players, like Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, have commented on Barzal\’s play. At teammate Anders Lee\’s kancer jam, I asked Barzal about those comments, Beauvillier and more.

             Carter LaCorte (me): Many players around the league have commented on your play. How did you react to that?

             Mat Barzal: It\’s so cool hearing it from other guys around the league. Knowing that they have seen my game and that kind of stuff. It\’s really flattering.

              CL: Many teams passed on you in the draft, including the Boston Bruins three times. Did that motivate you to work harder to get where you are now?

              MB: It did at the time. You just have to be self-motivated. At the time I wanted to prove everybody wrong.

                 CL: Do you think you could beat Connor McDavid in a race?

                MB: No, I\’m not sure of that.

                CL: Can you tell us more about your \”bromance\” with teammate Anthony Beauvillier?

                MB: He\’s my best friend on the team. We\’ve had a lot of fun together. We\’re kind of crazy too. We have a lot of fun.

               CL: Would you rather get an assist or a goal?

               MB: I love scoring but I love getting assists too. I like both. Either one is good for me.

               CL: Do you consider yourself a playmaker or a goal scorer?

               MB: I\’m more of a playmaker.

               CL: The team has been very good on offense this season, but has struggled on defense. How can the forwards help prevent more goals from scoring?

              MB: We have to work harder and block more shots.

              CL: What\’s it like being here at Anders\’ kan jam event?

              MB: It\’s the best. Anders is an amazing guy. This is so great, and being his teammate I want to show him as much support as I can.

              CL: You played in Seattle in the WHL. Do you think it\’s a good NHL venue?

              MB: It\’s great, definitely.

              CL: What would you name an NHL team there?

               MB: I would have it… maybe the Metropolitans.

               CL: Who has the biggest personality on the team?

               MB: Jason Chimera (he hadn\’t been traded to the Ducks yet at the time of this recording). He\’s so funny.

            With one of baseball\’s best outfields, and a young one at that, the Boston Red Sox finished 1st in the AL East with a 93-69 record. But, they lost to the eventual World Series winning Houston Astros in the ALDS. With their rivals, the New York Yankees, improving, the Red Sox needed to improve too. Let\’s take a look at their offseason.

            Notable additions: OF J.D. Martinez.

            Notable subtractions: OF Chris Young, INF Josh Rutledge, OF Rajai Davis, LHP Fernando Abad, RHP Blaine Boyer, RHP Addison Reed, RHP Doug Fister.

             What they did well: They needed a power hitter after David Ortiz\’s retirement after 2016. Martinez is that guy, hitting 45 homers in 2017. As a righty, Fenway Park is a very good place to hit. Also, they re-signed Eduardo Nunez because of Dustin Pedroia\’s injury, and Mitch Moreland because he\’s better than Hanley Ramirez.

               What they did bad: They didn\’t add much pitching depth. But, they have lots of depth already. I find it odd how there wasn\’t one replacement for Reed, Boyer and Abad.

              Sneaky sleeper: with near Cy Young winner Chris Sale, plus winners David Price and Rick Porcello in the rotation, it\’s very, very easy to overlook Drew Pomeranz. But, Pomeranz has had a 3.32 ERA in both 2016 and 2017, and struck out 360 batters in 344.1 innings over the two year span. He is quietly their second best starter.

                 Incoming outbreak: After being called up late in 2017, Rafael Devers went supernova, hitting 10 homers, 30 RBIs and had a .284 average in just 240 Plate Appearances. That secured himself the starting third base job. Expect even more from the now 21 year old.

                  Unsuspected setback: Well, there\’s a couple guys who could suffer setback in 2018. Expected to be injured until May, Dustin Pedroia hasn\’t showed too many signs of slowing down. But, the now 34 year old is in a fight for his job, as Eduardo Nunez will probably be the opening day second basemen. Pedroia needs to step up after he returns. Just a year removed from a Cy Young win, Rick Porcello had another rough year, and led the league in losses, a year after being the win king. With the rise of Pomeranz, Porcello is now just their third starter. The final guy, Hanley Ramirez, will suffer the most from the Martinez signing. Going in to the offseason, he looked like the opening day 1B. Then, they signed Mitch Moreland, moving him to DH. The Martinez signing moves him to the bench. That can\’t really help his numbers.

                   Blue-chip bopper: despite the Martinez signing, Mookie Betts is still their best position player. He has over 100 RBIs in the last two seasons, and 55 homers in them combined. His career .351 OBP is something to be proud of. Also, I didn\’t mention he is an amazing fielder.

                   Astounding ace: This past year\’s Cy Young runner-up, Chris Sale has finished top 6 in the voting every season since 2012. But, he\’s somehow never won. He\’s basically the Buffalo Bills of the 90s. In 2017, he reached 300 strikeouts, and a 2.90 ERA in 214.1 innings. If it wasn\’t for a rocky finish, he would\’ve won the Cy Young.

                Here is the Red Sox projected roster, first with their lineup (injured players aren\’t named).

 2B Eduardo Nunez (R)
 RF Mookie Betts (R)
 LF Andrew Benintendi (L)
 DH J.D. Martinez (R)
 1B Mitch Moreland (L)
 SS Xander Bogaerts (R)
 3B Rafael Devers (L)
 CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (L)
 C Christian Vasquez (R)

       Here\’s their rotation.

 LHP Chris Sale
 LHP Drew Pomeranz
 RHP Rick Porcello
 LHP David Price
 LHP Brian Johnson

 Craig Kimbrel (R) is their closer, with Carson Smith (R), Tyler Thornburg (R), Robby Scott (L), Matt Barnes (R) and Heath Hembree (R) also in the bullpen.

 1B Hanley Ramirez (R), C Sandy Leon (S), U Brock Holt (L) and Deven Marrero (R) are on the bench.

 For my prediction, I think the Red Sox will run away with the 1st wild card spot in the American League, and make the playoffs.