Season Preview: NL East

Division Crown Contenders: Nationals, Mets
Additional Wild Card Contenders: None
Unlikely to Contend: Phillies, Braves, Marlins

The NL East has been one of the game's weaker divisions over the past few seasons, and while that won't change in a big way in 2018, the Phillies, Braves, and even the Mets are trending up (Mets more short term than long term), with the Phillies and Braves in particular having two of the strongest farm systems in the game. That said, the Nationals have reigned in this division and it will be tough for anybody to catch them; the Mets have the best shot, in fact a better shot than many people think, but that doesn't change that the clear favorites play in the nation's capital. The NL Wild Card race as a whole looks to be very competitive this season, so if they don't catch the Nationals, it will be tough, but doable, for the Mets to crack the postseason. The Phillies and Braves aren't quite ready to grab a Wild Card in this environment, and the Marlins look like the worst team in baseball at the moment.

Washington Nationals
Notable Additions: Matt Adams, Jeremy Hellickson, Joaquin Benoit, Miguel Montero
Notable Losses: Jayson Werth, Adam Lind, Stephen Drew, Matt Albers, Oliver Perez
Summary: More or less the same team from last year, the Nationals are in that second tier just behind the "super teams" in New York, LA, and Houston, showcasing a star-studded roster with a lot of depth on offense

The Nationals' roster is largely unchanged from last season, swapping pinch hitter Adam Lind out for Matt Adams and reliever Matt Albers for Joaquin Benoit. The only glaring difference, really will be the loss of Jayson Werth, who spent the last seven seasons with the club, but his role was beginning to be reduced anyways, so it's more of an off-field loss than an on-field one. The Nationals are the Indians of the NL; they're excellent, but not quite a super-team like the Yankees, Astros, or Dodgers. The offense is led by MVP candidates Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon, with guys like Trea Turner, Daniel Murphy, Adam Eaton, and a rejuvenated Ryan Zimmerman also swinging big bats. Michael A. Taylor looks to start the season as the team's center fielder, but with Victor Robles waiting in the wings, he knows he'll have to play at a high level to keep his job. Perhaps the biggest question on offense comes behind the plate, where Matt Wieters will need to bounce back offensively to keep from being a liability in the lineup. Adams, Howie Kendrick, Brian Goodwin, and Wilmer Difo add to a versatile bench. On the mound, the Nationals' front four starters look as good as anybody's in Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Tanner Roark, but the question lies in the fifth spot. A.J. Cole, Jeremy Hellickson, Erick Fedde, and Austin Voth have all competed for it, but it looks like it will go to Cole, a talented arm who has never really gotten his footing in the majors. Joe Ross is set to return late in the season, and he will be a valuable asset once he does. The bullpen return's the core trio acquired at the deadline in Sean Doolittle, Brandon Kintzler, and Ryan Madson, with Shawn Kelley and Enny Romero also looking to make an impact, as well as Benoit when he returns from a forearm injury. The roster has some holes, but it is so elite in other areas with Harper, Rendon, Scherzer, and Strasburg headlining the roster, that it still looks like one of baseball's top five teams.

New York Mets
Notable Additions: Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier, Anthony Swarzak, Adrian Gonzalez
Notable Losses: Neil Walker, Nori Aoki
Summary: Better team than most people realize, should be able to ride a strong rotation far enough to get into a battle for a Wild Card and nip at the Nationals' heels in the division

The Mets are a better team than they get credit for. Last year, everything went wrong, especially on the pitching staff, with pretty much everybody but Jacob deGrom missing time or having a considerably worse year than expected. This year, with nowhere to go but up in terms of luck, and with a good offseason, the Mets have perhaps their best team since the 2015 rendition that reached the World Series. Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto (once he returns), Todd Frazier, Jay Bruce, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Travis d'Arnaud form a pretty decent group of bats, and youngsters Amed Rosario, Dom Smith, and Brandon Nimmo are up and looking for breakouts. The rotation, finally healthy aside from Jason Vargas, is the team's strong suit, starting with ace Noah Syndergaard and also including deGrom, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Steven Matz. There is also depth, with Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman waiting in the wings, plus Vargas once he returns from hand surgery. The bullpen is a bit shallower, but Jeurys Familia returns as the relief ace while Anthony Swarzak replaces Addison Reed (traded at the deadline) and A.J. Ramos comes back for his first full season in blue and orange. There are clearly soft spots on the roster, but no glaring holes, with a strong rotation leading an average offense and average bullpen. That should be enough to get them into competition for a Wild Card as well as to keep the Nationals on their toes.

Philadelphia Phillies
Notable Additions: Jake Arrieta, Carlos Santana, Pat Neshek, Tommy Hunter
Notable Losses: Daniel Nava
Summary: Rapidly improving team that isn't quite there yet, but that will use 2018 as a testing ground to see which players it will use for contention in 2019. Won't win a Wild Card, but could flirt with .500.

The end of the rebuild is near, and the Phillies are just about ready to contend. It likely won't happen for another year, especially given how tough the NL Wild Card race will be this year, but don't underestimate these guys. They added Carlos Santana and Jake Arrieta on hefty contracts, clearly with towards becoming competitive. On offense, Santana joins Rhys Hoskins, Odubel Herrera, Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco, and Nick Williams as they prepare to do some damage, and rookies J.P. Crawford, Jorge Alfaro, Scott Kingery, and Roman Quinn all look to make their presence known. Hernandez could find himself traded at the deadline, setting up Philadelphia's double-play combination of the future between Crawford and Kingery this year. On the mound, Arrieta and Aaron Nola lead a respectable rotation, which will also include some combination of Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, Ben Lively, Zach Eflin, and Drew Hutchison. The top is much more impressive than the bottom, but there is a lot of youth there and a couple of guys will likely step up this year. The Phillies also a added Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter to the bullpen, joining Hector Neris, Luis Garcia, and Hoby Milner as core pieces there. There are definitely holes in this team; it's young, and quite a few spots on the diamond will be filled with unproven names, but the team will look to use 2018 as a spring pad into contending in 2019.

Atlanta Braves
Notable Additions: Chris Stewart, Peter Moylan, Anibal Sanchez
Notable Losses: R.A. Dickey, Matt Adams, Jim Johnson, Jason Motte
Summary: About a year behind the Phillies in their rebuild, the Braves will have a ton of talent on their farm and it's just beginning to reach the majors. Expect some intermittent winning streaks, but individual players will be more fun to watch than the team as a whole for now.

It was a quiet offseason in Atlanta, but as with Philadelphia, things are changing. The Braves' rebuild may be about a year behind that of the Phillies, but their farm system is beginning to bear fruit and some fresh faces are beginning to get more playing time. Already, Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies, the team's double play duo of the future, has begun playing together in the bigs, and the 23 year old Rio Ruiz also looks to get reps at third base until Johan Camargo comes back in a few weeks. Around the time Ruiz comes out of the everyday lineup, though, baseball's top prospect, Ronald Acuna, will get his promotion and compete for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Ender Inciarte, Tyler Flowers, Nick Markakis, and Preston Tucker also bring playable bats, and all of it revolves around slugger Freddie Freeman. It's not an enviable lineup this year, but once Acuna, Swanson, and Albies make all their early-career adjustments, it should be one of the better offenses in baseball. The rotation has a similar story to the offense, only a bit more extreme. Led by Julio Teheran and also consisting of Mike Foltynewicz, Brandon McCarthy, Sean Newcombe, and Anibal Sanchez, it's pretty mediocre, but as with the offense, prospects are on the way. Luiz Gohara will return in May, and Newcombe is a solid prospect in his own right. Down on the farm, guys like Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard, Kyle Wright, Max Fried, Joey Wentz, Ian Anderson, Bryse Wilson, and Kyle Muller, among others, combine with Gohara and Newcombe to form possibly the best collection of pitching prospects ever seen, setting up what is likely to be a mega-rotation reminiscent of Maddux-Smoltz-Glavine in the 1990's. However, we're still a few years from that, so Braves fans will just have to be patient. The bullpen lacks elite arms but does have a lot of depth due to the Braves' youth, led by Arodys Vizcaino and continuing with A.J. Minter (yet another pitching prospect) and Jose Ramirez. They won't be competing for a playoff berth, but the young guys will be a lot of fun to watch.

Miami Marlins
Notable Additions: Starlin Castro, Cameron Maybin, Lewis Brinson
Notable Losses: Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, Dee Gordon, Ichiro Suzuki, Vance Worley
Summary: The full-blown rebuild is in the midst, leaving the Marlins with very few proven pieces and a club that could end up with the worst record in the majors. Offense is ahead of the pitching at this point, for whatever that's worth.

The Marlins went into a full fire sale this offseason, selling off the entire outfield plus second baseman Dee Gordon. It puts them in a pretty rough position when it comes to 2018, but their farm system did jump from arguably the worst in baseball to something almost resembling average. There's work to do, as J.T. Realmuto, Justin Bour, and Starlin Castro might be on the chopping block next, so this team could tank further. For now, Realmuto, Bour, Castro, and Derek Dietrich look to make up the diminished offensive core, with prospects Lewis Brinson, Brian Anderson, and Magneuris Sierra looking to take advantage of open opportunities. Brinson in particular has a very good shot at competing for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. The rotation is just as young, led by a pretty good arm in Jose Urena followed by a bunch of pitchers who are either hurt (Dan Straily, Wei-Yin Chen) or unproven (Odrisamer Despaigne, Jacob Turner). The bullpen is in no better a position, led by Brad Ziegler, Kyle Barraclaugh, and Drew Steckenrider and lacking any kind of depth behind them. It shouldn't be news to anybody that the Marlins are likely to finish last in the division, and quite possible last in the majors.