'Tis the (off) season in Major
League Baseball, with all 30 teams scheming to best position themselves for the
upcoming season and beyond.
Santa was kind to the Boston Red
Sox last winter, delivering a middle-of-the-order bat in J.D. Martinez
that put the team over the top and eventually resulted in a World Series
championship.
That got us thinking what
baseball's wish lists look like this holiday season. Some of
these desires may be tangible, while others could be far more abstract.
With the league's annual winter
meetings getting underway Monday in Las Vegas, all these baseball teams want
for Christmas is...
AL EAST
Red Sox: … for Rafael
Devers to take a big step forward in his development.
Yankees: … creative
solutions in order to plug holes at first base and shortstop.
Rays: … someone who can
replace CJ Cron’s power output.
Blue Jays: … a time
machine to go several weeks into the 2019 season to call up Vladimir Guerrero
Jr.
Orioles: … someone willing
to take on even one penny of Chris Davis’ $92 million albatross.
AL CENTRAL
Indians: … somewhere
between one and three decent outfielders.
Twins: … Byron Buxton from
the second half of the 2017 season.
Tigers: … a trade partner
willing to give up high-level prospects for Nick Castellanos.
White Sox: … a sign that
Yoan Moncada and/or Lucas Giolito will become serviceable major leaguers.
Royals: … the courage to
trade Whit Merrifield and his four years of team control in order to expedite
this rebuild.
AL WEST
Astros: … to bring back
free agent starter Charlie Morton on a two-year deal.
Athletics: … a couple of
bargain-basement starting pitchers to eat innings.
Mariners: … a well-written
greeting card apologizing to Felix Hernandez for wasting his career.
Angels: … for Bryce Harper
to sign and set the bar so they can start talking extension with Mike Trout.
Rangers: … a proven corner
infielder to fill the hole left by future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre.
NL EAST
Braves: ... to add a
starting catcher, namely J.T. Realmuto, who is currently under the Marlins
control.
Marlins: ...to find an
everyday power-hitting first baseman to replace Justin Bour, who was traded
last July.
Mets: ... to prove hiring
an agent-turned-general manager was a wise move.
Nationals: ... to break
the curse and win a playoff series.
Phillies: ... a
gift-wrapped $400 million deal involving Bryce Harper.
NL CENTRAL
Brewers: ... for reliever
Josh Hader to be able to pitch in 90 games.
Cardinals: ... what more
could they want after getting Paul Goldschmidt? Greed is good, though.
Cubs: ... for Yu Darvish
to win more than one game after signing a six-year, $126 million deal last
offseason.
Pirates: ...
for infielder Jung Ho Kang, who has missed nearly two seasons, to
return to form and provide power.
Reds: ... a season, under
new manager David Bell, where the club does not finish in last place for the
fifth season in a row.
NL WEST
Diamondbacks: ... fans are
already expecting coal in their stocking after the franchise traded Goldschmidt,
is Zack Greinke next?
Dodgers: ... wishing for
nothing but that elusive World Series title, especially since manager Dave
Roberts got an extension.
Giants: ... for Madison
Bumgarner to return to his old self.
Padres: ... hoping their
No. 1 farm system begins to bloom at the major league level.
Rockies: now staffed with
a solid rotation, club in search of another impact bat to go with All-Star
Nolan Arenado.
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