What does the always competitive NL West have in store this year? Let's find out
Los Angeles Dodgers
After a tough world series loss for the second year in a row, they traded Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, and Matt Kemp, they also lost Yasmani Grandal to Milwaukee, Brian Dozier to the Nationals, and Manny Machado to the Padres. They did trade for Russell Martin and sign AJ Pollock to a reasonable 4 year deal. The Dodgers will still compete, but I feel the world series window has closed.
Arizona Diamondbacks
After just narrowly missing the playoffs last season, they lost Paul Goldschmidt and AJ Pollock to rivals, but they did sign Greg Holland and Caleb Joseph. They don't have a clear replacement for Goldschmidt's power and fielding abilities, so it seems the D-Backs may miss the playoffs again.
Colorado Rockies
After an embarassing sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, the Rockies signed Daniel Murphy to a 2 year deal, signed Nolan Arenado for a record salary(at the time), and lost Carlos Gonzalez and one of their better outfielders in Gerardo Parra, along with DJ Lemahieu. Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story, and Arenado remain, but it seems the Rockies are in danger of missing the postseason.
San Diego Padres
They lost Freddy Galvis and signed Manny Machado. That's it. The farm system looks promising, but it seems to be another year of fourth in the West for this bunch.
San Francisco Giants
They signed Derek Holland to try and stabilize the rotation and Gerardo Parra to replace Hunter Pence in the outfield. Jonny Cueto is out for a bit, but Drew Pomeranz should revert to 2017 form where he won 17 games to replace Cueto's production. They also lost Hunter Strickland to Seattle. This team is gonna be bad. Last place for these guys
Division Assessment
Last year, three teams were fighting for the division, and a game 163 had to be played to see who would win it, and the Dodgers ultimately prevailed. It seems to be exciting again this year, just all the teams are weakened. Expect another amazing race to the finish in the west.
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