Written by Thomas | Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

When it is time for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training every team is optimistic about their chances of success and dream of playing in the World Series. Ok, maybe not the Pirates and Royals but most teams do. Let’s preview some of the more interesting off-season moves and what it does for their team’s chances of success in the 2011 MLB season.

Many baseball observers believe that the Boston Red Sox may have had the best off-season of any team this year. They added Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Bobby Jenks to a squad that looks for a healthy Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis to make them champions. This is one of the Top 5 teams in the league and a team to beat in 2011 – and for once no one is talking about the Yankees or giving them even the most moderate of shots to make a deep run out of the AL East this year, especially with the loss of Andy Pettitte.

The Philadelphia Phillies may have been as quiet this off-season as possible. They set out with one goal in mind and that was to acquire a frontline starting pitcher. They got one of the best when they signed Cliff Lee this winter. The loss of Jayson Werth may appear as if it would hurt but the emergence of Domonic Brown has stirred the excitement in the City of Brotherly Love. This is another Top 5 team that could find itself in the 2011 World Series.  Odds on the Phillies to win it all are set at 6/1.

Let’s look at the defending World Series Champions San Francisco Giants.  They come into the 2011 MLB season with moderate betting odds of 10/1 for repeating as league champs.  World Series here Edgar Renteria has left but will be capably replaced by Miguel Tejada. That actually is a plus for them. They have to be licking their chops at the thought of a full year of Buster Posey in their lineup and a full year in the rotation of Madison Bumgarner.

The St. Louis Cardinals are 14/1 to win the World Series in 2011.  They added hitter Lance Berkman and shortstop Ryan Theriot to an already potent line-up. Also, they secured a rotation spot by re-signing Jake Westbrook to the team. Albert Pujols is still a member of this 2011 team whether they re-sign him or not for the next season.

The San Diego Padres traded away a valuable piece of the puzzle in Adrian Gonzalez, but don’t start crying for them just yet as they show improvement in three positions by adding Orlando Hudson, Jason Bartlett, and Cameron Maybin.  Padres are probably a stretch but are listed at 20/1 odds to win it all.

Cubs (30/1) had an off-season plan and they stuck to it and added the pieces they were looking for in starting pitcher Matt Garza, power hitter first baseman Carlos Pena and set-up man retread Kerry Wood. They are better but not good enough to take on the Reds or Cardinals, with most MLB picks experts predicting the Cubbies will most likely finish 3rd or lower in the NL Central.

A few of the teams that seemed to be driving backwards this winter and had bigger losses than gains include the Braves, Rays and Dodgers.  Normally these teams are built solidly from top to bottom, but this year it seems they’ve swapped out youth for older veterans who just don’t have any pop anymore.

The Braves added Dan Uggla to the middle of the lineup and Scott Linebrink and George Sherrill to the bullpen.  But look at what they lost this winter. Gone are Takashi Saito, Derrek Lee, Billy Wagner, Omar Infante, Mike Dunn, Rick Ankiel and Matt Diaz. The Braves may have lost the most pieces of any team in the off-season.

The Rays list of losses is extensive, as they will have to replace nearly 25% of their 40-man roster. They lost Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett, Joaquin Benoit, Dan Wheeler, Matt Garza, Chad Qualls, Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour,  Dioner Navarro and Gabe Kapler.

The Dodgers added a whole slew of mid-level veterans that just don’t appear to put them in any better light than they left 2010. They lost John Garland, Matt Guerrier, Marcus Thames, Tony Gwynn Jr., and Juan Uribe.

There are a couple of sleeper teams to watch for in 2011 that could make also make a serious run for the playoffs – and well, are personally some of my own personal favorites that might pose a potential threat to 1st-rate clubs in the opening series’ during the divisional rounds.

The Twins added Tsuyoshi Nishioka who was a standout in the Pacific Coast League. Add him with a healthy Morneau and Joe Nathan and this team may be an underdog worthy of attention.  At 16/1 it may be worth throwing a few dollars down on the Twins to win it all.

Secondly, the White Sox added players and lots of money to their roster. The players added on the South Side are Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Jesse Crain. But gone from the team are Bobby Jenks and J.J. Putz. If Ozzie Guillen doesn’t implode, this team could make it to the playoffs in 2011. 22/1 for the Sox has some value to it.

From the National League Central we give kudos to the Milwaukee Brewers (65/1) as they added to strong pitching arms in Zack Grienke and Shawn Marcum coupled with Prince Fielder’s new deal makes them a formidable team for 2011.

Many things can happen in a full season of Major League baseball to change the dynamics of a team. Keep your eyes open for the teams that are willing to make a splash around Spring Training time and then again when late July gets here.

Sorry comments are closed on this article.