Before the end of February, all 30 MLB teams will be holding full-squad workouts at their spring-training facilities. But even after a busy offseason, every team in the league heads to camp facing plenty of uncertainty about roster spots, position battles, and players returning from injury.
Here are big questions facing all 15 American League teams:
American League West
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Los Angeles Angels: Can Jered Weaver figure it out?
Though the Angels did little to improve their offense this offseason, Mike Trout should provide enough of that on his own to guarantee the club scores runs. Questions arise in the starting rotation, especially with 33-year-old veteran Jered Weaver. Weaver’s a crafty pitcher and still performed well as recently as 2014, but his average fastball velocity has been dropping steadily since 2010 and plummeted into the low-80s last year, when Weaver endured the worst season of his career. The Angels’ rotation hardly seems a strength, but it will look a lot more sturdy if Weaver can get some life back on his pitches or learn to better operate with what he has left.
Houston Astros: Is Jon Singleton ready for prime time?
With Chris Carter off to Milwaukee, the Astros will likely turn their regular first-base job over to Jonathan Singleton, a burly lefty hitter with big power but terrible Major League results to date. Singleton, who signed a $10 million contract with Houston a few days before he even played a big-league game in 2014, had a nice year in Class AAA in 2015 and could finally make good on his long-heralded prospect status. His time is now: Big-hitting first-base prospect A.J. Reed is breathing down Singleton’s neck in the Astros system after hitting 34 homers with a 1.044 OPS across Class A and AA last season.
Oakland Athletics: Does Jonah Hill even work here anymore?
I kid, but its fair to wonder what exactly the plan is in Oakland under VP Billy Beane and GM Scott Forst now that practically every team incorporates analytics with the type of zeal described in Moneyball. After a brutal but generally unlucky season that saw the club finish 68-94, the A’s enter camp with a fairly deep roster full of decent players in their late 20s and only one real star — ace pitcher Sonny Gray. Their flurry of bullpen expenditures in the offseason suggests they aim to compete in 2016, but it’s not entirely clear how they plan to do that. Maybe Beane and Forst have some tricks up their sleeves, or maybe the A’s are looking at another long season.
Seattle Mariners: Who is the closer?
Seattle signed sidearmer Steve Cishek in December as part of its makeover under GM Jerry DiPoto, but Cishek endured the worst season of his career in 2015. The 6’6″ righty, a successful closer for the Marlins in 2013 and 2014, set new career highs in ERA, WHIP and walk rate and saw his strikeout rate and fastball velocity drop. His 23 1/3 solid innings with the Cardinals to end the season look more like a small-sample mirage than an indicator of his return to form. But he likely enters camp with a leg up on veteran Joaquin Benoit for the ninth-inning role.
Texas Rangers: How long does Yu Darvish need?
The Rangers’ surprise trade for Cole Hamels at last year’s trade deadline made them look like a contender for 2015 and beyond, but their 2016 hopes will shine quite a bit brighter when they know Yu Darvish is healthy and ready to return. Darvish, who had Tommy John surgery last March, says he feels stronger than he did before the procedure and is expected to be ready by late May or early June. The club’s pennant hopes could hinge on his ability to make a full recovery.
American League Central
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Cleveland Indians: Can Francisco Lindor avoid a sophomore slump?
Lindor enjoyed a phenomenal rookie season, hitting .313 with an .835 OPS while playing great defense at shortstop in his first 99 Major League games. But Lindor now owns a higher OPS in the Majors than he had at any minor-league level. That could be a sign of real improvement: Scouts have long expected his offense to improve, and he was one of the youngest players — if not the youngest player — at every minor league level he endeavored. There’s no doubt he has big, big talent. But the Indians open camp with a starting rotation fit to contend and their best offensive player, Michael Brantley, slated to open the season on the disabled list following shoulder surgery. They’ll look a whole lot stronger if they know their young shortstop will avoid regressing in his second season.
Kansas City Royals: Can Jarrod Dyson be a good everyday player?
The speedy outfielder has been a very useful player for the Royals over the past few years, playing rangy defense and stealing bases at a great clip in a reserve role. Now, at 31, the Mississippi native should get an opportunity to be an everyday player for the defending World Champions. There’s no chance Dyson provides the type of home-run power typically associated with corner outfielders, but that hardly seems like the Royals’ M.O. anyway. The question is whether he’ll flourish or be exposed with more regular plate appearances. The guys behind Dyson on the depth chart don’t inspire a ton of confidence on the offensive side.
Detroit Tigers: Will Victor Martinez bounce back?
The Tigers now seem to exist in a perpetual go-for-it move as owner Mike Ilitch approaches age 90. As such, they’ve got a handful of high-priced veterans in the fold, many of whom are still decidedly excellent but all of whom will need to stay healthy and productive to carry the Tigers back into AL Central contention. Designated hitter Victor Martinez led the Majors in OPS as recently as 2014, but struggled with knee issues in 2015 and suffered the worst offensive season of his career. He’s 37 now, and it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever again produce like an elite hitter. But as a switch-hitter, Martinez is by far the most prominent bat in the Tigers’ lineup that doesn’t exclusively hit right-handed, and their offense will look a heck of a lot stronger if he shows he’s past what plagued him in 2015.
Minnesota Twins: Can Miguel Sano play right field?
This seems like a big one. The Twins owe Joe Mauer another $69 million through the end of the 2018 season, and Mauer, due to concussion issues, is now limited to playing first base and DH. But Minnesota also committed some $25 million to sign Korean slugger Byung-Ho Park this winter, and Park is also a first baseman. That all means that 22-year-old Miguel Sano, after an awesome half-season in the Majors in which he hit 18 homers with a .916 OPS, will work in right field during spring training. Sano has never played a professional game in the outfield, but he moves well for a man of his massive stature and appears amenable to the position switch.
Chicago White Sox: Can the offense be better than awful?
The South Side club entered 2015 looking primed to contend, then saw its offense implode as a bunch of established veterans seriously underperformed career norms. A few of those guys are gone now, and the addition of third baseman Todd Frazier instantly upgrades the White Sox’ lineup. But they’ll still need guys like Melky Cabrera and Adam LaRoche to show that 2015 was the exception and not a new rule. The starting staff looks good enough to carry the White Sox toward the top of the AL Central, but not if the offense again lands dead last in the American League in OPS.
American League East
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Toronto Blue Jays: Is Chris Colabello for real?
Toronto’s offense should rank among the league’s best regardless of who winds up with the bulk of playing time at first base, but it can maintain its status as MLB’s top run-scorer if Colabello can show he’s up to repeating his breakout 2015 campaign. The 32-year-old took an odd route to Major League success, starting his career with seven seasons in the independent Can Am league before catching on in the Twins’ system in 2012 and bopping his way to the big leagues a year later. But Colabello never did anything in 114 Major League at-bats with Minnesota to show he could hit like he did with the Jays in 2015. If he can hit like he did last year for a full season in 2016, the Blue Jays’ offense will be terrifying. If he can’t, Justin Smoak will get a chance to retake his everyday job.
Baltimore Orioles: What’s to be made of Dylan Bundy?
Baltimore’s got designs on contention but some big question marks in their starting rotation. Bundy, who made his big-league debut as a 19-year-old in 2012 but hasn’t throwing a Major League pitch since, could go a long way to shoring up the starting staff if he can show he’s finally healthy and ready to contribute at the game’s highest level. Once a consensus Top 5 prospect, Bundy has missed the bulk of the last three seasons with injuries but is now reportedly feeling healthy and ready for a normal spring schedule.
Tampa Bay Rays: Is Matt Moore fully back?
The Rays’ one-time ace struggled upon his return from Tommy John surgery in July and found himself demoted to the minors by August, but returned in September and finished the season with four strong starts. If the 26-year-old Moore can recapture the All-Star form he showed in 2013, Tampa Bay’s rotation should be strong enough to keep them in the mix in the East. If he can’t, the club will need to hold the fort until top pitching prospect Blake Snell, who blazed his way to Class AAA ball in 2015, is ready for the Majors.
Boston Red Sox: Can Hanley and the Panda hit again?
We’ve seen countless examples of free agents signing big contracts and struggling in their first seasons with new clubs, but the Red Sox seemed to endure a particular spate of misfortune in 2015 when a pair of established veterans still around their prime years came to Boston and promptly collapsed. Hanley Ramirez posted an .841 OPS from 2012-14 before notching a .717 mark last season, and Pablo Sandoval maintained a .759 mark from 2012-2014 and fell to .658 in 2015. Guys don’t often fall apart so suddenly, and the Red Sox’ offense will be much improved if Ramirez and Sandoval return toward their career norms.
New York Yankees: Can the veterans last a season?
GM Brian Cashman has quietly been building a nice-looking young nucleus of Yankees players to complement the next set of big-ticket free-agent superstars, but the club’s 2016 success will still rely on the current set of big-ticket free-agent superstars. Both Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira posted great numbers last year, but Rodriguez will turn 41 in July and Teixeira has missed time due to injury in each of the last four seasons. Right fielder Carlos Beltran will turn 39 in April and has a history of knee issues. Those three likely represent the middle of the Yankees’ 2016 lineup, so it’s imperative that they enjoy good health this spring.