Back-to-back champs is the current state:
As I've mentioned previously this will be a bit of an offseason of transition as two of our top starters, Shane McClanahan and Luis Castillo, are free agents as well as Spencer Torkelson (who had a down year as our DH but bounced back in the playoffs) and Ozzie Albies (that team-friendly contract he signed 8-9 years ago with Atlanta is finally up). The pitchers aren't coming back as McClanahan wants too much term and too much $ and while Castillo's demands are more reasonable he'll be 35 in December and I'm not going to gamble on that old of a pitcher. Tork is replaceable, especially off the .215, 25 HR season he had, which leaves Albies. Owner Stu Sternberg wants him re-signed and while I can go either way on it, I decided to offer him 5/90 which Albies will likely take. He'll need to be moved off of 2B before long as his fielding is lousy but he hits to enough to play at 1B. Finally, Camilo Doval is also a free agent as we rented him from Colorado. Pete Fairbanks had a renaissance in the playoffs and since we're paying him $9.5 for one more season the closer job is his by default again.
The news is that Stu has given me a $150M payroll, which will give us some money to spend.
And I also didn't waste any time making a deal, trading a regular who helped us win three rings in the last four seasons:
Mead was due $11.5 in his final year of arbitration and while he's been a solid contributor for us over the years, with the exception of 2026 when he hit over .300 with 25 HR he's been a 1.8-1.9 WAR player. And with options to replace him he was shopped and brought us this good-looking offer from Houston which included Rivera, the #49 prospect in baseball:
He's quite the hitter for a catcher and although his defense is mediocre it's not terrible. Diego Cartaya is going to price himself out of Tampa Bay with 2028 his final year of team control so it's good to have a successor. And Encarnacion isn't just a throw-in, he has 60/65 power, 45 contact and plays an average 3B, earning 7.5 WAR in A and A+ ball combined the past two seasons. Soliz, the other guy we sent Houston, is in fact a throw-in 1/2-1 star guy.
So this deal gives us $11M to spend, and assuming Albies signs his extension we'll have about $30M or slightly more to play with.
The position-by-position outlook:
C: Cartaya returns for one more year then Rivera should take over. Rene Pinto will return as this year's backup.
1B: With Mead gone the position is open. I see two internal options here - one, promote Blaze Jordan to play the position. He had 27 HR and 81 RBI at Durham, has 55 contact/65 power. The other is to move Albies here and go with Max Viera at 2B, who hit .269-21-71 at Durham with 2.8 WAR.
2B: Albies, assuming he re-signs and doesn't move to 1B, then it could be Viera or even Jeremiah Jackson who could be freed from years of backup purgatory.
SS: Wander
3B: Marco Luciano.
LF: Nataneal Santana might have lost his job during the regular season if we had a better alternative, and then he went out and tore it up in the playoffs, and given how productive he was in 2026 the job is his to lose.
CF: Zach DeLoach, who had a breakout season
RF: James Wood. Wood platooned with Josh Mears but I'm about at the end of my rope with Mears and Wood hit lefties decently in the playoffs when he played every day. So Wood should have the full-time job although I'd like a righty OF backup.
DH: With Tork gone the likely replacement is Junior Caminero, who hit for average during his extended run last season but without a lot of power. He's capable of more though.
Bench: Pinto is the backup C, Jackson will at least be the utility IF once again, but last year's OF backups of Hudson Head and Mears weren't very good. Head only got to keep his job due to a lack of options and after the season he had I'm not afraid of him being claimed on waivers. Lonnie White and Fu-Chi Chin are much better, offensively and defensively, and are the favorites to replace them.
Rotation: The biggest overhaul comes here with Mac and Castillo gone. John Swanda becomes the #1 guy despite his lousy postseason, Bryce Eldridge has a spot, and Eric Orze was OK. Top prospect Walt Khattak is probably ready for the bigs and Taj Bradley has a good shot of getting back into the rotation. That's the five I see for now. Garrett Whitlock is also gone as a free agent, Luis German can start but was highly valuable in a multi-inning relief role I'd like to keep him in and the same applies to JP Sears.
Bullpen: As mentioned earlier Fairbanks is the de facto closer, and Chris Gau and Jovani Moran return to set him up. Charlie Ruegger wasn't as effective last year as in 2026 and Clayton Andrews was disappointing, so I definitely want to add a quality reliever or two. German and Sears should return in their long roles. Brian Gonzalez, the lefty who had some nice moments in a swingman role, could contribute as well with his numbers here and in Durham belying his 2-star rating.
Therefore the offseason objectives are:
1. Add some pitching. One starter would be nice and a couple of arms for the pen. We'll look at both trades and free agency since we can take on some salary.
2. A possible impact bat. 1B/DH are in flux so someone there could be a solution.