2017 Major League Preview: NL East
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Bryce Harper hits like its 2015 while Adam Eaton and Trea Turner further ignite the offense, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg stay healthy and the deep rotation carries the club to its first postseason series win and more.
WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Harper buckles under his impending free agency, Turner falters in year two and the bullpen never comes together.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: OF Adam Eaton, C Matt Wieters, C Derek Norris, 1B Adam Lind
BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: C Wilson Ramos, SS Danny Espinosa, OF Ben Revere, RHP Mark Melancon
NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: SS Trea Turner
NEW YORK METS
BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey stay healthy and lead a rotation that dominates the NL, while Michael Conforto blossoms and the Mets win another pennant.
WORST-CASE SCENARIO: David Wright, Jose Reyes and Lucas Duda break down, stretching the lineup thin, while further injuries cost deGrom and Harvey extended time as the Mets drop to third place.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: None
BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: RHP Bartolo Colon, OF Alejandro De Aza, 1B James Loney
NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: OF Michael Conforto
MIAMI MARLINS
BEST-CASE SCENARIO: The Marlins finally get all three outfielders playing well at the same time, with Giancarlo Stanton breaking out with 40 homers, and Wei-Yin Chen, Adam Conley and Edinson Volquez pitch well enough for the Marlins to push for a wild card.
WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Jose Fernandez’s tragic death crushes the rotation, and his loss haunts the franchise in the clubhouse as well, while the instability of a potential sale paralyzes the front office.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: RHP Edinson Volquez, RHP Dan Straily, RHP Brad Ziegler
BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: 3B/1B Chris Johnson, C Jeff Mathis, RHP Andrew Cashner
NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: OF Christian Yelich
ATLANTA BRAVES
BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Manager Brian Snitker seamlessly melds veterans Matt Kemp, Brandon Phillips, Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey with the core of young talent as the Braves make a run at .500 and bring excitement to new Sun Trust Field.
WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Dansby Swanson struggles for the first time in his pro career, and the veteran brigade fails badly to provide lineup help for Freddie Freeman or rotation help for Julio Teheran.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: RHP Bartolo Colon, RHP R.A. Dickey, 2B Brandon Phillips.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: OF Mallex Smith, C A.J. Pierzynski
NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: SS Dansby Swanson
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Philadelphia improves again, threatening .500 as veterans Clay Buchholz and Jeremy Hellickson provide ballast to an up-and-coming rotation led by Aaron Nola and a healthy Vince Velasquez.
WORST-CASE SCENARIO: The lack of an ace in the rotation leads to several long losing skids and the young position players take a step back, resulting in a third-straight 90-loss season.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: OF/2B Howie Kendrick, OF Michael Saunders, RHP Clay Buchholz, RHP Joaquin Benoit
BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: 1B Ryan Howard, OF Cody Asche
NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: 3B Maikel Franco
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