Get ready to rumble, National League East.
Fans in Atlanta, Queens, Washington, Philadelphia and Miami are used to it by now. The NL East again projects as arguably MLB’s best division. It’s loaded with superstar position players – most of whom are in their prime or even pre-prime – and Cy Young-worthy starters.
Outside the Yankees and Red Sox allure, this division might be the most marketable in baseball. There’s star power, well-know coaches and executives, major markets, storied rivalries and passionate fan bases. For a sport that’s criticized for lacking urgency, the games in the NL East have energy.
Just ask Bryce Harper, who’s spent his entire career in the NL East ring.
“I think this is the best division in baseball; I don’t think that’s even a question,” Harper said Feb. 25, via ESPN. “We have five teams ... that are really good. I think this is going to be a juggernaut of a division.”
Not long afterwards, Braves first baseman and NL MVP Freddie Freeman echoed his friend’s sentiments, going so far as to call the NL East a “bloodbath.”
“I’ve said the last few years that the NL East was the hardest, but I was biased because I’m in the NL East,” Freeman said. “There’s no biases anymore. It’s hands down the hardest division. And we’re AL East interleague again, so you have the NL East and AL East going at it again like last year. It’s fun. We love the competition. But it’s going to be a juggernaut. It’s going to be a bloodbath from opening day through the end. That’s what it’s all about as a competitor. If you’re going to win this division this year, you’re going to have to be on your A-game all 162.”
Here’s where the Braves’ greatest adversaries stand as opening day approaches:
New York Mets
The Mets were among the offseason darlings, adding a handful of credible veterans under new owner Steve Cohen. Shortstop Francisco Lindor was the biggest addition, and he brings even more star power to division. They also added veteran James McCann to stabilize their catcher spot and Trevor May to bolster the bullpen.
Jacob deGrom is best pitcher in a division loaded with aces. He headlines a rotation that also includes Carlos Carrasco (acquired along with Lindor), Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker. The hard-throwing Noah Syndergaard is supposed to provide a mid-season boost when he returns after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. The offense returns core players like Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso.
The Mets are the most popular pick to unseat the Braves, or at least qualify for a wild card. Talent-wise, it’s entirely possible, but we’ve yet to see this Mets team on the field. Whether it’s immediate or a season from now, it does appear the Mets will transform into a big-market force under Cohen, which will keep the NL East a powerhouse.
Washington Nationals
The Nationals were a better team than they showed in 2020, when they went from world champs to last place. Juan Soto might be baseball’s best hitter. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin is still a dominant rotation trio. The Nationals added important pieces, including slugger Josh Bell, left-hander Brad Hand and starter Jon Lester, and they should jump back into the postseason mix.
Washington will be a popular pick for the annually asked, “Which non-playoff team last season will reach the postseason in 2021?” You don’t have to many mental gymnastics to see how the Nationals could turn it around. That one of the Braves, Mets or Nationals is viewed as the third-best team in the division on paper is a testament to NL East.
Philadelphia Phillies
Two years later, the Phillies’ big offseason has yet to pay dividends in the win-loss column. The Phillies haven’t had a winning season with Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto (whom the team re-signed last winter). The offensive talent is there. The star power is there. Experienced leadership, including team president Dave Dombrowski and manager Joe Girardi, is there. The Phillies aren’t perfect, but they possess several core ingredients.
Is there enough pitching? That remains to be seen, and that’s a rather large question mark, especially in a division where every other team is stacked with arms. The Phillies have a good team on paper, but you need a great team to win the NL East. Until they show it, the Phillies can’t be considered anywhere near that category. They do have immense upside, however, and there’s a scenario where things click and they leap up the standings. Bet on them being aggressive at the trade deadline if they’re within striking distance.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins surprised, well, everyone when they wound up the division’s second playoff team last season. It was valuable for a franchise that’s grooming a batch of young players and hadn’t tasted the playoffs since 2003. But over 162 games with a normal-sized playoff field, it’s harder to see Miami sustaining enough success to produce consecutive playoff births for the first time in franchise history.
Nonetheless, the Marlins are trending upwards. Miami is, to an extent, a sleeping giant for baseball. It’s an organization in a desirable location that’s now under respected leadership and building around an exciting young core. The Marlins were often the NL East’s punchline, but they’re going to a reason the division stays among the toughest in MLB.
