JANUARY 2024 

Englewood, CO-- The beloved Colorado State graduate and Rockies sportscaster, Jenny Cavnar, has become Major League Baseball's first female play-by-play broadcaster in the history of the league. Cavnar, who is mostly known for her role as color commentator and pre and post game host for the Rockies, has received a tremendous amount of praise in the sports journalism world in recent years; most recently by winning Colorado sportscaster of the year in 2023. Cavnar has become a trailblazer for women in the sports broadcasting industry and her new gig with the Oakland A's will be just the beginning of an already iconic career. The Colorado sports fanatics will definitely miss Cavnar's excellency and bubbly personality and there will undoubtedly be a void in the Rockies sportscasting crew this coming baseball season. This might just prove when it comes to Colorado Rockies baseball, this is why we can't have nice things. Jokes aside, congratulations to Jenny and her family and we wish you nothing but the best, thanks for the memories! 

Englewood, CO-- Unless the Rockies petition their way out of the NL West and into another division, Colorado fans should be very weary of the seasons to come. Not only did the Dodgers win 100 games again last year, but the Arizona Diamondbacks (Yes, the Arizona Diamondbacks) were in the freaking World Series, and looked GOOD! The San Diego Padres are going to have fresh blood and a new look to their lineup, but at least the Giants are still mid! There is a lot of young talent on Arizona's roster and they have been hitting on recent draft picks, creating a scary situation for the entire NL West division, especially the Rockies. These are some of the MAJOR roster adjustments in the division this offseason: 

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies remain one of the smaller-market teams in baseball, however, you can only suck for so long, so I am starting to wonder if the Rockies are simply a pre-game to Denver nightlife, or an actual baseball club that wants to win championships. If we look at recent history, the Rockies take the role of a Major League farm team, and have traded away some of baseball's most talented players for next to nothing. Nolan Arenado, DJ Lemahiue, Adam Ottovino, Jon Gray... just to name a few. However, this year, the Monfort brothers significantly upgraded the Rockies starting rotation with the signing of Cal Quantrill. Quantrill, a former  Arizona Diamondback and Cleveland Guardian, has provided some fantastic outings in his career and has made his mark as a strikeout guy in the bigs. Quantrill will look to provide some juice to Colorado's pitching staff, but faces a big challenge pitching at Coors Field. We shall see how the Denver air affects the strikeout merchant in Quantrill. 

Los Angeles Dodgers 

1. The Dodgers impulsive signing of the modern-day Babe Ruth in Shohei Ohtani, later to be revealed by Jeff Passan that Shohei is taking a Tom Brady-like approach to the financial situation (pay me less so we can sign more players to surround me and get a ring). At 10 years, $700 million, Ohtani and the Dodgers agreed to one of baseball's biggest contracts ever, but there was a catch;  Ohtani chose to structure his contract in a way that would pay him just $2 million in annual salary until July 1, 2034, when he will then be paid a whopping $68 million in deferred compensation every year until 2043. $68 million in annual salary would make Shohei the highest paid player (in annual salary) by nearly $27 million, but the Dodgers have 10 years to figure those funds out. 

2. Because of Ohtani's contract clauses, and quite frankly the ownership group being disgustingly wealthy, the Dodgers were able to go after the NPB (Japan)'s most prominent and dominant pitcher in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto has a career 1.79 era as a starter and reliever in the NPB, in addition to coming off a heroic string of performances for his Orix Buffaloes in their victory in the Nippon Series. Yamamoto is going to provide even further depth to the Dodgers' already excellent starting rotation, as well as some flexibility as he is comfortable starting and providing relief in the bullpen. Not to mention, Yamamoto has already played under the bright lights as a key contributor on a championship-winning team, and he is only 24 with 7 years of professional baseball under his belt. The Dodgers are getting an absolute phenom that knows his worth, as he also has some very intriguing details written in his contract:

   1. 1. Yamamoto can't be sent down to the minors without his consent- this has never happened before 

      2. Yamamoto signed for $1 million more than Yankees' ace, Gerrit Cole (9 years, $324 million), after the Yankees informed Yamamoto's camp that the highest paid player on the team will remain Gerrit Cole, no ifs, ands, or butts

      3. Yamamoto is assigned a full-time translator, personal trainer, and physical therapist, while also being guaranteed a hotel suite on roadtrips, and 5 roundtrip flights every year (likely due to his family being in Japan).

   2. In addition to Shohei and Yamamoto, the Dodgers beefed up their starting rotation even further by signing flamethrower, Tyler Glasnow, in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Glasnow also came with a price, as the Dodgers signed him to a 5-year-deal worth $136.5 million, making his annual salary fluctuate around $25 million. 

Arizona Diamondbacks

In addition to their divisional foe in Dodgers, the D-Backs have made some major moves in the offseason, and because of the LA signings, these moves have somewhat snuck under the radar as far as MLB headlines go. After their loss to the Texas Rangers in the 2023 World Series, the team's first World Series appearance in 22 years, the D Backs took a step back to reflect on their roster and decided to prioritize 3 key moves that would set them up for another cinderella run in 2024:

1. Sign a veteran starting pitcher to the rotation

2. Replace veteran 3rd baseman, Evan Longoria

3. Add a major right-handed bat to the lineup

Well, here we are in mid-January and all three goals have been achieved by the D-Backs, in accordance with GM, Mike Hazen, and skipper Torey Lovullo. A little over a month ago, the team signed free agent southpaw, Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is not necessarily dominant or a guy that can throw 9 scoreless innings like his new teammate Zac Gallen, but one thing he has consistently done his entire career is stay healthy, something any MLB club would be grateful for. Arizona also added some major pop at 3rd base in their signing of Eugenio Suarez via trade with Seattle Mariners, immediately upgrading their infield. Suarez has been a very consistent hitter in his career and he can play a solid 3rd base defensively. Suarez is arguably one of the better 3rd basemen when it comes to offensive and defensive production, and the D Backs got him for a really good price. Another major addition to the lineup comes with the re-signing of veteran right hander, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Gurriel Jr. is arguably one of the more controversial players in the league by his role in the Houston Astros'' cheating scandal and a racial incident in 2017 involving Japanese pitcher, Yu Darvish. Regardless, Gurriel Jr. has shown his worth both in the box, and in the field, as he started at three different defensive positions last year for Arizona, while helping lead the team to the World Series with a solid postseason stint. While it isn't new blood for the D Backs, returning a right handed slugger while also adding another diversifies a lefty-dominant lineup for the Snakes, who did not have a particularly strong offensive year. 

San Diego Padres

It is pretty crazy that arguably two of baseball's most talented rosters are in the same division, but the Padres have yet to figure out some sort of synergy. They too, however, have had an intriguing offseason. First, the Padres hit the front page news by giving away their All-Star left fielder, Juan Soto, in a blockbuster trade with the New York Yankees that included center fielder, Trent Grisham. From a money perspective, the Padres probably won this trade, but from a talent perspective, there's no question there is a hole to fill in left field at Petco Park. However, the Padres do have something to look forward to in a fresh start with new manager, Mike Shildt. I could see this Padres team making a run at the playoffs with such a dynamic lineup of vets and young bucks, but they will need to worry about their division first as they are going to have their hands full yet again with the D Backs and Dodgers. Only time will tell for this unpredictable San Diego squad. 

San Francisco Giants

Probably the biggest news coming out of the Bay this offseason was the signing of Japanese phenom, Jung Hoo Lee, and more recently the re-signing of second baseman, Thairo Estrada, and first baseman, LaMonte Wade Jr. . Being completely transparent, the Giants are underwhelming and underperforming, but they somehow continue to win around 80 games every year, but I can't see them doing anything more than that this year. There are not many players that can completely change an organization around from a sub .500 team to a postseason team, and Tsutsugo is not that guy. Nonetheless, the less changes that are made after a losing season, the more likely another losing season, so this is probably the team that the Rockies need to worry least about. 

All in all, this should be yet another unpredictable year in the division and this should be an extremely entertaining year for the NL West. With so many new faces and destinations, the NL West remains a dog fight and what seems to be an impossible task for a Rockies team that hasn't had a winning season since 2017.