MLB Hot Stove: Probable Contenders with Roster Holes Heading Into the 2019 Season

The 2019 season is quickly approaching, and there are some teams who contended for the playoffs last year who still have some big holes in their rosters as the MLB hot stove season completes.

Pitchers and catchers are set to report to spring training in less than two months, but that doesn’t mean you should expect things to slow down on the offseason acquisitions front. Free agent darlings Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remain unsigned this MLB hot stove season, and there are certainly some players on the trading block that will be moved before Cactus and Grapefruit League action is underway.

During this time of year the most interesting teams to watch are often the ones who seem like they already have it all. No team is perfect; even so-called “super teams” have their deficiencies, and adding new players to an already stacked roster is a complex balancing act, both for payroll and playtime reasons.

Almost as interesting as a big free agent signing by a contending team is the transaction that proceeds it, like the one we just saw between the Reds and the Dodgers. There have been rumors that the Red Sox are also looking into moving some players to clear up some payroll space, and the Indians have been trying to move Corey Kluber all winter.

So, as things are getting down to the wire and teams are shuffling players around getting let’s take a look at a few probable contenders who have big holes in their rosters. This should give us a better idea of which trades mentioned above are likely to happen, and what teams have weaknesses that might affect them as the season gets started.