1985 National League East Division Preview

The race for the 1985 National League East division crown was largely between two teams: The New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. The Mets led for most of the season, but the Braves surged in the last three weeks to end their campaign on top. The Mets also ended up losing out on the Wild Card spots and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1981.

The division, however, was very tight with all teams finishing within 14 games of each other:

Team	1984 Record
Atlanta Braves	89-73
New York Mets	87-75
Philadelphia Phillies	79-83
Florida Marlins	78-84
Montreal Expos	75-87

Due to the strength of several other NL teams it looks like 1985 will be another year where the best chance of making the playoffs for an NLE team is just to win the division.

Montreal Expos (1984 Record: 75-87)

The Expos were the dominant team in the NLE over the last decade, making the playoffs 7 times since 1975. 1984, however, proved to be a tough year with Montreal finishing last by going 75-87.

The off-season in Montreal was very quiet with two minor departures and no major pickups. Outfielder Tom Gaither, who had been moving back and forth between the Expos and their AAA affiliate for years, left for free agency and right-handed reliever Dale Overton was traded to Pittsburgh for prospects.

Montreal looks to be relying on established talent for the '85 season. Their major league roster is the 4th oldest in baseball with an average age of 27.85 at the time this was written. Returning stars include 1984 All-Star Catcher Jimmy Edwards (3.5 WAR in 1984), outfield sluggers Alan Gatto (4.2 WAR) and Alfredo Servin (3.4 WAR), and former MVPs 2B Matt Singer (3.2 WAR) and Travis Pinkard (1.4 WAR). The starting rotation also seems to be the same from 1984 with standouts Lorenzo Barbour (4.4 WAR) and Alex Midence (3.2 WAR) looking to act as anchors.

Florida Marlins (1984 Record: 78-84)

The Marlins finished 1984 with the exact same record they had in 1983, which in turn was only three games better than their '82 record. In a clear attempt to break this rut the Marlins made one of the biggest trades of the offseason acquiring CF John Bar (5.7 WAR in 1984) from the Marlins in exchange for five prospects. Bar joins LF Nate Bannister (3.3 WAR) in what looks to be one of the best outfields in baseball for years to come. However, injuries have been a problem for both players - they missed a combined 8 weeks in 1984. Bar and Bannister will need to stay healthy if the Marlins are finally going to rise well above .500.

Florida did lose some pieces in the off-season, the most notable being SS Jesus Lopez (1.4 WAR) who left in free agency. The Marlins look to replace him with Rule 5 Draft pick from Detroit Travis Myers. Another interesting pick-up is the signing in free agency of journeyman catcher Kellen Anis (1.7 WAR). Returning from his breakout rookie season is 1B Jesus Sanchez (4.6 WAR).

The starting rotation looks to be again anchored by star Elias Laguna (6.1 WAR) who may be a pitcher of the year candidate if he can remain healthy. He missed 6 weeks in both 1983 and 1984 with arm injuries.

Philadelphia Phillies (1984 Record: 79-83)

Since making the playoffs in 1982 (and losing in the NLDS) the Phillies have declined a bit each season culminating in a 79-83 record in 1984. However, a major trade and the introduction of the Designated Hitter to the NL have allowed Philadelphia to string some batters together in the heart of their order that may be among the best in baseball.

The Phillies acquired 1B Danny Medina (3.4 WAR) from Cleveland in return for four prospects. Medina will join Dylan Duncan (5.2 WAR) and 1B Ray Lancaster (4.9 WAR) in a lineup that is sure to batter opposing pitchers.

The Phillies lost a number of role players to free agency in the off-season, though none were major parts of the team in 1984. The biggest loss may be SP Nate Finney who started 29 games for Philadelphia last season. But Finney will not be at all missed if everything goes to plan - the Phillies look to call up a trio of young and talented starting pitching prospects for the 1985 season. They are #2 prospect Milt Warburg, #15 prospect Beau Reedy, and #54 prospect Nate Drzewiecki. If all three live up to their potential they will join Jeremy Melin (3.0 WAR) to be among the best rotations in the league.

New York Mets (1984 Record: 87-75)

The Mets won the division in 1982, made the playoffs as a wildcard in 1983, and were poised to once again pop champaign in October as a division winner in '84 when the stumbled a bit at the end of the season losing the division crown to the Braves and the wildcard spots to Pittsburgh and San Diego. They then proceeded to have a VERY quiet off-season with no notable additions or departures. The Mets will look to compete this season by relying upon their established talent. But, with the 4th oldest team in the league (average age of 27.23 years), it is not clear how long that strategy can be effective for them.

New York's junior team does, however, have quite a bit of established talent to rely upon. Outfield sluggers Mike Proffitt (4.8 WAR) and Heriberto Trevino (6.6 WAR) will be joined by call-up Nick Chambers (prospect rank #16) to complete one of the most talented outfields in baseball. The infield may be a bit more problematic though as 3B Jason Davis has struggled to get back to his 1981 NL MVP winning form. He posted 8.8 WAR in '81 but successive seasons have only been good for 4.6, 3.8, and finally 3.1 WAR last season.

The starting rotation for the Mets will once again be fronted by the intimidating combination of Dennis Kane (4.9 WAR) and Jesus Rodriguez (5.2 WAR). Joining them this season is #10 prospect SP Bryan Tuttle.

Atlanta Braves (1984 Record: 89-73; Lost in NLCS)

The Braves made the playoffs in 1984 for the first time since 1980... and have proceeded to do not much of anything in the off-season. They appear to be poised to rely upon an established roster that won 89 games last season and is the 3rd youngest in baseball (average age of 25.52 years).

Atlanta will be returning almost their entire starting roster from 1984 - a year in which they captured the division crown without any true standout performances by their pitchers or hitters. After putting up 5.2 WAR in 1983, right fielder Cameron Buerkley had a 3.7 WAR season in 1984 which was still enough to lead the team. Veteran SP Jorge Pineda, who signed an extension with Atlanta after being acquired from Cleveland in April of '84, also put up 3.7 WAR which led all Braves pitchers. Surely the Braves are hoping for one of their younger players to break out and lead the team to another playoff appearance.

The Braves did not have a busy off-season, but they did acquire veteran first baseman Art Sunderland to help fill the gap created by the implementation of the designated hitter role in the NL. They have also called up two promising young starting pitchers: Danny Cervantes (prospect rank #4) and Rich Esparza (prospect rank #21) though with the starting rotation still filled with the same pitchers from last season Cervantes and Esparza may begin the year in the bullpen.

One player who may be looking to have a breakout season, perhaps helped by his shift to DH, is slugger Brian Arnaut who led the Braves in 1984 in runs batted in and led the league in home runs with 42.