1x Free Agent Each NL East Team Must Sign to Catch the Philadelphia Phillies
A Blog By Brett
This is the third piece of a six-part series. Go and check out parts 1 (NL West) & 2 (NL Central) through these links or on The Skippers View website!
Today, I will be talking about the National League East. A super intriguing division, as you have multiple teams that not only can make the playoffs but win a World Series in 2026.
I understand this is a bold statement, given that only one team from this division made the playoffs in 2025. Let’s start with the New York Mets, who had a disappointing 2025.
New York Mets
Team Needs - Pitching
At the end of the 2025 regular season, the Mets were heavily relying upon multiple rookie pitchers (Brandon Sproat, Nolan McLean, & Jonah Tong) to try to lock up a playoff spot. New York learned the hard way that rotational depth is pivotal in this league and ultimately missed the postseason.
Owner Steve Cohen has shown that he is willing to spend on talent. That being said, the Mets just let Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso get away due to contract disputes. It’s not like the Mets haven’t been active. They have acquired Marcus Semien, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and others already this offseason via trade/free agency.
Shipping off players like Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo leads me to believe they are trying to shed some payroll to make a move for a frontline starter. After reviewing the available pitchers on the market, Framber Valdez makes perfect sense. Framber is a proven veteran who can step in right away to help lead this rotation. I initially thought San Diego would be a good fit for Valdez’s services, but they signed Michael King to a large deal already, and my gut tells me they might try to trade their way to acquire another key starter.
If Valdez signed with New York, the Mets’ rotation could look like:
Framber Valdez (31) LHP | 3.36 ERA
Nolan McLean (23) RHP | 2.06 ERA
David Peterson (29) LHP | 4.12 ERA
Sean Manaea (33) - LHP | 4.08 ERA
Clay Holmes (32) - RHP | 3.65 ERA
Jonah Tong (22) - RHP | 7.71 ERA
Brandon Sproat (25) - RHP | 4.79 ERA
The fact that Sproat, Tong, and McLean were all rookies and under the age of twenty-five tells me there is a lot of room for improvement for this trio of highly touted prospects, and they would be paired with four veterans who are all productive arms. This is a no-brainer for New York.
2025 - 3.8 bWAR | 31 GS | 192 IP | 187 K | 1.25 WHIP | 13 W | 8.8 K/9 | 3.66 ERA
Miami Marlins
Team Needs - 1B, Bullpen
Peter Bendix has this team ahead of schedule. Miami finished in front of Atlanta last season and was only four games under .500. Miami might have some questions in the pitching department, but none are as significant as first base.
Signing Ryan O’Hearn can answer a lot of questions and drastically improve this lineup. O’Hearn would almost certainly slot in the heart of the lineup and beef up the middle of this Miami offense.
Jakob Marsee - CF
Xavier Edwards - 2B
Kyle Stowers - LF
Ryan O’Hearn - 1B
Agustin Ramirez - DH
Griffin Conine - RF
Liam Hicks - C
Otto Lopez - SS
Connor Norby - 3B
O’Hearn would not cost that much to bring to Miami. On top of that, the Marlins would have options to go and improve other areas of the lineup or bullpen with remaining “free-agent” dollars.
2025 - 2.4 bWAR | 17 HR | .281 AVG | 67 R | 64 RBI | .366 OBP | .437 SLG | .803 OPS
Washington Nationals
Team Needs - Everything except LF & SS
This is not a smear piece on the Nationals. I have been saying this for a while. They are a lot further away from the postseason than the baseball community tends to believe. If I were the General Manager, I would sell almost all my tradable assets and invest in prospects (at least for 2026). There is 0% chance this team could win a World Series next season, and almost 0% chance they even make the playoffs.
Sell, sell, sell.
I would then add a veteran bat with high upside at a reasonable cost to pair with James Wood and CJ Abrams. Yoan Moncada could be the answer at the hot corner. I know Moncada has not been the player we all hoped for, but he batted .260 in 2023 and .275 in 2024.
Low risk for a bat that could pay dividends to this lineup in 2026.
2025 - 0.7 bWAR | 12 HR | .234 AVG | 39 R | 35 RBI | .336 OBP | .448 SLG | .783 OPS
Atlanta Braves
Team Needs - Pitching (Rotation & Bullpen)
It is no secret that the Braves have been disappointing over the last two seasons. The keyword here… “disappointing”. The reason for the disappointment is that this team is loaded with talent yet hasn’t made the playoffs in two years.
Alex Anthopoulos has been active this offseason to ensure there won’t be a third year without a postseason for these Braves. He has been brilliant in securing long-term extensions to keep this core together. The Braves already got Ha-Seong Kim back, solving the shortstop issue. They also added Robert Suarez to the bullpen and Mike Yastrzemski to the outfield. Now they must add depth to the rotation.
Adding a divisional rival, Ranger Suarez, could be that over-the-top piece that Atlanta could make to improve this rotation. If the Braves signed Ranger Suarez, their starting rotation could look like:
Chris Sale (36) - LHP | 3.01 ERA
Spencer Schwellenbach (25) - RHP | 3.23 ERA
Spencer Strider (27) - RHP | 3.74 ERA
Ranger Suarez (30) - LHP | 3.38 ERA
Reynaldo López (32) - RHP | 3.94 ERA
Hurston Waldrep (23) - RHP | 4.41 ERA
Not only is Suarez an incredible pitcher, but he is a lefty and will cost less than Framber Valdez. This move is a match made in heaven.
2025 - 4.7 bWAR | 26 GS | 157.1 IP | 151 K | 1.22 WHIP | 12 W | 8.6 K/9 | 3.20 ERA