As we near May, teams are beginning to evaluate where they stand, assessing their respective strengths and weaknesses. It's a time for taking inventory. Even the best teams -- even the Astros -- have weaknesses. With that in mind, let's find potential fixes for all 30 major league teams.
Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks are playing their best outfield defender -- Jarrod Dyson -- out of position in right field. While A.J. Pollock is a fine defender and has clubhouse seniority, the Diamondbacks could squeeze some more value by moving Dyson to center against right-handed pitching.
Atlanta Braves: Although it takes two parties to come together on a contract agreement, the Braves should aggressively pursue a long-term contract with Ronald Acuna one game into his MLB career. As the Indians learned last offseason, even waiting a year or two into the career of a young star can be too late to try to buy out arbitration and free-agent years. Francisco Lindor reportedly rejected a $100 million contract extension last spring. Getting Acuna locked up on the field now, rather than waiting another five or six weeks to avoid Super Two status, could be the biggest impact move the club could make.
Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles are desperately clinging to hopes of contention in their final year of control over Manny Machado. What the Orioles need is Kevin Gausman to pitch like an ace and to encourage him to rely more on his split-finger fastball, which he employed to post a nine-pitch, three-strikeout inning -- an immaculate inning -- against the Indians on Monday.
