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Offseason Movement: In a major effort to try and bolster their bullet riddled bullpen, the Mets signed top free agent closer Francisco Rodriguez, who saved a record 62-games last season for the Angels. The Mets also acquired reliever J.J. Putz, outfielder Jeremy Reed and RHP Sean Green in a three team swap with the Mariners and Indians. The club signed free agent starter Freddy Garcia, but after he gave up 15 runs in just seven innings this spring, they reassigned him to minor league camp. Livan Hernandez – yet another free agent signing – fared much better and will be the Mets’ fifth starter when the season opens. Casey Fossum, Alex Cora, Darren O’Day, Rocky Cherry, Connor Robertson and Cory Sullivan round out the rest of New York’s offseason additions.

Top Prospect: Wilmer Flores, SS
Outfield prospect Fernando Martinez also deserves mention here, but Flores is already showing potential at just 17 years old. Flores is light years away from the big leagues, but he’s already drawing comparisons to Miguel Cabrera in terms of his potential at such a young age. The Mets will likely move Flores along slowly and let him develop his skills. There’s absolutely no need to rush him, but he’ll get his opportunity to shine in the next couple of years.

The Big Question: Can the new faces in the bullpen come together?
The Mets blew 29 save opportunities last year, so to address that weakness they signed a closer in Francisco Rodriguez who set a record in saves last season with 62. Outside of his WHIP rising every season since 2002, K-Rod remains one of the best closers in the league and at only 27, he still has plenty of baseball ahead of him. Adding J.J. Putz via trade this offseason was also a solid move for this club, but the long-relief situation is a bit of an uncertainty considering the mixed bag of Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green, Brian Stokes (who was almost traded recently), Nelson Figueroa, Bobby Parnell and Darren O’Day. Parnell and O’Day have been good this spring, so the Mets’ bullpen appears to be ready for a major bounce back. But with so many new faces, it’s tough to assume that all of the club’s issues in the pen last year are fixed.

Outlook: The Mets fit in one of two categories in terms of their 2009 outlook. People either assume that they’re postseason bound after addressing their most glaring weakness (the bullpen), or they’re not fooled by all the offseason moves and therefore are urging the rest of the baseball world not to buy into the hype. I tend to fit into the former category and believe that this could be the Mets year to make some noise. They collapsed last year – bottom line. And there’s no way of knowing if they’ll do it again this year. But they completely overhauled the bullpen with quality arms like K-Rod, J.J. Putz and Sean Green, and still have one of the best lineups in the National League, headlined by Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and emerging youngster Daniel Murphy. It’s no secret that the starting rotation is a bit of a question mark after Johan Santana, but it’s solid nonetheless. Should anyone be surprised if the Mets fall apart again this year? No. But given their talent, nobody should be surprised if they make a run at the World Series either.

Projection: 1st NL East

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Offseason Movement: The defending World Series champs added 2B Miguel Cairo, OF Raul Ibanez, C Ronny Paulino and pitchers Gary Majewski and Chan Ho Park this offseason. Philly also parted with OF Pat Burrell, OF So Taguchi and pitchers Adam Eaton, Tom Gordon and Rudy Seanez.

Top Prospect: Carlos Carrasco, RHP
Carrasco enters 2009 as one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball and if Chan Ho Park struggles as the fifth starter, there’s a chance that Carrasco might make an appearance at some point this season. He appears to have a very high ceiling and while he’s still a bit erratic at times, Carrasco will likely smooth out his rough spots in Triple-A before making the big league roster.

The Big Question: Is the starting rotation good enough to repeat?
Cole Hamels is one of baseball’s best young arms, but he had to receive an anti-inflammatory injection in his left elbow in mid-March and there’s some concern that the injury could flair up again. If he shows no ill effects, then he’ll once again head a pretty solid starting rotation, but one that once again won’t be overpowering. Brett Myers struggled last year, while Jamie Moyer was outstanding but at 46 years old can he produce another 16-win season? Joe Blanton turned out to be a solid addition at the trade deadline last year, but don’t forget his career ERA is 4.24 and he’s liable to lose as many games as he wins. Chan Ho Park has had a decent spring but he hasn’t won more than nine games since 2002. (Of course, a 9-win season from a fifth starter would be pretty damn good.) The Phillies could do incredibly worse than this starting rotation, but will it be enough to get them back to the Series?

Outlook: The Phils’ lineup is absolutely stacked and there might not be a better 1 through 4 of Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the NL. But despite winning it all last year, Philly doesn’t come without its question marks. Utley and starting 3B Pedro Feliz each had offseason surgery and although they haven’t suffered any setbacks to this point, you just never know how the effects of a full season can have on an injury. As previously mentioned, the starting rotation is pretty solid but the law of averages suggests that Jamie Moyer won’t win 16 games again this season and Joe Blanton’s ceiling seems about maxed. Is Cole Hamels healthy? Can Brett Myers rebound? Some feel as though the Phillies are destined for another NL East crown, but the Mets are stacked and the Braves and Marlins should give opponents fits this year, too. Philly is going to win some games this year and probably make another postseason appearance. But back-to-back World Series titles will be tough.

Projection: 2nd NL East

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Offseason Movement: The Braves brought in former Dodgers’ starter Derek Lowe, as well as a quality (albeit aging) bat in Garret Anderson, formerly of the Angels. The club also traded for pitcher Boone Logan and signed Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.

Top Prospect: Tommy Hanson, RHP
Some consider outfielder Jason Heyward the Braves’ top prospect – and for good reason. But he’s only 19 and has a couple years to go before reaching the big leagues and therefore Hanson gets the nod here. Hanson has the opportunity to crack the Opening Day roster this season, although Tom Glavine would probably have to start the year on the DL for that to happen. Hanson dominated Class-A, Double-A and Arizona Fall League hitters and so far has looked decent in spring training. He probably isn’t a future ace, but Hanson appears to be a solid No. 2 in the making.

The Big Question: Can this club succeed without a true ace?
The acquisition of Derek Lowe this offseason went a long way to stabilize a rotation that has some question marks. But neither Lowe nor No. 2 Javier Vazquez have been the ace in a rotation and the Braves’ best starter last year, Jair Jurrjens, is entering just his second full season. The rotation is more than adequate and can certainly keep Atlanta in contention, but the top 3 can’t underachieve because the Phillies and Mets are going to be tough to beat all season long. (Not to mention the young Marlins, who could give opponents trouble again this year.)

Outlook: The Braves are far better than the 72-90 record they produced last year and chances are they’ll prove it in ‘09. Are they a significantly better? Like 90-win better? Probably not, but 80-85 wins is very realistic considering the of the top of their lineup is pretty good and their starting pitching should be consistently solid all season. On paper, the Braves aren’t going to terrify many opponents. But again, a lineup comprised of Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann and Garret Anderson will win some games and it’s probably a safe bet that this club will sneak up on people this year. Do the Braves have enough to overtake the Mets and Phillies in the division? Probably not at this point, but nobody should be surprised if Atlanta is still sniffing the NL Wild Card in the final month of the season.

Projection: 3rd NL East