5 teams that will be better in 2019

A new baseball season means new opportunities. While several teams are opting for long-term rebuilds - and others are languishing - there are clubs ready to take advantage of an open window for playoff contention.

Here are five teams poised to be better in 2019.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are sick of being the NL Central's punching bag. The Milwaukee Brewers won that division last year after acquiring Christian Yelich and signing Lorenzo Cain, showing that a quick turnaround is possible.

After acquiring outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Homer Bailey, the Reds don't have many holes offensively. Eugenio Suarez, Scooter Gennett, and Joey Votto represent a reliable core, and top prospects Nick Senzel and Taylor Trammell are on the verge of contributing, too.

Things get dicey in the rotation. Alex Wood (also acquired in the Dodgers trade) is talented, and Luis Castillo could evolve into an ace, but that's not enough. It's encouraging, however, that Cincinnati has been linked to Cleveland in discussions about a Corey Kluber trade, and to New York about a Sonny Gray swap, even if nothing ultimately happens. That shows the team is serious about contending and exploring as many avenues to improve as possible.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies, for a brief time in 2018, looked destined for the playoffs, but then their season fell apart. They posted an 8-20 record in September and saw all the goodwill built earlier in the season dissolve.

Then, in the offseason, Philadelphia acquired shortstop Jean Segura, signed outfielder Andrew McCutchen, and the team has consistently been connected to both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. The Phillies will likely remain active throughout the offseason, as they could benefit from acquiring another arm to support Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta in the rotation.

Even if Harper and Machado sign elsewhere, the Phillies should be better. They've addressed some areas of concern while also moving Carlos Santana's three-year contract, allowing Rhys Hoskins to slide over to first base.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals haven't made many changes yet, but their trade for first baseman Paul Goldschmidt may be the most significant deal of the offseason so far. The 31-year-old has made six straight All-Star teams, and he's finished in the top 11 in MVP voting five times, including two runner-up showings.

With emerging star Jack Flaherty anchoring a strong rotation alongside Miles Mikolas, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, and Adam Wainwright, the team may look to bolster its bullpen from within and move top prospect Alex Reyes into a relief role. If that's not enough, the Cardinals have also added shutdown lefty Andrew Miller.

St. Louis is in an interesting position, too. If this version of the team doesn't work out, both Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna could depart as free agents after 2019. However, the Cardinals have a lot of young talent, meaning a total rebuild probably wouldn't be necessary if those two leave. Still, this is a team built to go for it right now.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays hit the nadir of their 2018 campaign when May turned to June and they lost eight straight contests to fall six games under .500. After that, they didn't lose more than three straight the rest of the season, posting a 62-38 record the rest of the way.

Signing right-hander Charlie Morton should reinforce the rotation well. The Rays turned to the opener strategy out of necessity last season, and it helped players like Ryne Stanek and Ryan Yarbrough gain experience and make their marks. A rotation with Morton, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and the potential debut of Brent Honeywell should only help matters.

All that plus a full season of Austin Meadows, Tommy Pham, and Kevin Kiermaier in the outfield (with Guillermo Heredia in the mix), and the presence of power-hitting catcher Mike Zunino makes the Rays a good bet to improve on an impressive second half.

It's an uphill battle against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in the AL East. But had Tampa started its 2018 surge a bit earlier, the team very well could have earned a wild-card berth. Onward and upward.

Washington Nationals

With Harper almost certainly about to sign with another team, the thought of the Nationals getting better without him may seem ludicrous. But that's not only possible, it's probable after Washington signed reliever Trevor Rosenthal and acquired right-hander Kyle Barraclough from the Miami Marlins to address the team's biggest issue.

If that doesn't tip the scales enough, the Nationals also signed starters Patrick Corbin (an upgrade over Gio Gonzalez) and Anibal Sanchez. They inked Kurt Suzuki and traded for Yan Gomes, too, doubling up at catcher.

Aside from the Corbin signing, those moves may seem minor. Even if they are, the Nationals' additions should be enough to push the team forward with the rest of the core returning, and outfielder Victor Robles finally getting a shot to start alongside Adam Eaton and Juan Soto.

The Nationals still need to improve at first and second base, but they should be in the mix for the NL East title as currently constructed.