MLB Offseason Moves Each NL West Contender Needs to Make for 2020 Season

The Los Angeles Dodgers have owned the NL West recently. With seven straight division titles, the Dodgers have essentially been a shoo-in to make the playoffs. However, LA hasn't been able to seal the deal and win a World Series during that span.

Without an NL West rep left in the MLB postseason, it's time to look ahead to the offseason. With that in mind, here's one move that a few NL West teams should make in order to contend for a title in 2020.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: Sign Gerrit Cole

The Dodgers have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, but could lose one of their most crucial pieces if Hyun-Jin Ryu decides to leave in free agency. This postseason proved once again how important pitching is, especially when your best pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, can't deliver consistently in October. Signing Gerrit Cole, who is set to be the league's most-sought-after free agent, would alleviate a lot of those issues and concerns. Cole could become the league's highest paid pitcher this offseason and the Dodgers seem to .always have the money to spend, especially considering how much payroll they cut ahead of last season. Cole could be the missing piece that finally gets them that elusive World Series win.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks: Sign Madison Bumgarner

The Arizona Diamondbacks were the only NL West team outside of the Dodgers to finish above .500. While many are expecting Madison Bumgarner to stay put this offseason and continue his career in San Francisco, heading to the Giants' division rival could be a nice landing spot. This could be MadBums last chance at a huge payday and the Diamondbacks have proven their willingness to open the checkbook for an ace starting pitcher – they signed Zack Greinke to a massive contract (6-year/$206.5 million) in 2015. Arizona might be willing to break the bank here for Bumgarner as well. They finished with a team ERA of 4.25 (No. 14 in the MLB), and without an ace at the top of their rotation, after trading Greinke to the Astros midseason, the Diamondbacks could set their sights on Bumgarner. If Arizona can outbid everyone else, it might be hard for the veteran to say no.

3. Colorado Rockies: Sign Kyle Gibson

Kyle Gibson put together a 13-7 season for the Minnesota Twins, who surprised everyone by winning the AL Central in 2019. The Rockies need starting pitching and given the park they play in and the propensity in which baseballs fly out of it, a ground ball pitcher like Gibson could be a perfect fit at Coors Field. The average launch angle of hitters against Gibson was 6.5 in 2019, which is far lower than the MLB average of 11.2. Keeping the ball in the park is the name of the game for Rockies' pitchers and Gibson's stuff lends to that. He could be the piece that gets the Rockies back to the postseason in the 2020.

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David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.