NL East Preview Podcast: Mets, Braves, Phillies All in Ring-Chasing Mode

The Atlanta Braves are the favorite to repeat as division champs, but the New York Mets are a real threat, even after losing closer Edwin Diaz for the season. The Philadelphia Phillies got to the World Series and look even better after adding Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker and some bullpen help. Here's our Fastball on FanNation preview, with a video from publisher Tom Brew and NL East reporter Brady Farkas.

The National League East was a blast last year. The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets both had 101-win seasons and the third-place Philadelphia Phillies made a wild postseason run all the way to the World Series.

Then all three of them got better.

That sets the stage for another wild year in the NL East. Spending money is no issue in this division and it should be another great race this season, which starts on Thursday. 

The Mets were favored all winter after getting Cy Young winner Justin Verlander to bolster their already-strong rotation, but then when closer Edwin Diaz was lost for the year after getting injured in a postseason celebration in the World Baseball Classic, things changed. Now it's the Braves with a slight edge.

Here are the numbers:

By the numbers

According to our friends at Fanduel.com, it's the Braves who are scheduled to repeat as championships. Here are the odds for each team to win the National League East:

• ODDS TO WIN DIVISION:
• Atlanta Braves: Plus-105
• New York Mets: Plus-155
• Philadelphia Phillies: Plus-400
• Miami Marlins: Plus-4000
• Washington Nationals: Plus-25000
• Editor's Note: Odds are based on a $100 wager. For instance, a $100 bet on the Phillies pays $400 if they win. The same wager on the Marlins would pay $4,000.

• OVER/UNDER WINS TOTALS:
• Atlanta Braves: 95.5
• New York Mets: 93.5
• Philadelphia Phillies: 88.5
• Miami Marlins: 75.5
• Washington Nationals: 58.5

Last year's standings

Team	Wins	Losses	Percentage	Games Back
Atlanta Braves	101	61	.623	—
New York Mets	101	61	.623	—
Philadelphia Phillies	87	75	.537	14
Miami Marlins	69	93	.426	32
Washington Nationals	55	107	.340	46

Atlanta Braves

The Braves have won the NL East five years in a row now, and they've done it in a variety of ways, with a bunch of different stars. They have the lineup and the pitching to do it again.

Their batting order, potent from top to bottom, should be dangerous now that Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies are healthy after missing substantial time a year ago. They also gained the game’s best catching duo this winter when they got Sean Murphy to team up with Travis d'Arnaud. 

Max Fried and Spencer Strider make up an extremely formidable top of the rotation, one that will have a good time going head-to-head against Verlander and Max Scherzer.

BRADY'S TAKE: “I think the Braves are loaded. That's fairly obvious. They won 101 games last year and they've gotten better....They've taken the strengths of their team and they've gotten better... The offense looks dynamic but wherever there is young pitching, there are some questions."

TOM'S TAKE: “I think the Braves are the best team in the National League. I think that line-up is scary good from top to bottom. Adding Sean Murphy is a huge thing. I have the Braves winning the division but it's going to be close all the way to the end."

OPENING DAY: Atlanta Braves (Max Fried) at Washington Nationals (Patrick Corbin), 1:05 p.m. ET.

New York Mets

The Mets won 101 games but folded down the stretch last year to lose out on the division crown and then were beaten by the Padres in the NL Wild Card round. They've beefed up the rotation, adding Justin Verlander on a two-year deal, but they also lost Taijuan Walker to the rival Phillies. They are electing to keep top offensive prospect Brett Baty in AAA to start the year which is an interesting choice and they have to overcome losing closer Edwin Diaz for the season to a knee injury.

BRADY'S TAKE: “The Diaz injury is a big deal in terms of how it impacts the bullpen. David Robertson is an older reliever, we've never really seen Brooks Raley as a closer type and Adam Ottavino is an older reliever. So you're relying on older or inexperienced back-end arms to get you across the finish line."

OPENING DAY: New York Mets (Max Scherzer) at New York Yankees (Sandy Alcantara), 1:05 p.m. ET.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies pushed the Astros to the limit in the World Series, taking it all the way to Game 7. Never one to sit back, President of Baseball Ops Dave Dombrowski went out and spent big this offseason, getting Trea Turner on a 11-year, $300 million deal. They also added Taijuan Walker and acquired multiple bullpen arms in Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto. But they will be without slugging 1B Rhys Hoskins for the year and will miss Bryce Harper for a portion of the year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

BRADY'S TAKE: “In a league where everyone prospects and everyone wants to cultivate homegrown talent, Dave Dombrowski breaks the mold. It's worked for him in Detroit, and it worked for Boston where they won the World Series and now he's trying to make it work for him in Philly."

TOM'S TAKE: “That postseason run was fabulous and fun to watch. They were in the World Series and added all sorts of major pieces as well, too... I really like this team and I really like this line-up."

OPENING DAY: Philadelphia Phillies (Aaron Nola) at Texas Rangers (Jacob deGrom), 4:05 p.m. ET.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins made the playoffs in 2020 during the COVID year but regressed in the last two years. They won just 69 games in 2022, but they've made some moves to bolster the offense, trading for AL batting champ Luis Arraez and signing former batting champ Yuli Gurriel. They also added Jean Segura which should bolster the overall offense. And oh yeah, they have the Cy Young winner in Sandy Alcantara.

BRADY'S TAKE: “I think the Marlins can make some noise. I think they can be a team that kind of hovers around .500. Pitching is good... but I like what they've done offensively, pretty quietly...I'll put them in the 'interesting' category, but I'm not sure I put them in the 'good' category.

TOM'S TAKE: “The Marlins are similar to the Orioles, there is a lot of really talent on this team. That's exciting to see how they grow and develop but they are in a division where they have to beat a lot of really good teams."

OPENING DAY: New York Mets (Max Scherzer) at New York Yankees (Sandy Alcantara), 1:05 p.m. ET.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals profile to be one of the worst teams in the sport. It's a far cry from that 2019 World Series win, isn't it? 

BRADY'S TAKE: “All this heartache they are going through is worth it beacuse they won the 2019 World Series... It's all about prospect development, that's for sure.

TOM'S TAKE: “It's complete rebuild mode, it's going to be a long, long year for the Nationals."

OPENING DAY: Atlanta Braves (Max Fried) at Washington Nationals (Patrick Corbin), 1:05 p.m. ET.

Our division picks

BRADY FARKAS: Braves over Phillies

TOM BREW: Braves to win it, again. 

Related NL East stories

• OPENING DAY STARTERS: The 30 starting pitchers for Opening Day next Thursday have all been announced and there are a lot of high-profile matchups, as you would expect to start the season. Here are all the matchups in the 15 games. CLICK HERE