By Joe Sheehan, BaseballProspectus.com

San Diego Padres

Once a phenom in Chicago, Mark Prior is trying to reignite his career in San Diego. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Sport

Where: Peoria, Arizona (Cactus League)

2007 record: 89-74 (3rd, NL West)

New guys: Tony Clark, Jim Edmonds, Enrique Gonzalez, Tadahito Iguchi, Mark Prior, Luis Rodriguez, Randy Wolf

Gone guys: Geoff Blum, Milton Bradley, Doug Brocail, Mike Cameron, Marcus Giles, Terrmel Sledge, Brett Tomko

Wow, he's still here? Michael Barrett, in a bit of a surprise, accepted arbitration rather than continue to test a limited market for his services off a terrible season. He'll share the catching duties with Josh Bard.

Winter grade: C. They didn't do a whole lot to address the aging of the roster, and with the Diamondbacks and Dodgers having passed them in terms of talent on hand, it may be time for the Pads to blow off a year. Adding Jim Edmonds for David Freese, a B- prospect, is a good trade in a vacuum, but doing it so that Edmonds can play center field in a yard with 400-foot power alleys is misguided. Edmonds needs to be on a corner, and the Pads can't do that, so this likely ends with a 350 AB season for the former MVP candidate.

NRI to watch: Chip Ambres has never been able to grab a major league job, getting just one shot at one, with the Royals in 2005. He's in camp with the Padres, and has enough on-base ability, power and defense to push himself into left-field mix.

Job battle to track: Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff's big second half bought him some time. However, his poor glove and undisciplined approach at the plate are likely to give way very soon to the doubles and walks of Chase Headley.

One move to make: This Padres team starts far enough behind the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, as well as the Brewers and Phillies, that projecting it for a playoff berth is hard. With that in mind, Kevin Towers would be well served to deal off Edmonds, Brian Giles, and whatever other non-core pieces will bring back value. The division is not going to get any easier, but the '09 Padres will almost certainly be better equipped to challenge for its title.

As with the Cardinals in the Central, the Padres have been the best team in the West for a period of years. That time has drawn to a close, as the combination of an aging roster, some poor drafting, and better competition leave them as a .500 team in a division that requires .570 baseball to win, maybe more. With one of the best front offices in the game, the Padres should be able to keep the down cycle to a minimum, although they will have to address a persistent weakness in drafting and developing talent.

San Francisco Giants

Where: Scottsdale, Arizona (Cactus League)

2007 record: 71-91 (5th, NL West)

New guys: Aaron Rowand

Gone guys: Scott Atchison, Barry Bonds, Pedro Feliz, Russ Ortiz

Wow, he's still here? Man, remember when Merkin Valdez was the next big thing? He missed all of 2007 with Tommy John surgery, and comes to camp as a 26-year-old with two major league appearances.

Winter grade: F. They took a 71-91 team and replaced its best position player with a guy coming off a career year who's had two above-average seasons in his life. For $60 million. Good luck with that.

NRI to watch: They signed Scott Williamson the other day. Williamson hasn't been able to keep his arm attached to his body for more than about 20 pitches, but when healthy, he's generally missed bats and been tough on righties. It's a fairly weak group of NRIs. Then again, it's a fairly weak crop of RIs, too.

Job battle to track: Fred Lewis versus a whole bunch of guys he's better than for playing time on the outfield corners. Lewis is more or less what Randy Winn was back when Winn was good, yet has struggled to impress the Giants, who seem to always find a Rajai Davis or a Dan Ortmeier or Nate Schierholtz to block him. Maybe this is the year.

One move to make: Release half the roster. And the general manager. Brian Sabean is just the wrong guy for the kind of things the Giants need to do right now. They need to start completely from scratch, lose badly for a few years, and come out on the other side in 2011 or so. Sabean is better at running a contender, something he did for years during the Bonds Era.

We're about to find out if all those people were coming to Pac Bell Park because it was so pretty there, or if it was the Giants as a team, or if maybe it was the left fielder. The Giants haven't started a year without Bonds since 1992. They went 72-90 that season, which seems a pretty good guess as to their record in 2008. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, two of the most exciting pitchers in baseball, are all that separates this team from much uglier embarrassment.

To get more in-depth information on the upcoming season, pick up a copy of the best selling baseball annual, Baseball Prospectus, by clicking here.