The American League East is consistently one of the more competitive divisions in baseball, and this season should be no different. The Blue Jays, Yankees, both made the playoffs last season, meanwhile the Red Sox made some big offseason acquisitions to get back to the playoffs. And of course you have the Orioles, and the Rays who always find a way to be competitive.
Last year the Red Sox were the only team in the division to finish with a negative run differential. The teams in this division beat up on each other but handle business outside of the division. The American League East has turned out a different winner each of the last four years, so will that trend continue or will the Blue Jays be the first team since the 2011-2012 Yankees to repeat as division winners?
5. Baltimore Orioles
Despite resigning Chris Davis the Orioles simply don’t have enough to improve upon their .500 record last year. The Orioles finished last season with a mediocre pitching staff, and they lost their best starter Wei-Yin Chen to the Marlins in free agency.
The Orioles ranked 18th in ERA, and WHIP, and without any big additions to their starting rotation or bullpen they are only going to get worse. The lineup may be a really good one, but as the Red Sox learned last season, a great lineup can’t overcome a terrible pitching staff.
4. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays big move this offseason was acquiring Corey Dickerson in a trade from the Rockies. Despite this being a good move for the Rays if Dickerson is healthy, it is not enough to improve them enough over last season to propel them back into the playoffs.
The Rays have a great rotation that is headlined by superstar Chris Archer, followed up by Alex Cobb, and Jake Odorizzi who is finally reaching his potential. The Rays will need their starters to go deep though as their bullpen was shaky last year and hasn’t seen any big upgrades this year.
Unfortunately the Rays offense will likely be almost as anemic as it was last year. Evan Longoria had a rebound season in terms of batting average when he hit .271, but he only hit 21 home runs, which is very disappointing for a third baseman that is supposed to average around 30 home runs. Outside of Longoria, Dickerson will be the main supply of power on the team, but who knows how he will adjust outside of Coors Field. The Rays have a good farm, and the future is bright, but this is going to another disappointing season for Rays fans.
3. Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox were the big spenders of the American League East this year, but it was not enough to propel them to the top of the division. Despite signing David Price, the Sox still have a pretty bad rotation. And outside of Koji Uehara who is turning 41 this year, their bullpen is just as bad if not worse. The Sox have an excellent, young outfield but their infield leaves a lot to be desired.
Dustin Pedroia is a warrior, and he bounced back nicely last year despite only playing 93 games. However his play style is finally catching up to him, and the injuries are starting to rack up as he starts to each the end of his prime. Xander Bogaerts is starting to develop innately but Pablo Sandoval, and Hanley Ramirez had terrible seasons last year.
Outside of what can be classified as an outlier season in 2013, Ramirez has not been much of an offensive force since 2010 with the Marlins. Ramirez also can’t go to designated hitter yet since David Ortiz is still there os now Ramirez will bring his horrific defense to first base which is one of the most important fielding positions on the field.
2. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays may not be my pick to win the division but they will still be good enough to make the playoffs as a wild card team. The Jays really got hurt when they lost David Price without replacing him. The rotation has a ton of question marks with the youngster Marcus Stroman leading the way.
Stroman has a ton of potential but outside of him their is a lot left to be desired here. Marco Estrada was fantastic last year with a 3.13 ERA but his FIP was 4.40 last year showing he was extremely lucky. Then the Jays have J.A. Happ who has been mediocre his entire career outside of half a season with the Pirates.
Wisely the Jays made a big improvement to their bullpen when they acquired Drew Storen in a trade for Ben Revere. This gives the Jays a deadly eighth and ninth inning combo of Storen and Roberto Osuna.
The Jays still have a lethal lineup, but for some crazy reason Troy Tulowitzki is the leadoff hitter, which is foolish. Age has also started catching up to some of the other stars in the lineup such as Edwin Encarnacion, and Jose Bautista. The Jays still do have the reigning MVP Josh Donaldsonwhich is going to be a big reason why they will still be a threat to win theWorld series.
1. New York Yankees
This is the season where the Yankees finally get back atop their division. The Yankees made some solid moves to improve their roster this season. The Yankees stayed away form their old tradition of spending big in free agency, and instead improved their roster through free agency.
The Yankees traded for Starlin Castro, and Aroldis Chapman. Castro is going to fill a big need at second which was a huge weakness for the Yankees last year, and with the addition of Chapman The Yankees can turn a game into a six inning game with perhaps the most lethal bullpen we have ever seen.
The Yankees do have some question marks though. With the injury to Greg Bird, Mark Teixeira has no choice but to stay healthy this season, and their age concerns at a few of the other positions in the lineup with guys like Beltran and McCann.
The rotation much like every there team in this division outside of the Rays has some question marks. There are big expectations for Severino, and Michael Pineda needs to stay healthy and not fall part in the second half so that he can provide a nice one two punch with Masahiro Tanaka.
Speaking of Tanaka he is recovering from offseason surgery in October to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. Although he is expected to be back for the first week, set backs can occur, and the Yankees need their ace at full health as soon as possible if they expect to hold off the Blue Jays.