When we talk about the AL East, we are talking about the best division in all of baseball. That’s not a stretch, though. After all, since 2013 all five teams have made the playoffs at least once. However, reality indicates that only three teams (maximum) will reach the postseason. Don’t be surprised if that ends up being the case considering the strength of the division.
At least on paper, the Boston Red Sox seem to be favorites to win the division. They lost an iconic player in David Ortiz, but it’s not like they had a bad offense around him. And this year Pablo Sandoval returns to third base, Mitch Moreland should help at first, and Hanley Ramirez will thrive as a DH. Couple that with a full year of Andrew Benintendi, growth on Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, and the experience of Dustin Pedroia. The result is one of the best offenses in all of baseball.
However, there’s more. Boston also added Chris Sale to a rotation that also included the reigning AL Cy Young (Rick Porcello) and David Price. And Craig Kimbrel is their closer. No wonder most experts consider the Red Sox as favorites to win it all this year.
However, Boston will have a lot of competition on their quest for the AL East crown. Right now, the Toronto Blue Jays appear as their biggest rivals. But the Baltimore Orioles can easily become a threat as well.
Toronto are coming off two straight ALCS appearances, but on both times they have failed to reach the World Series. Could this be their year? They lost Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders so their offense might not be as good as it was in 2016. But at the same time, they re-signed Jose Bautista and added two interesting pieces in Steve Pearce and Kendrys Morales. Let’s not forget about their arms, either. Roberto Osuna is one of the best closers in the AL and should lead the bullpen, while Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ, Francisco Liriano should form quite a competent rotation. There’s no question Toronto can easily walk away as the best team in the division once it’s all said and done.
The Orioles have made some moves, too. They re-signed their most important player in Mark Trumbo, meaning they have locked up two of the best sluggers in the game (together with Chris Davis) for the foreseeable future. The bullpen is stellar as well, most notably thanks to the lethal duo of Zach Britton and Darren O’Day. Their offense can match up with any team in the Majors, but can the rotation hold up? That seems to be their biggest question heading into 2017. Even though Chris Tillman is coming off a great year, the rest of the arms are inconsistent at best.
A few steps below the three aforementioned teams we can find the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. Even though both clubs have smaller chances to make the postseason, we can’t rule them out all together.
The Yankees have one of the top pitchers in the game in Masahiro Tanaka, two top relievers (Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances) and a bonafide stud at catcher in Gary Sanchez, but not much else. The rotation is full of questions. There’s not a lot of clarity regarding who will get the fourth and fifth spots. The offense has promise, but they have to be more consistent and some of their most talented prospects need to gain experience in The Show. There’s no question the Baby Bombers will be scary quite soon, but it seems 2017 won’t be their year.
As for the Rays, they have a talented rotation where Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Alex Cobb separate themselves from the rest. There’s not a lot of depth in the bullpen and while Alex Colome had a great year closing, the problem is get to him. And the lineup lacks impact players at the plate. Tampa Bay will cause problems to the opposing teams in the division, but there’s no question they are the weaker team in this group.
There’s no question this is going to be the best division in all of baseball this year.