I don't think I'm breaking any news by saying the two best teams in baseball are in the AL East. Both the Red Sox and Yankees won 100 games last season, and it wouldn't surprise anybody if that happens again this year. They'll challenge each other for division supremacy all season long. And, if you don't think winning the division is important, tell that to the team that's getting tired of hosting the Wild Card Game.
Of course, the AL East also includes what's possibly the worst team in baseball. The Orioles might be slightly better than they were last season, but that's only because the bar has been set so low it seems impossible to fall under it. Toronto's in a state of transition, as well. I don't want to call it "rebuilding" because they're not in full-blown Rangers or Royals mode. But they know there's no chance they'll challenge the Yankees and Red Sox.
Then there's Tampa Bay. The Rays do their own thing. They always have. Last year, they started that stupid "opener" trend and finished .500 (having their only actual starter win the Cy Young sure helped, too). Will they challenge the Big Two? Absolutely not. But don't be surprised if they hover around .500 and maybe even hang around the wild card race until mid-September.
Who are we kidding, though? The battle at the top of the AL East will last all season. And the winner won't just be the No. 1 seed in the AL playoffs. They'll be the favorite to win the World Series, which is something that's become old hat for Boston fans (in every friggin' sport!) and has felt like forever for the Yankees' faithful (only one title since 2000, which was 10 years ago).
1. Boston Red Sox: Everything that could've gone right for the Red Sox in 2018 did, and the result was one of those all-time seasons. Everything Alex Cora touched turned to gold, every player they acquired performed, and they left little doubt who the best team in baseball was. It seemed inevitable that they were going to cap that historic season with a World Series title, which is, of course, exactly what happened.
What are the chances it happens again? Because that's exactly what they're hoping. As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Which seemed to be their entire offseason strategy. They made sure they kept many of the same pieces in place, re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and Steve Pearce (BTW, am I the only one who thought the World Series MVP should've been David Price?). They're also expecting to get Dustin Pedroia back after he missed almost all of last season with his latest injury. The one question mark on this team, though, is the bullpen. And it becomes an even bigger question mark after their decision not to bring back Craig Kimbrel. Still no idea who they plan on using as their closer, although all signs point to Ryan Brasier. Their rotation is very good. It's arguably the best in the game. But the bullpen is definitely the biggest thing that could stand between the Red Sox and a second straight World Series title.
Projected Lineup: Mookie Betts-RF, Andrew Benintendi-LF, Dustin Pedroia-2B, J.D. Martinez-DH, Xander Bogaerts-SS, Rafael Devers-3B, Mitch Moreland-1B, Sandy Leon-C, Jackie Bradley Jr.-CF
Projected Rotation: Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez
Closer: Ryan Brasier
Projected Record: 102-60
2. New York Yankees: Ordinarily, you'd feel pretty good about yourselves after a 100-win season. When that 100-win season ends in embarrassing fashion at the hands of your bitter archrivals, though, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. I'd argue that last year's Division Series was good for the Yankees, though. Because it made it abundantly clear that their biggest weakness--starting pitching--needed to improve dramatically. Because no matter how good your bullpen is or how many home runs you hit, quality starting pitching is still the most valuable commodity in the game (did you hear that Rays?).
So they addressed that need in the offseason, trading for James Paxton and re-signing J.A. Happ. And, for good measure, they reinforced the bullpen by re-signing Zack Britton and replacing David Robertson with Adam Ottavino. The Red Sox still have the stronger rotation (especially with Severino out to start the season), which is why I give them the slight edge in the division. But the Yankees' projected rotation this season is definitely better than last year's. Of course, they'll need reinforcements should the injuries be prolonged, which is a bit of a worry. It's also a bit of a worry that the lineup, as good as it is, is primarily right-handed. A small worry, sure. But a worry nonetheless. And, when you consider Aaron Judge missed six weeks, Gary Sanchez struggled and Gleyber Torres wasn't there the entire season last year, it's not crazy to think they can break that all-time Major League home run record they set last season. I would like them to figure out other ways to score runs, though, in case they get kept in the park.
Projected Lineup: Brett Gardner-LF, Aaron Judge-RF, Giancarlo Stanton-DH, Miguel Andujar-3B, Gary Sanchez-C, Aaron Hicks-CF, Luke Voit-1B, Gleyber Torres-2B, Troy Tulowitzki-SS
Projected Rotation: Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ, CC Sabathia
Closer: Aroldis Chapman
Projected Record: 100-62 (Wild Card)
3. Tampa Bay Rays: Trying to figure out what the Tampa Bay Rays are doing is enough to drive a crazy man insane, so it's best to not even bother. The amazing thing is that it works. Last year, that stupid "opener" thing came about out of necessity, and it ended up starting a trend that more and more teams tried as the season went on. This year, they appear to be all-in on that strategy. So much so that they only have three legitimate starting pitchers listed on the roster. Of course, one of them is Blake Snell. But that's a heavy burden being put on him, Charlie Morton and Tyler Glasnow, who are pretty much all expected to give them innings in every one of their starts.
And will they get enough offense? That always seems to be a question in Tampa Bay, but it's a legitimate one. Although, I give them credit for being aggressive on that front during the offseason. There was that trade with Seattle that yielded catcher Mike Zunino (we'll see if a change of scenery helps the former Florida Gators star), and a separate three-team trade with the Mariners where they landed first baseman Yandy Diaz. And we'll see what they get out of Tommy Pham, too. Like I said, Tampa Bay is a hard team to read. It could all work again and the Rays could hover around .500 and maybe even hang in the wild card race. Or they could be out of it by July, trade everybody, and barely win 70.
Projected Lineup: Kevin Kiermaier-CF, Joey Wendle-2B, Yandy Diaz-3B, Avisail Garcia-DH, Ji-Man Choi-1B, Tommy Pham-LF, Austin Meadows-RF, Mike Zunino-C, Willy Adames-SS
Projected Rotation: Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Tyler Glasnow
Closer: Jose Alvarado
Projected Record: 80-83
4. Toronto Blue Jays: Let's get one thing straight. We're all just waiting for Vlad Guerrero, Jr. That's when people will start to care about the Toronto Blue Jays' season. We don't know when that will be (especially now that he's injured). But the Blue Jays will become a lot more interesting when it finally does happen. As it is, Toronto is a solid team that would possibly be able to challenge for the division title if they played in the Central. In reality, they know they don't have a chance of winning a division that includes the two best teams in the game.
If they have any chance of being in the mix for the second wild card, it'll really come down to their pitching. Because they're going to score some runs. There's plenty of power on this team that the offense won't be a problem even before Vlad Jr. gets there. But the rotation is a big question mark. Marcus Stroman has ace-like stuff when healthy. Except he's not healthy that often. And the starters behind him are serviceable, but that's about it. Aaron Sanchez is the only one who'd be anything above a No. 3 on another team. Ditto about their bullpen. They swapped Roberto Osuna for Ken Giles last season (for good reason), which was a downgrade. They've got Bud Norris around as an insurance policy, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them change closers at some point during the season.
Projected Lineup: Lourdes Gurriel Jr.-2B, Randal Grichuk-RF, Justin Smoak-1B, Kendrys Morales-DH, Kevin Pillar-CF, Freddy Galvis-SS, Brandon Drury-3B, Teoscar Hernandez-LF, Danny Jansen-C
Projected Rotation: Marcus Stroman, Matt Shoemaker, Aaron Sanchez, Ryan Borucki, Clayton Richard
Closer: Ken Giles
Projected Record: 73-89
5. Baltimore Orioles: Look away, Orioles fans. Because if you thought last season was bad, this year doesn't figure to be much better. Although, all hope is not lost. The Astros endured their run of 100-loss seasons and look where they are now. Mike Elias, who used to work in the Houston front office, is now the Orioles' GM, and he's got a plan for getting the Orioles back to respectability. It'll just take a little while. Especially considering they have to play a combined 38 games against the Yankees and Red Sox.
We got a sneak peek at some of the new guys last season when they started to trade away everybody. With franchise icon Adam Jones now in Arizona, Cedric Mullins will take over in center. They're also going to have rookie Richie Martin starting at shortstop and fellow youngster Renato Nunez at third. However, the useless Chris Davis and his ridiculous contract will continue to weigh this franchise down. And Mark Trumbo's contract doesn't help much, either. The real problem is on the mound, though. Four of their starters from last season are the same and the bullpen, which once boasted the likes of Zack Britton, Darren O'Day and Brad Brach, is now anchored by Mychal Givens. Mychal Givens should not be a Major League closer. Although, there probably won't be many save opportunities to come by, so whoever ends up closing really doesn't matter. The Orioles might surprise us. But on paper, this is one of the worst teams in baseball, if not THE worst.
Projected Lineup: Cedric Mullins-CF, Jonathan Villar-2B, Mark Trumbo-DH, Chris Davis-1B, Trey Mancini-LF, Joey Rickard-RF, Renato Nunez-3B, Chance Sisco-C, Richie Martin-SS
Projected Rotation: Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner, Alex Cobb, David Hess, Mike Wright
Closer: Mychal Givens
Projected Record: 63-99
No comments:
Post a Comment