Baseball 2025 (AL East)

Well, we've reached the end of our journey.  The final installment of the baseball season preview.  The AL East.  Which is typically one of the most competitive divisions in Baseball and figures to be again.  The Yankees won the pennant last year.  The Orioles made the playoffs.  The Red Sox got some pitching and should be much better.  The Rays are playing at the Yankees' Spring Training stadium since theirs was destroyed by a hurricane.  And the Blue Jays are looking to get the most out of their last season before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. becomes a free agent.

Last year, it was the AL Central that had three playoff teams.  This season, I'd be shocked if it wasn't the AL East that does it.  Because I think it'll be a three-team toss-up between the Yankees, Orioles and Red Sox.  The division race will probably come down to the wire (Orioles at Yankees is the final series of the season), and the two that don't win will probably be wild cards.

And let's not forget about the Blue Jays, either.  They finished last in 2024 and know they very well could lose their franchise player in free agency.  Will they go all-in to win this year as a result?  And the Rays' situation is just unfortunate.  They were all set to finally get a new ballpark, then the hurricane came in, destroyed their current one and forced them to scrap the plans for the new one.  Now their future in the Tampa area is in question.

Ultimately, though, I see those top three teams all winning 90 games this season.  Injuries could be a huge factor in which one ends up on top, too.  We've already seen what injuries have done to the Yankees.  It's because of those Yankee injuries that I'm picking Baltimore to win the division, with the Yankees and Red Sox each getting wild cards (and playing each other in the 4-5 Wild Card Series).

1. Baltimore Orioles: Now that the Orioles have established themselves as a consistent playoff contender, winning in October is the next step.  They got swept by the Royals in the Wild Card Series a year after getting swept by the Rangers in the Division Series.  They're in danger of becoming the Twins!  You've gotta think they'll get another chance to reverse those postseason fortunes, though.  Because this is cleary one of the six best teams in the American League.

The Orioles are young, too, so we'll be saying that about them for a while.  This year, they'll add a full season of Jackson Holliday to that group, which already includes Adley Rutschmann, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg.  They've got a lights-out closer in Felix Bautista, too.  If there's one area of weakness, it's probably the starting rotation, especially since Corbin Burnes left as a free agent and signed with Arizona.  I think it's good enough.  Which is all they need with that excellent lineup.  It's not as good as the Yankees or Red Sox rotation, though, and that could ultimately prove to be the difference in a close AL East race.  I'm still picking the Orioles to win the division, but it's an ever-so-slight advantage.
Projected Lineup: Colton Cowser-LF, Gunnar Henderson-SS, Adley Rutschmann-C, Ryan O'Hearn-DH, Ryan Mountcastle-1B, Jordan Westburg-3B, Cedric Mullins-CF, Tyler O'Neill-RF, Jackson Holliday-2B
Projected Rotation: Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano, Cade Povich
Closer: Felix Bautista
Projected Record: 93-69

2. New York Yankees: This Spring has not been kind to the Yankees.  It's not just injuries.  It's serious ones to key players.  Gerrit Cole out for the year.  Luis Gil out until at least the All*Star Break.  Giancarlo Stanton out for God knows how long.  Yet, they're still well-positioned to return to the playoffs and even potentially defend their American League title.  Juan Soto heading across town might've ultimately been a blessing.  Because they were able to take the money earmarked for Soto and use it to get Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Devin Williams.  Those four guys wouldn't all still be Yankees had Soto stayed.

Isn't it funny, too, how they spent the entire winter trying to trade Marcus Stroman, and now he's one of the most important members of the rotation?  Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make!  Although, you know that the Yankees' Opening Day roster and the one they end the season with will be totally different.  They still want a right-handed power bat and still don't have a third baseman.  Don't be surprised if they add a starting pitcher, too.  So, the roster is still very much a work-in-progress.  Which means it's only gonna get better.  And what they have now is pretty good.
Projected Lineup: Austin Wells-C, Aaron Judge-RF, Cody Bellinger-CF, Paul Goldschmidt-1B, Jazz Chisholm Jr.-2B, Anthony Volpe-SS, Jasson Dominguez-LF, Ben Rice-DH, Oswaldo Cabrera-3B
Projected Rotation: Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Will Warren, Carlos Carrasco
Closer: Devin Williams
Projected Record: 91-71

3. Boston Red Sox: Boston made a concerted effort to improve on its most glaring weakness over the past few seasons.  And boy did they address that starting rotation!  They swung a trade with the White Sox for Garrett Crochet and signed World Series hero Walker Buehler as a free agent.  They also brought in Lucas Giolito, who could be quite a weapon if he can stay healthy and regain his form of a couple seasons ago in Chicago.  They're all set with the back of games, too.  Liam Hendriks is back after missing all of last season, and they'll give Aroldis Chapman the opportunity to close (which is the role he's best suited for).

What makes less sense to me is the Alex Bregman signing.  It really just seems like a flex by a team that has money.  Because he's a third baseman and so is Rafael Devers, their best player who they've already made a long-term commitment to.  The current plan is to play Bregman at third and have Devers DH, but they already had Masataka Yoshida in place at DH (and they moved him there because they don't think he's a very good outfielder).  Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran have enough versatility that they can probably make it work.  It'll be an awkward fit, though.  And it was just so they can add Bregman's bat to the lineup (which I get, but they still need a second baseman).
Projected Lineup: Jarren Duran-CF, Alex Bregman-3B, Rafael Devers-DH, Triston Casas-1B, Trevor Story-SS, Masataka Yoshida-LF, Wilyer Abreu-RF, Connor Wong-C, Ceddanne Rafaela-2B
Projected Rotation: Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Richard Fitts, Sean Newcombe
Closer: Aroldis Chapman
Projected Record: 90-72

4. Toronto Blue Jays: I don't want to say it's a make-or-break season in Toronto, but it sure does feel like that.  The Blue Jays know they need to give Vladito a reason to stay.  And they've done a good job of trying to convince him that they're in it to win now.  Anthony Santander is a perfect fit in that lineup, and he's protection for both Guerrero and George Springer.  They also traded for Andres Gimenez, who will slot in at the bottom of the lineup and really round it out.  On paper, the Blue Jays should have one of the best offenses in the game.

Their most intriguing move, however, might be signing Max Scherzer.  He's not the same pitcher he used to be, but if they can get even a sampling of Vintage Scherzer, that's a dangerous No. 4 starter!  Of course, there's no guarantee of that happening with Scherzer's age and recent injury history.  Still, with Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt in the front of the rotation, Toronto's pitching will be formidable.  They also have a new closer in former Phillie Jeff Hoffman.  The Blue Jays will either crash & burn or be a playoff team.  They're capable of doing either.
Projected Lineup: Bo Bichette-SS, George Springer-LF, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.-1B, Anthony Santander-RF, Ernie Clement-3B, Alejandro Kirk-C, Will Wagner-DH, Myles Straw-CF, Andres Gimenez-2B
Projected Rotation: Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Bowden Francis
Closer: Jeff Hoffman
Projected Record: 79-83

5. Tampa Bay Rays: If not for the Yankees offering them use of Steinbrenner Field, I don't know what the Rays would've done this season.  But playing there will definitely take its toll.  Not because of the stadium itself.  It's beautiful and one of the better Minor League facilities in terms of amenities.  And I actually think it'll help attendance since an 11,000-person sellout is a much better atmosphere than 14,000 spread around a 35,000-seat dump.  Rather, it's the amount of travel they'll have to do late in the season.  They adjusted the schedule, frontloading their home games because of the summer weather in Tampa (and Steinbrenner Field, unlike Tropicana Field, doesn't have a roof).  That could ultimately be what dooms the Rays, though.

It's not just the stadium situation, however.  Talent-wise, the Rays trail behind the rest of the division, too.  Of course, that's often the case, and they usually still find a way to win 90 games.  I don't see that happening this year, though.  Losing Shane McClanahan is huge for a team so reliant on its pitching staff.  The guys behind him in the rotation aren't nearly as good.  And the lineup lacks firepower, so they're gonna need to rely on that pitching staff and winning a lot of 3-2 games.
Projected Lineup: Yandy Diaz-DH, Brandon Lowe-2B, Junior Caminero-3B, Josh Lowe-RF, Christopher Morel-LF, Jonathan Aranda-1B, Jonny DeLuca-CF, Danny Jansen-C, Ha-Seong Kim-SS
Projected Rotation: Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen, Shane Baz, Zack Littell
Closer: Pete Fairbanks
Projected Record: 75-87

So, there you have it.  All six divisions.  Just to recap, my AL division winners are the Orioles, Guardians and Rangers, with the wild cards going to the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros.  In the National League, it's the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers winning their divisions, and the Phillies, Mets and Padres as the wild card teams.

I think the four best teams in Baseball reside in the National League, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I think the NL pennant winner will also win the World Series.  As for which team that'll be, how can you go against the Dodgers?  They're trying to do something that hasn't been done in 25 years, and they have a great chance of doing it.  The World Series will be a matchup between the last two champions, in fact.  That's right, I'm saying Dodgers over Rangers in the 2025 World Series.