Season Preview: AL East

Division Crown Contenders: Yankees, Red Sox
Additional Wild Card Contenders: Blue Jays
Unlikely to Contend: Orioles, Rays

With two powerhouses at the top in the Yankees and Red Sox, the AL East is one of only two divisions (the other being the NL Central) without a clear favorite. In fact, the battle for the division crown might be the most fun one to watch this season, and whoever misses out will likely host the Wild Card Game. I'm putting my money on the Yankees winning out, as they are a young team that seemingly arrived a year early and will only be getting better with the arrivals of Giancarlo Stanton as well as the slew of MLB ready prospects hungry to make a difference. The bottom of the division is fairly middling, as the Blue Jays will probably break .500 and might contend for a second Wild Card spot but the Orioles and Rays look to be .400-.450 teams.

New York Yankees
Notable Additions: Giancarlo Stanton, Neil Walker, Brandon Drury
Notable Losses: Todd Frazier, Chase Headley, Starlin Castro, Michael Pineda, Jaime Garcia
Summary: Powerhouse team led by top-notch, homer happy offense and elite bullpen, should have few problems with a good-enough rotation.

The Yankees look like not only the favorites to win the AL East, but one of the best teams in baseball. Last year, they ran all the way to the ALCS with a team that wasn't supposed to be quite ready, and they've only gotten better. While Neil Walker for Starlin Castro, Brandon Drury for Chase Headley, and Greg Bird for Todd Frazier aren't eye popping substitutions, reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton represents a huge upgrade over Jacoby Ellsbury in the outfield and with Aaron Judge will form the most fearsome lineup duo in baseball since Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Add in the best catcher in baseball, Gary Sanchez, and that's a lineup not to be messed with. Prospects Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, Tyler Wade, Clint Frazier, and Billy McKinney are also chomping at the bit for playing time, so if any starters see injuries, the Yanks will have the manpower to overcome. On the mound, the starting rotation is more or less average behind ace Luis Severino, but the bullpen might be the best ever constructed. Aroldis Chapman (3.22 ERA, 69/20 K/BB) leads a historic set of relief arms comprised of Dellin Betances (2.87, 100/44), David Robertson (1.84, 98/23), Chad Green (1.83, 103/17), Tommy Kahnle (2.59, 96/17), and Adam Warren (2.35, 54/15), among others. If starters like Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray, C.C. Sabathia, and Jordan Montgomery can avoid getting blown up, it's tough to see this team losing many games.

Boston Red Sox
Notable Additions: J.D. Martinez
Notable Losses: Addison Reed, Doug Fister, Chris Young
Summary: Another AL powerhouse, but with more question marks than the Yankees and a smaller margin for error.

The Red Sox had a fairly quiet offseason aside from adding the big bat of J.D. Martinez, sitting on a powerhouse team that was already ready to compete. However, while the Yankees more or less know what they're getting out of their team, the Red Sox have a lot of questions. Martinez adds power to an offense that also includes Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez, plus up-and-comers Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers, but much of the Sox' projection for the season is based on improvements from the latter two. Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley have been up-and-down as well, and Dustin Pedroia is going to miss a chunk of the season after offseason knee surgery. The catching situation is also a bit up in the air, as none of Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon, or Blake Swihart have ever appeared in 100 games in a season. On the mound, Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello form a solid top three, but injuries to Drew Pomeranz, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Steven Wright raise questions, at least for the beginning of the season. Craig Kimbrel is one of the top relievers in baseball, and Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg (once healthy) could make for a very good trio, so the bullpen will be a strong spot even with the loss of Addison Reed. Behind Sale, Martinez, Betts, Kimbrel, and co., Red Sox have the tools to keep pace with the Yankees; they just have a smaller margin for error.

Toronto Blue Jays
Notable Additions: Randal Grichuk, Curtis Granderson, Yangervis Solarte, Aledmys Diaz, Jaime Garcia, Seung-Hwan Oh, Tyler Clippard, John Axford
Notable Losses: Jose Bautista, Ryan Goins, Tom Koehler, Michael Saunders, Darwin Barney
Summary: Middling team with a lot of depth on the bench, an average rotation, and a deep, rebuilt bullpen. A healthy Troy Tulowitzki could do wonders if a few other things break right, but a Wild Card would be a long shot.

The Blue Jays had a busy offseason of smaller moves, adding no big names but adding depth all over the place. The once-shallow offense now added Yangervis Solarte, Aledmys Diaz, and Danny Espinosa to back up the oft-injured Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis in the infield while adding Randal Grichuk and Curtis Granderson to fill out the outfield. This team has a lot of depth on offense and has two big bats in Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak, but to me, the problem with the offense is more that they lack lineup depth. It's great to have a bunch of fourth outfielder/utility man options, but when you don't have any real, impactful bats behind Donaldson and Smoak, that's a problem, and it will keep the Blue Jays' offense more average than elite. On the mound, they don't have a clear ace like Boston's Chris Sale or New York's Luis Severino, but they do have five capable major league starters in Marcus Stroman, J.A. Happ, Aaron Sanchez, Marco Estrada, and Jaime Garcia, so long as everyone stays healthy. Really, it's not a strength or a weakness. The bullpen may be their one true strength, as Roberto Osuna is one of the best relievers in baseball and they made a slew of additions through free agency, including Seung-Hwan Oh, Tyler Clippard, John Axford, Jake Petricka, Craig Breslow, and Al Albuquerque, and they already have guys like Ryan Tepera, Danny Barnes, and Aaron Loup in the mix. Overall, it's a pretty average team, but they could try to grab a second Wild Card spot if everything breaks just right.

Baltimore Orioles
Notable Additions: Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner, Danny Valencia, Colby Rasmus
Notable Losses: Seth Smith, J.J. Hardy, Ubaldo Jimenez, Welington Castillo, Wade Miley, Jeremy Hellickson
Summary: A strong offense will have a lot of pressure putting up runs in support of what looks like a very mediocre pitching staff from top to bottom

The Orioles have some solid pieces to work with, but unfortunately the whole has usually been less than the sum of the parts for the Orioles in recent years and I don't see that changing this year. On offense, Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and up-and-comers Jonathan Schoop, Trey Mancini, and even Austin Hays form a lineup that shouldn't be messed with, especially with Machado's down year last season looking like a fluke. This is a good hitting team with a surprising amount of depth on offense, but that's not where their downfall has lied in the past few seasons. Last year, their rotation posted the worst ERA in baseball at 5.70, and while they did sub Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner for Ubaldo Jimenez and Wade Miley, it's still not pretty. Their is no true ace, and it would even be a stretch to say anybody in that rotation, including Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, and Chris Tillman, is even a #2 starter on most teams. There will be a lot of pressure on the offense when the rotation is filled with #3's, #4's, and #5's throughout, and that's before anybody gets hurt. The bullpen is not much better, especially with relief ace Zach Britton set to miss the start of the season, as Brad Brach and Darren O'Day combine with him to form a decent trio, but not one that rivals Chapman/Betances/Robertson in New York or Kimbrel/Smith/Thornburg in Boston. If things break right on the pitching staff and they're able to hold opponents down just enough to win slugfests, this team might have an outside shot at a Wild Card, but if the offense slumps at any point during the season, the whole team will slump no matter what the pitching staff does.

Tampa Bay Rays
Notable Additions: Carlos Gomez, C.J. Cron, Denard Span, Christian Arroyo, Daniel Hudson
Notable Losses: Evan Longoria, Steven Souza, Logan Morrison, Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi, Brad Boxberger, Tommy Hunter, Steve Cishek, Colby Rasmus, Lucas Duda
Summary: The Rays are in a transition year, with a weak lineup and a lack of impact arms aside from Chris Archer and Alex Colome, with the one spot to be excited about being the defense.

There is a lot of turnover pretty much everywhere on the roster, and 2018 will definitely be a transition season for the Rays. Evan Longoria, Steven Souza, and Logan Morrison, who were three of the best bats on the team, are gone, leaving Kevin Kiermaier, Wilson Ramos, and newcomers Carlos Gomez and C.J. Cron to pick up the slack. What this does mean, though, is that rookies like Christian Arroyo, Jake Bauers, Willy Adames, and Joey Wendle may get the opportunity to showcase what they can do. While the bats are light, the team does have some good defense, as Kiermaier is one of the best outfielders in the game and Mallex Smith, Adeiny Hechavarria, and Denard Span also carry solid gloves. On the mound, the Rays are looking to use a four man rotation with Alex Cobb and Jake Odorizzi gone, comprising of Chris Archer, Blake Snell, Jake Faria, and Nathan Eovaldi. The injury to Jose De Leon hurts, but they do have guys like Anthony Banda, Ryan Yarbrough, and Chih-Wei Hu, among others, who can step up if necessary. Aside from retaining Alex Colome, Dan Jennings, and Sergio Romo, the bullpen was decimated in the offseason, with Brad Boxberger, Tommy Hunter, Steve Cishek, Shawn Tolleson, and Xavier Cedeno packing up and heading elsewhere. There's a lot to be excited about on the farm, but don't expect the Rays to climb much higher than .400.