by For two decades, no one questioned the American League East’s place as baseball’s strongest league.
The East, alternately described as “rugged,” “brutal” or “stressed,” has hosted multiple World Series contenders each year. Most of the time, the Red Sox and Yankees provided a one-two punch worthy of Ali-Fraziers, but they were joined first by the Rays and, more recently, the Orioles. Even the Blue Jays, no one’s idea of a dynasty, have made the playoffs five times in the last 10 years. That’s more than the Phillies, Rangers and Padres, to name just three.
But times are changing. There’s a chance for the Red Sox because the East isn’t quite so horrible anymore.
If we were to rank the divisions today, the NL East would likely come out on top thanks to the holy war waged by the Phillies, Braves and Mets, and the NL West could come in second thanks to the inter-divisional rivalry with the Dodgers and Padres as well as the lurking Diamondbacks and Giants. Over in the American League, Central seems to have the edge behind Tigers Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and Royals MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr.
Meanwhile, the AL East is shifting and relocating while also losing some standout pieces. That starts with Juan Soto, who took his Hall of Fame resume from the Bronx to Flushing to sign a $765 million contract with the Mets. Soto’s departure not only changes the complicated balance of power in New York, but also significantly weakens the Yankees, who have relied on the combination of Soto and MVP Aaron Judge to power their offense.
As things stand, New York is returning to an offense whose second-best hitter is the oft-injured Giancarlo Stanton. Yankees fans don’t even want to know who’s next, especially with Gleyber Torres expected to leave in free agency. The third biggest hitter on the roster belongs to…Alex Verdugo? Austin Wells? Anthony Volpe? They’re not Murderer’s Row.
The Yankees signed free agent left-hander Max Fried and are almost certain to make another big hit, but without Soto they will have a hard time matching last year’s 94 wins.
Then there are the Orioles. Blessed with the best farm system in baseball and a new owner in David Rubenstein who is reportedly willing to spend money, they are strangely missing the opportunity to build the Dodgers’ version of the American League. Instead of using the flexibility offered by their cheap young talent to target superstars like Soto, it looks like they’ll let superstar Corbin Burnes walk alongside 40-homer outfielder Anthony Santander.
They’ve replaced those two so far with 35-year-old Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano and old friend Tyler O’Neill, who the Red Sox didn’t want to keep. Those are two significant downgrades, and one wonders what GM Mike Elias thinks he’s building.
Will the O’s remain a product of the small market, bypassing a whole path to improvement, or will they expand their worldview? It definitely looks like the former, which is a gift for everyone else.
As for the Blue Jays, they are nearing the end of the Great Young Core, which had not yet been reached, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette approaching free agency and attempts to sign either Shohei Ohtani or Soto falling through. They could soon begin rebuilding, which is pretty much a permanent state of affairs for the Rays. It turns out that Tampa has its limits, and the loss of All-Star shortstop Wander Franco to legal issues in his native Dominican Republic may have been the turning point.
That brings us back to the Red Sox. The East looks far weaker than we would have guessed a year ago, when the Yankees added Soto, the Orioles were coming off a 100-win season, the Rays had won 99 games and the Blue Jays were just sneaking their way into the season third wildcard.
Boston has already added left-hander Garrett Crochet in a blockbuster with the White Sox, but Craig Breslow’s work is far from complete. The Red Sox need another starter, another reliever and a legitimate right-handed hitter. They have the money to sign Burnes, third baseman Alex Bregman and outfielder Teoscar Hernández if they want to go crazy; At least they should end the winter with one of them.
Provided they see some production from their vaunted farm system, they could potentially boast a young core that rivals Baltimore’s in the next few years. Instead of waiting, however, they should strike this winter, because their once overstretched division is vulnerable.
