Despite Jays moves, Os still on top in AL East rankings Every team capable of claiming one of most competitive divisions... Hats off to the Red Sox and Blue Jays for getting things started. And thats what it was -- a start. Thats because every team still has a lot of work to do. Thats especially true of the Yankees, who are shopping for a shortstop, third baseman, closer and starting pitcher. Say this for the Bronx Bombers: theyve stayed the course, even as the Red Sox and Blue Jays have made a string of impressive acquisitions. Also, dont be surprised if the Orioles get a makeover with so many contract decisions on the horizon. That said, its a division in which its easy to see any team winning in 2015. The Rays are the furthest away, but theyve still got the foundation of a very good club. 1. Orioles First of all, they won the division by 12 games last season, and the two clubs that have improved the most, Toronto and Boston -- finished 13 and 25 games out of the running, respectively. Theyve both made up some ground, but not that much. The Os also have Chris Davis, Manny Machado and Matt Wieters returning, and their top prospect, Dylan Bundy, will compete for a rotation spot. The Orioles would still like to re-sign Nick Markakis, if not Nelson Cruz. This also is where real life makes itself at home. Davis, Wieters and Bud Norris are a year away from free agency, and with the payroll already projected to be significantly north of $100 million, it seems likely their names will all come up in trade discussions the next couple of months. Regardless, this is a good team with a tremendous manager in Buck Showalter and one of the great clubhouse environments in baseball, led by Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy. The Orioles may take a step back without Cruz in the middle of their lineup, but theyre still good enough to win. 2. Blue Jays Great lineups are built from the inside out. The Blue Jays have a foundation of Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson, three players who combined for 98 home runs last season. With Jose Reyes at the top of the order and Russell Martin somewhere in the mix, this is a group that can do some damage. General manager Alex Anthopoulos must now decide if Brett Cecil is his closer, or if theres someone available who he could fit into the already climbing payroll. Theres some uncertainty in the rotation as well. But like Baltimore, Toronto is good enough to win right now. 3. Red Sox Theyre two moves away from being ranked No. 1. Those two moves are Cole Hamels and Jon Lester. Hey, if it were easy, everyone would do it. General manager Ben Cherington appears to have the organizational depth to trade for one starter, and he certainly has the deep pockets to get another in free agency. But the market for Lester is so hot that itll come down to where he wants to pitch. If the Red Sox dont land Lester, theyll probably make a move for Max Scherzer and/or James Shields. Both would add quality innings and a veteran presence to their rotation. Acquiring Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez gives manager John Farrell so many lineup options that his challenge could be in sorting out the pieces -- those that arent traded. 4. Yankees Theyre focused on Chase Headley, Brandon McCarthy and a shortstop. If they can do those three things, theyll feel plenty good about themselves heading into Spring Training. Regardless of what they do, they probably must have healthy, productive seasons from Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia to compete. Only time will tell how much those guys still have left in the tank, so theres going to be some uncertainty surrounding this team, regardless of what else general manager Brian Cashman does. 5. Rays Theyre good enough to be competitive despite the departures of top baseball executive Andrew Friedman and manager Joe Maddon. Their rotation is solid. Evan Longoria, James Loney and Ben Zobrist are still in the lineup. But Tampa Bay has a daunting task in continuing the winning culture without Maddon and in adding to a lineup that was 27th in runs last season.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 12:21:08 +0000
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