MY AL EAST PREVIEW

 

1. Toronto Blue Jays – By far the most improved team in the offseason. They made a blockbuster trade with the Marlins to get Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, Josh Johnson, and Mark Buehrle. They also got RA Dickey from the Mets in a trade. In addition to that they signed Melky Cabrera, Maicer Izturis, and Mark DeRosa. Put that with the team they already have, it’s a scary good team. Their rotation is amazing which now goes Josh Johnson, RA Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Ricky Romero, and JA Happ. Their offense will be hitting balls out of the ballpark. So many home run hitters in their lineup with Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie, Cody Rasmus, Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, Maicer Izturis, Jose Reyes and J.P Arencibia. Their closer Sergio Santos who is coming off an injury should have a good year as the Blue Jays closer. I wouldn’t be surprised if this team makes a really deep run in the 2013 playoffs. 

2. New York Yankees – The Yankees are still a great ball club as they are every single season. They still have Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, CC Sabathia, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Robinson Cano. That is the Yankees core group as long as they keep them together they will compete in the AL East.  In the offseason, the Yankees brought back Ichiro Suzuki, who they had for a brief time at the end of the season last year. They brought in former Red Sox Kevin Youkilis, who will be playing third base even if Alex Rodriguez is on the DL. It is uncertain that Alex Rodriguez will be with the Yankees. So Kevin Youkilis could have the third base job the whole season if A-Rod isn't there. They still have a decent starting rotation with Sabathia, Andy Pettite, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda, and Phil Hughes. The Yankees still have a great bullpen with Joba Chamberlin, David Robertson, and the All-Time Saves Leader Mariano Rivera. The Yankees are still good and they will continue to do so for a while. I expect them to make the playoffs as one of the wildcards in the American League.

3. Tampa Bay Rays – Despite losing James Shields and Wade Davis in the offseason in a trade with the Kansas City Royals, the Tampa Bay Rays are still putting a good club on the field for 2013. They went out and extended the contract of their franchise player Evan Longoria. They brought in First Basemen James Loney, who still has some pop in his bat. They still have Desmond Jennings, Matt Joyce, and Sam Fuld in the outfield despite losing BJ Upton in free agency. Sean Rodriguez is their Second Baseman.  At shortstop is the newly acquired Yunel Escobar. They also have Ben Zobrist who play any position on the field. also have former Diamondback Ryan Roberts. They also have one of the Molina boys catching in Jose Molina. As I said despite losing James Shields and Wade Davis  to the Royals, they still have a decent rotation with the 2012 CY Young Award Winner David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, and Jeff Nieman. They have a really good closer in Fernando Rodney. This team will be really good, but I think they will fall short of the playoffs in 2013.

          4. Baltimore Orioles - This team made the playoffs in 2012 with an explosive offense and young pitching. They have a lot of bats in their lineup including Matt Wieters, JJ Hardy, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts as the bats that provide the most punch to the Orioles lineup. Along with that they have Manny Machado who had a excellent rookie season last year as well as Wilson Betemit, Danny Valencia, Nolan Reimold, and Nate Mclouth. This is clearly the best aspect of their team as their pitching is very young and sometimes be inconsistent as they are continuing to grow as group. They have Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Jason Hammel, and newly acquired Jair Jurrjens which is a signing that I really like for this team. In their bullpen, they have Darren O'Day and closer Jim Johnson, who had an excellent 2012 campaign. This team could fall short of the playoffs but could finish in third place instead of fourth which where I have them.

5. Boston Red Sox - There are not too many bright spots with the Boston Red Sox in 2013, and we haven't been saying that the last five years. The Perennial AL East power looks more like a minor league team these days with guys like Will Middlebrooks. The last two seasons for the Red Sox have ended in chaos. They have had two managers in the last two seasons after Terry Francona left Boston. Last season the team seemed to not see eye-to-eye with former manager Bobby Valentine. They still have Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia who are their best players on their roster. The Red Sox also recently acquired Lyle Overbay which gives them some depth at first base even if Mike Napoli were to go down with an injury. The Red Sox acquired some talent in the offseason that should be able to help their team. They acquired Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, shortstop Steven Drew, closer Joel Hanrahan, and Ryan Dempster. They still have Clay Bucholz, Andrew Bailey, Alfredo Aceves, Franklin Morales, Daniel Bard, and John Lackey in their pitching staff. The Red Sox have some talent, but this division is really good. So we'll see if they can make a threat, but for now I don't have them making the playoffs and I have them finishing last the AL East.