With the MLB season fast approaching, I thought it was a good idea to give my full predictions for each and every team. Usually, when I do this, I get about halfway done and stop writing because of burnout. Last year, I had a better idea to prewrite the blogs so I wouldn't stop halfway between the teams on the blogs, but that did not work. I got nowhere close and only wrote about eight teams. I'm going to do something different this time. Instead of writing one blog about my predictions, I'm going to write a division-by-division breakdown. I really enjoy the art of baseball, and I think my ideas are ALWAYS right. After I write the six blogs about the divisions, I will write a blog about my World Series team and the bets I like.
So, with that, let's break down the AL East. The American League East could be argued to be the best division in baseball. New York, Toronto, and Baltimore will all be fighting for the top spot in the division, with Tampa clawing its way throughout the whole season. But let's not spoil too much about the blog. This blog will consist of all five teams' offseason acquisitions and losses, their current lineups and rotations, and how I see their season going. With that, let's get into the predictions.
1st Place: Baltimore Orioles
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Lost RHP Jack Flaherty to Detroit: 1 year $14M
- Signed RHP Craig Kimbrell: 1 year $13M
- Lost RHP Kyle Gibson to St. Louis: 1 year $13m
- Lost 2B Adam Frazier to Kansas City: 1 year $4.5M
- Lost RHP Shintaro Fujinami to New York (NL): 1 year $3.35M
- Lost RHP Jorge Lopez to New York (NL): 1 year $2M
- Lost RHP Austin Voth to Seattle: 1 year $1.25M
- Lost OF Aaron Hicks to Los Angles (AL): 1 year $740K
- Lost RHP Mychal Givens to Miami: MLD
- Signed RHP Julio Teheran: MLD
- Acquired RHP Corbin Burnes from Milwaukee in exchange for LHP DL Hall, INF Joey Ortiz and a 2024 draft pick
- Acquired INF Tyler Nevin from Detroit for cash
Projected Lineup:
C: Adley Rutschman
1B: Ryan O'Hearn
2B: Jordan Westbrug
3B: Ramon Urias
SS: Gunnar Henderson
LF: Austin Hays
CF: Cedric Mullins
RF: Anthony Santander
DH: Ryan Mountcastle
Projected Rotation:
RHP Corbin Burnes
RHP Grayson Rodriguez
RHP Dean Kremer
RHP Tyler Wells
LHP Cole Irvin
Offseason Grade: B+
The Orioles offseason was… meh. It's great they got Corbin Burnes. They had a great season last year but were missing that true #1 pitcher. A great way to get that #1 is trading for a former Cy Young Winner. I'm not expecting much change with the Orioles this season. They will win the division again and continue building on their great young talent. But I'm pissed at Baltimore. It's such loser shit not to have Jackson Holliday on the opening-day roster. He had a great spring, but Baltimore will abuse the service time and keep him in Triple-A for at least a month.
2nd Place: New York Yankees (2nd AL Wild Card Team)
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Signed RHP Marcus Stroman: 2 years $37M
- Lost LHP Wandy Peralta to San Diego: 4 years $16.5M
- Lost RHP Frankie Montas to Cincinnati: 1 year $16M
- Lost SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Toronto: 2 years $15M
- Lost RHP Luis Severino to New York: 1 year $13M
- Lost RHP Keynan Middleton to St. Louis: 1 year $16M
- Resigned RHP Luke Weaver: 1 year $2M
- Acquired RF Juan Soto and CF Trent Grisham from San Diego for RHP Michael King, C Kyle Higashioka, RHP Drew Thorpe, RHP Jhony Brito, and RHP Randy Vasquez
- Acquired OF Alex Verdugo from Boston for RHP Greg Weissert and two prospects
- Acquired RHP Cody Morris from Cleveland for CF Estevan Florial
Still Free Agents:
Projected Lineup:
C: Jose Trevino
1B: Anthony Rizzo
2B: Glyber Torres
3B: DJ LeMahieu
SS: Anthony Volpe
LF: Alex Verdugo
CF: Aaron Judge
RF: Juan Soto
DH: Giancarlo Stanton
Projected Rotation:
LHP Nestor Cortes
LHP Carlos Rodon
RHP Marcus Stroman
RHP Clarke Schmidt
RHP Clayton Beeter
Offseason Grade: A-
The Yankees didn't make much of a splash in the free agency market but put their chips on the trade market. It was a massive move to acquire Juan Soto, who is undoubtedly a top-10 player in the MLB. If you're a team, you do everything you can to get a player like Soto, and the Yankees didn't give up much to get him. Another big splash in the trade market was getting Alex Verdugo. The Yankees outfield is now set with 2 All-Stars and a player close to making it last year. The Yankees' offense will be nasty, but their problem is starting pitching. Losing Gerrit Cole for a few months is a huge setback, and they now have to rely on a diva, a guy who gets fatigued late into the season, a guy who had his worst season in his career while getting paid a crap ton of money, and two question marks. The first few months will be difficult until they get the return of last year's Cy Young winner.
3rd Place: Toronto Blue Jays (3rd Wild Card Team)
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Lost 3B Matt Chapman to San Francisco: 3 years $54M
- Lost RHP Jordan Hicks to San Francisco: 4 years $44M
- Signed RHP Yariel Rodrigues: 4 years $32M
- Signed SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 2 years $15M
- Signed 3B/DH Justin Turner: 1 year $13M
- Resigned CF Kevin Kiermaier: $10.5M
- Lost INF Whit Merrifield to Philadelphia: 1 year $8M
- Signed 1B Joey Votto: 1 year $2M
- Signed DH Daniel Vogelbach: 1 year $2M
- Lost RHP Adam Cimber to Los Angeles (AL): 1 year $1.65M
- Signed 3B Eduardo Escobar: MLD
- Lost LHP Hin Jin Ryu to a South Korean Team
Still Free Agents:
- 1B Brandon Belt
- RHP Matt Wisler
- RHP Zach Thompson
Projected Lineup:
C: Alejandro Kirk
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2B: Cavan Biggio
3B: Isiah Kiner-Falefa
SS: Bo Bichette
LF: Daulton Varsho
CF: Kevin Kiermaier
RF: George Springer
DH: Justin Turner
Projected Rotation:
RHP Jose Berrios
RHP Kevin Gausman
RHP Chris Bassitt
LHP Yusei Kikuchi
RHP Bowden Francis
Offseason Grade: C+
Last season was somewhat disappointing. After just sneaking by the Mariners for the last Wild Card spot, the Blue Jays got swept again in the Wild Card round. Two seasons of no postseason success, and the Blue Jays were not able to get much in the offseason. They at least tried to get Ohtani and other big free agents but were not able to get anything done. It seems like Toronto is running back the same way it was last year, with a few minor tweaks. The move I love was the signing of Justin Turner. It might be a little risky, given his age, but he had another solid season last year in Boston. They got a great veteran mind for all those young stars they have in there. With all that said, I think it will be a repeat season, and the Blue Jays just squeeze by the Mariners and make the final spot.
4th Place: Tampa Bay Rays
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Lost RHP Robert Stephenson to Los Angeles (AL): 3 years $33M
- Signed RHP Phil Maton: 1 year $6.5M
- Lost LHP Jake Diekman to New York (NL): 1 year $4M
- Signed SS Amed Rosario: 1 year $1.5M
- Resigned RHP Chris Devenski: 1 year $1.1M
- Lost RHP Cooper Criswell to Boston: 1 year $1M
- Acquired RHP Ryan Pepiot and OF Jonny DeLuca from Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Tyler Glasnow, OF Manuel Margot, and cash considerations
- Acquired INF Jose Caballero from Seattle Mariners for OF Luke Raley
- Acquired three prospects from Miami for UTL Vidal Brujan and RHP Calvin Faucher
Still Free Agents:
Projected Lineup:
C: Rene Pinto
1B: Yandy Diaz
2B: Brandon Lowe
3B: Isaac Paredes
SS: Jose Caballero
LF: Randy Arozarena
CF: Jose Siri
RF: Josh Lowe
DH: Jonathan Aranda
Projected Rotation:
RHP Zach Efflin
RHP Aaron Civale
RHP Zack Little
RHP Ryan Pepiot
RHP Jacob Waguespack
Offseason Grade: B-
The Rays did what the Rays do best this offseason. Once again, the Rays traded away one of their star players, this time Tyler Glasnow, and the Rays reset the clock on their championship window. From what I've read on the interwebs, the players the Rays got back for Glasnow are good, and they got some decent prospects in the Marlins trade. Even if the prospects were crappy, to begin with, the Rays would make them great. For now, I don't see the Rays doing much this season. The Rays' starting pitching is decent, at best, and the books are still open on some of these hitters. What that means is I have zero clue who they are right now, and I need to wait to see them hit over .290 like every other unknown Rays player. I see this as more of a transition year for Tampa, and will be right back in the race next season.
5th Place: Boston Red Sox
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Signed RHP Lucas Giolito: 2 years $38.5M
- Lost 3B Justin Turner to Toronto: 1 year $13M
- Signed RHP Liam Hendricks: 2 years $10M
- Lost LHP James Paxton to Los Angeles (NL): 1 year $7M
- Lost RF Adam Duvall to Atlanta: 1 year $3M
- Signed RHP Cooper Criswell: 1 year $1M
- Resigned LHP Joely Rodriguez: MLD
- Acquired INF Vaughn Grissom from Atlanta for LHP Chris Sale
- Acquired OF Tyler O'Neill from St. Louis for RHP Nick Robertson and RHP Victor Santos
- Acquired Acquired RHP Greg Weissert and two prospects for OF Alex Verdugo
- Acquired a minor league prospect from Kansas City for RHP John Schreiber
Still Free Agents:
Projected Lineup:
C: Connor Wong
1B: Truston Casas
2B: Emmanuel Valdez
3B: Rafael Devers
SS: Trevor Story
LF: Tyler O'Neill
CF: Ceddanne Rafaela
RF: Jarren Duran
DH: Masataka Yoshida
Projected Rotation:
RHP Nick Pivetta
RHP Bryan Bello
RHP Kutter Crawford
RHP Tanner Houck
RHP Garrett Whitlock
Offseason Grade: B-
What a shame the Boston Red Sox have become in the past few seasons. After being a powerhouse for the past few decades, tides shifted within the front office, and focus has been put on spending less money on free agency. The mighty Red Sox now have the 11th-highest payroll in the MLB this season. Boston tried making a move with Lucas Giolitto, which would have been a good move. It was a low-risk contract, but now Boston is without their new starting pitcher after his elbow injury. The Red Sox pitching is going to be atrocious this season. Outside of Bello, I don't like a single guy on this team. The Red Sox pitching will be their demise this season and the reason why they finish 5th in the AL East.
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