AL East 1 of 6

New York Yankees: Losing Juan Soto

Perhaps it’s unfair to say the Yankees will regret this because, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Brian Cashman and company’s final offer to Juan Soto was a 16-year, $760 million deal.

But the 26-year-old ultimately accepted a 15-year, $765 million deal with the crosstown-rival Mets.

And while the Yankees pivoted to acquiring the likes of Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Devin Williams, there’s no way they will be able to replace the production of Soto, who hit 41 home runs with 109 RBI and an 8.1 WAR in what turned out to be his lone season with them.

Perhaps near the end of Soto’s contract the Yankees will be thankful not to still have him on the books.

For at least a decade’s worth of summers, though, they’ll probably find themselves longing for the days of the four-time All-Star being an anchor in their lineup.

Baltimore Orioles: Not operating with more sense of urgency

With the return of Félix Bautista, the Orioles should have a better bullpen in 2025, but other areas of their roster could dip.

Baltimore lost Anthony Santander in free agency to the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays. There’s a real chance he never tops his 44-home run season from a year ago, but the Orioles will struggle to replace his production from last year.

Tyler O’Neill is a gifted player, but he hasn’t played more than 113 games since the 2021 season.

Still, if the Orioles get a major step forward from one of the gifted young players in their organization such as Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Heston Kjerstad or Samuel Basallo, they should still have a strong lineup in 2025.

However, their rotation has unquestionably gotten worse after losing Corbin Burnes, who logged 194.1 innings last season. They replaced the four-time All-Star by signing Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, who are 41 and 35 years old, respectively.

Grayson Rodriguez is already trying to work back from elbow discomfort, while Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery) won’t be back until the second half of the season, if at all, in 2025.

Letting Santander go was one thing, but general manager Mike Elias and new owner David Rubenstein should have made keeping Burnes a bigger priority.

They likely have a limited number of years to win with Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, and they aren’t operating with a sense the sense of urgency needed to win a title.

Boston Red Sox: Building bullpen around two old relievers

With the additions of Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman, excitement around the Red Sox is as high as it’s been in at least half a decade.

If you’re looking for a potential Achilles’ heel, though, it’s probably that their bullpen is built around Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman.

Hendriks has recovered from stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Tommy John surgery, making him one of the best stories in baseball. But he’s pitched in just five games over the past two seasons and is 36 years old.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox signed Chapman to a one-year, $10.75 million deal in free agency. He has had remarkable longevity for someone who throws as hard as he does.

However, the seven-time All-Star is now 37. And while he’s still a useful piece in a bullpen, he’s got a 3.45 ERA over the last two seasons. He’s far from the pitcher he was at the height of his powers.

Between Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock, the Red Sox do have some other capable arms in Alex Cora’s bullpen.

Given the advanced ages of Hendriks and Chapman, though, there’s always a chance they will hit a wall. It’s also possible they are effective for much of the season but run out of gas late on or as the playoffs roll around.

Tampa Bay Rays: Not trading Brandon Lowe after picking up his option

It perhaps wasn’t surprising that the Rays exercised the $10.5 million club option on Brandon Lowe’s contract, because when he’s healthy, that rate is a bargain.

But the 30-year-old has played in just 281 of a possible 486 games over the past three seasons. For a team that Spotrac has projected to carry a $72.6 million payroll in 2025, $10.5 million is a significant chunk of change to dedicate to someone who hasn’t been able to stay healthy for three straight years.

So, while we’re not suggesting the Rays should have declined Lowe’s option, they probably should have picked it up, traded him and reallocated that money to someone with a better track record of staying healthy.

Toronto Blue Jays: Failing to get a deal done with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The Blue Jays made some notable additions in the offseason, acquiring Santander, Max Scherzer, Jeff Hoffman and Andrés Giménez. But it feels like Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s impending free agency will be a black cloud that hangs over their season.

If Toronto gets off to a slow start, there will be much speculation about which team he’s going to be traded to in the summer. Even if the Blue Jays have a tremendous season, it’s going to come with a feeling that the success could be fleeting because Guerrero seems more likely to depart than come back in free agency.

According to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the 26-year-old rejected a contract offer from the Blue Jays that was worth close to $500 million, but included deferrals. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says Guerrero wanted a deal that had a present-day value of at least $500 million. And so, no deal ever got done. The player even said the two sides weren’t particularly close.

The price to sign Guerrero next offseason will almost certainly be higher than it was this winter. So, either the Blue Jays will wind up paying more money to retain him or lose the face of the franchise.

They probably should have just met his asking price.