{"id":537135,"date":"2026-01-25T03:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/537135\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T03:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:53:16","slug":"how-the-yankees-stack-up-in-the-loaded-al-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/537135\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Yankees stack up in the loaded AL East"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Yankees<\/a> are set to look rather similar next season, as the re-signing of Cody Bellinger<\/a> keeps the bulk of their 2025 core intact.<\/p>\n

But the rest of the American League East<\/a> is poised to be much different thanks to the star-powered additions or painful subtractions \u2014 and, in some cases, both \u2014 that reshaped each of the Yankees\u2019 division rivals.<\/p>\n

With a few weeks remaining before spring training, teams still have time to tinker with their rosters.<\/p>\n

But with much of the heavy lifting now complete, here is a breakdown of the AL East.<\/p>\n

YANKEES<\/p>\n

The re-signing of Bellinger for five years, $162.5 million followed the Yankees\u2019 retention of center fielder Trent Grisham, infielder Amed Rosario and pitchers Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn.<\/p>\n

The most notable new addition is left-handed starter Ryan Weathers, who is 26 with a big arm but whose potential to this point is largely untapped.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the Yankees are more or less running things back after a 2025 season in which they tied for the AL lead with 94 wins but suffered a lopsided ALDS defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n

The Yankees hope the return of ace Gerrit Cole, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, will help them take the next step. Cole is expected to rejoin the rotation by June.<\/p>\n

A full year from breakout rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler \u2014 who posted a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts before dazzling in the playoffs \u2014 also gives reason for optimism.<\/p>\n

And the Yankees are poised to bring back the same Aaron Judge-led lineup that finished first in the majors in runs (5.2 per game), home runs (274) and OPS (.787) in 2025.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say there aren\u2019t question marks.<\/p>\n

The lineup is very left-handed, with six regulars who bat from that side of the plate.<\/p>\n

Anthony Volpe is set to miss the start of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery. This could be a make-or-break season for the fourth-year shortstop, whose numbers regressed in 2025 as he played through a partial tear in his left shoulder.<\/p>\n

The bullpen also appears weaker after the free-agent departures of Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, the latter of whom settled into an important set-up role after struggling as the closer.<\/p>\n

The Yankees made a flurry of midseason trades last summer \u2014 including for closer David Bednar, third baseman Ryan McMahon and speedy utilityman Jos\u00e9 Caballero \u2014 with 2026 in mind, too.<\/p>\n

Add it all up and the Yankees have a team that should compete for a division title but whose fans won\u2019t be satisfied unless they snap their 16-year World Series drought.<\/p>\n

DraftKings<\/a> (91.5) and FanDuel<\/a> (92.5) both peg the Yankees for the most wins in the AL.<\/p>\n

BLUE JAYS<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays also won 94 games in 2025 but won the division after claiming the head-to-head season series against the Yankees.<\/p>\n

Toronto then rode a red-hot offense headlined by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all the way to Game 7 of the World Series, where it suffered an excruciating extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays\u2019 offseason got off to a strong start when they signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal to be their new ace.<\/p>\n

But Toronto missed out on outfielder Kyle Tucker, then lost star shortstop Bo Bichette to the Mets.<\/p>\n

Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto effectively replaces Bichette in the infield, while newly signed relievers Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce help bolster the bullpen.<\/p>\n

Cease, 30, is inconsistent, but the right-hander represents a major upgrade over outgoing starters Max Scherzer and Chris \u200b\u200bBassitt. The Jays\u2019 rotation also stands to benefit from a full season of rookie phenom Trey Yesavage, who was among last year\u2019s postseason stars.<\/p>\n

But whether that will be enough to offset the loss of Bichette remains the biggest question facing Toronto.<\/p>\n

DraftKings and FanDuel both set Toronto\u2019s over\/under at 88.5 wins.<\/p>\n

RED SOX<\/p>\n

Boston bolstered its rotation by trading for right-hander Sonny Gray (14-8, 4.28 ERA last season) and signing left-hander Ranger Suarez (12-8, 3.20 ERA) to a five-year, $130 million contract.<\/p>\n

Starting pitching should be a major strength for the Red Sox, as a staff of Garrett Crochet, Suarez, Gray, Brayan Bello and perhaps Johan Oviedo \u2014 another offseason addition \u2014 is the best on paper in the AL East, at least until the Yankees\u2019 reinforcements return.<\/p>\n

But the bigger question for Boston is whether the offense will score enough in order to compete for a division crown.<\/p>\n

Alex Bregman left for a five-year, $175 million contract with the Chicago Cubs, leaving a major void in the heart of the Red Sox lineup, at third base and in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n

That was a blow to a Red Sox team that struggled to score runs during its three-game loss to the Yankees in their Wild Card series.<\/p>\n

Boston did add an accomplished right-handed bat in first baseman Willson Contreras, but a lineup anchored by Contreras, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Trevor Story remains light. Trading for an infielder such as Houston\u2019s Isaac Paredes would help there.<\/p>\n

As it stands now, the Red Sox\u2019s over\/under of 87.5 wins on DraftKings and FanDuel suggest a slight regression from last year\u2019s 89-73 record.<\/p>\n

ORIOLES<\/p>\n

Nobody was busier than Baltimore, which revamped its lineup with the additions of first baseman Pete Alonso and outfielder Taylor Ward; acquired relievers Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge; and traded for starter Shane Baz.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Orioles had plenty of work to do after last year\u2019s 75-87 disappointment, and they might not be done yet.<\/p>\n

Baltimore\u2019s lineup has a chance to be special, with Alonso (38 home runs in 2025) and Ward (36 homers) joining Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg.<\/p>\n

But pitching remains a problem for the O\u2019s, even if left-hander Trevor Rogers (9-3, 1.81 ERA in 18 starts last season) proves to be the real deal.<\/p>\n

Kyle Bradish is back from the elbow surgery that limited him to 14 starts over the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

But behind Rogers and Bradish, the O\u2019s rotation options include Baz (4.87 ERA last season), Dean Kremer (4.19 ERA) and Zach Eflin (5.93 ERA).<\/p>\n

The Orioles have been linked to free-agent All-Star starter Framber Valdez, who would certainly change the outlook of Baltimore\u2019s rotation.<\/p>\n

Baltimore is also counting on a bounce back from Helsley, who went 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA and four blown saves in 22 appearances after last summer\u2019s trade to the Mets.<\/p>\n

DraftKings (84.5) and FanDuel (85.5) set the Orioles\u2019 win total as the second lowest in the division.<\/p>\n

RAYS<\/p>\n

History says to never count out the Rays, who are among baseball\u2019s savviest and well-run franchises.<\/p>\n

But Tampa Bay had an eye toward the future when it traded away Baz and Brandon Lowe \u2014 one of its top offensive players \u2014 for a haul of prospects.<\/p>\n

The Rays still boast some premium talent, including Junior Caminero (who hit 45 home runs in 2025), Yandy D\u00edaz, Jonathan Aranda and right-hander Drew Rasmussen.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve added veterans such as outfielder Cedric Mullins, left-hander Matz and second baseman Gavin Lux, the last of whom required trading away outfielder Josh Lowe.<\/p>\n

And they hope to finally get back onetime ace Shane McClanahan, who has not appeared in an MLB game since 2023 due to multiple arm injuries.<\/p>\n

But Tampa Bay likely lacks the upside of the other teams in the division, which is reflected in the DraftKings (77.5) and FanDuel (76.5) win totals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Yankees are set to look rather similar next season, as the re-signing of Cody Bellinger keeps the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2375],"tags":[106,5,377,141,48,2542,1365,2281,4,125,74,297,89,2543,142],"class_list":{"0":"post-537135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-red-sox","8":"tag-aaron-judge","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-blue-jays","11":"tag-boston","12":"tag-boston-red-sox","13":"tag-bostonredsox","14":"tag-cody-bellinger","15":"tag-gerrit-cole","16":"tag-mlb","17":"tag-orioles","18":"tag-pete-alonso","19":"tag-rays","20":"tag-red-sox","21":"tag-redsox","22":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115953716679753439","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}