The 2024 MLB season is upon us, so it seems absolutely necessary to do an analysis for each franchise division by division and start with the one that has always been considered the toughest and most balanced of all the six: the American League East.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles enter 2024 as reigning champions of the division, with 101 victories obtained last season, the result of the incredible work of GM Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde, who has sat in the Camden Yards dugout since 2018. Baltimore’s thriving 2023 came thanks to a splendid organization within the farm system that has nurtured talents who have already exploded, such as catcher Adley Rutschmann and infielder Gunnar Henderson, last year’s AL Rookie of The Year, and who have yet to explode, like Jackson Holliday, first choice in the 2022 draft and son of that Matt Holliday, but who will start 2024 in the Minors.
The Orioles have added the departing Corbin Burnes, Cy Young in 2021 with the Milwaukee Brewers, to a pitching rotation that was in dire need of adjustment. Furthermore, Craig Kimbrel, one of the most experienced closers in the entire league, also arrived from free agency to complete the bullpen. The elements to replicate 2023 are all there, even if it won’t be easy to win 101 more games and the Orioles paid for the tiredness of the regular season in October, being eliminated by the Texas Rangers, future champions in the World Series. However, Baltimore will be able to rely on a factor that it didn’t have last year: experience. In my opinion they are the favorites to win the AL East for the second straight year.
Probable placing: First place
Player to watch: Adley Rutschmann
Promise to follow: Jackson Holliday
New York Yankees
After the disappointing, to put it mildly, 2023 season, the New York Yankees absolutely need a turning point in this 2024 season and the first step was the trade with the San Diego Padres that brought Juan Soto to the Bronx. The Dominican winger, one of the most talented around, will be one of the cornerstones of manager Aaron Boone, who cannot afford to fail again. Unfortunately for Boone, 2024 got off to an immediate uphill start due to Gerrit Cole’s elbow injury, the only positive note of last year for the Yankees, which will keep him out at least until June. The addition of Marcus Stroman from the Chicago Cubs as the first starter in place of Cole in a rotation that includes Carlos Rondon and Nestor Cortes, two disappointments in 2023, could at least limit the damage in the first part of a 2024 that has begun very badly in the Bronx.
The Yankees will have to focus on the batter’s box starting with captain Aaron Judge and the revived Giancarlo Stanton, who have both dealt with various injuries, but who if healthy could put together 100 home runs. If they play as they know how, they could aim for the Orioles in first place, but discontinuity has always been a leading element in Boone’s team, which risks paying dearly for it in September like last year.
Probable Placement: Second in division for a Wild Card
Player to watch: Aaron Judge
Promise to follow: Spencer Jones (Jasson Dominguez will be out for a good part of the season)
Tampa Bay Rays
We all remember the 13-0 with which the Rays began 2023, reaching the historic Milwaukee Brewers of 1987 and then slowing down, finishing behind the Orioles and exiting in the Wild Card round. The Rays are the third franchise with the lowest payroll in the entire MLB and yet always manages to make it to the postseason. All this thanks to the genius they have in the dugout, manager Kevin Cash, probably the best in the entire league. The Rays enter 2024 with a major loss in 2023 rotation starter Tyler Glasnow, who was traded to the richer Los Angeles Dodgers.
From the trade with the Californians, the departing Ryan Pepiot and the Dominican shortstop Amed Rosario arrived, completing the excellent interior department that lost Wander Franco last August due to his problems with the law. They have an absolute star in the outfield like Randy Arozarena, one of the most electric players in the entire league and a series of luxury supporting players like Isaac Paredes, Yandy Diaz and Harold Ramirez. However, they are slightly behind the Orioles and Yankees, due to a rotation and a bullpen lacking in talent, but they can compete for a possible Wild Card spot.
Probable finish: Third in division for a Wild Card
Player to watch: Randy Arozarena
Promise to follow: Taj Bradley
Toronto Blue Jays
Allow me to make a comparison with the NFL: the Toronto Blue Jays are the Pittsburgh Steelers of baseball. Obviously I’m not referring to the history of the franchises, therefore not even to the titles won, but to the way in which they have approached the various seasons in recent years. Both are two excellent teams, with decent players who however give less than half of what they can give and who every year find themselves among those who are suspended: they do their homework, without accomplishing anything, despite the excellent resources.
The Blue Jays are coming off a series of seasons without infamy and without praise; in the offseason they lost Matt Chapman, an excellent third baseman, replacing him with Justin Turner, who is now in his forties. What remains is the interior duo of Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who must make up for a disappointing season despite the victory in the last Home Run Derby. There is the risk of another anonymous season for the Canadians who will fight with the Tampa Bay Rays for a Wild Card spot, hoping not to fall into limbo for the umpteenth time.
Probable finish: Third in division for a Wild Card
Player to watch: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Promise to follow: Davis Schneider
Boston Red Sox
This is the most difficult analysis to do also due to matters of the heart for the writer: the Boston Red Sox are coming off two terrible seasons with two very sad last places in the division. Of the team that won the World Series in 2018, only Rafael Devers remains, the only true star of this Boston. The offseason was a tortuous road right from the start, with the signing of the departing Lucas Giolito who however had to immediately withdraw for the entire season due to an elbow injury.
The outfielder Tyler O’Neill arrived in New England from the Cardinals, to fill the hole left by the departure of Alex Verdugo, and the young infielder Vaughn Grissom from the Braves. Furthermore, the contract of Brayan Bello, the first starting pitcher in the rotation chosen by Alex Cora, manager in his seventh season in the Fenway Park dugout, criticized due to the latest disappointing results, was extended. It’s difficult to think of qualifying for the postseason, even via Wild Card, given that the Red Sox also have the misfortune of finding themselves in the most competitive and difficult division in the entire MLB and this doesn’t help at all.
Probable placing: Fifth and last in division
Player to watch: Rafael Devers
Promises to follow: Vaughn Grissom and Cedanne Rafaela
Matteo, Bear for friends, therefore for everyone. I love America’s favorite pastime: baseball. Lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, but first and foremost a Diamond fan. In love with Pedro Martinez’s fastball, Ken Griffey Jr.’s swing and David Ortiz’s home runs. Secret dream: watching a game from the Green Monster at Fenway Park. On Instagram I talk about baseball with the page @mediabattuta
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2024-03-26 07:14:08
#A.L #East #Play.it #USA
