The A.L. East in a Nutshell (2021 Edition)

The 2021 season starts this week. If you haven’t been paying attention to the off-season and spring training, here’s a snap shot of what you need to know about the 5 teams that comprise the American League East.

New York – The Yankees are fully loaded on offense but health is the question.  Can sluggers Stanton and Voit avoid injury riddled seasons?  Will the Kluber lottery ticket pay off and will Britton be back sooner rather than later to anchor high leverage situations out of the pen?  Luckily, the Yanks have some young arms that are ready/soon to be ready and with some luck, these young guns will pan out.  With health, a Torres return to form, and some youngsters earning their stripes, the Yankees are primed to be back in the championship hunt. 

Tampa Bay – After a strong run in 2020, the expectations remain high for Tampa Bay.  Trading Snell is going to hurt but Tampa is an organization that is deep.  The team is rolling the dice on starters with spotty health or shaky track records (Hill, Wacha and Archer) however Cy Young candidate Glasnow and their deep bullpen (minus Anderson due to his recent injury) will likely keep the team pitching afloat.  The offense will need a bounce back from Meadows and Arozarena needs to prove he was not a 1 hit playoff wonder but Lowe is a MVP caliber player that can carry the team for stretches.  Don’t sleep on Franco (the top minor league prospect) and McKay (a two way Top 25 prospect who is currently recovering from surgery) who could also give a boost to the team when the organization decides it needs to call in the reinforcements.        

Toronto – The offense looks to be a juggernaut as the youth continues to impress and Springer comes in as a free agent.  However, the pitching has more questions than answers.  Losing Yates before the season starts puts the pen somewhat in flux but there are some intriguing late inning options (looking at you, Romano).  The team looks poised to join the ranks of potential contenders but will likely to fall short without a few more arms.  I think the team needs one more year to gel and find some additional pitching.

Boston – The Red Sox took their lumps in the shortened 2020 season without Sale and Rodriguez in the rotation and an extremely down year from Martinez and Benintendi.  The Sox attempted to make some improvements by retooling their outfield, tinkering with their relief corps, and bringing in some back end lottery ticket starting pitchers.  With the return of Rodriguez and Sale coming back in a few months, the Sox should become more respectable than their 2020 showing.  However, it will likely not be enough to compete against the beasts of the AL East.    

Baltimore – Baltimore is likely to have a 2021 that fans will want to forget.  They have found a few pieces that could potentially stick with the team through this rebuild but their desire to trade (or let walk) any proven talent is evidence that the team is playing the long game.  Buckle up for a rough year and hope the in game reps guys like Santander and Mountcastle get will speed their development.