![]() Enter Bell, whom Cleveland acquired this offseason to help boost its slugging numbers and provide Ramírez with some much-needed protection. While their small-ball and contact-approach offense brought on impressive results, everyone not named José Ramírez struggled with power. The pesky Guardians surprised us all last year by winning 92 games and a division title before eventually pushing the Yankees to fives games in the ALDS. If the Guardians’ success last year was a fluke, Correa and Minnesota will have a path to claiming the division title.Ĭleveland Guardians : Can Josh Bell be the answer for their lack of power? Any sign of injury from Correa will immediately trigger red flags about his ankle more importantly, he must stay healthy for the Twins to have a shot at contention. This, of course, is in the aftermath of a wacky offseason that saw Correa agree to (much) bigger contracts with both the Giants and the Mets, only for each to fall through because of failed physicals. The Twins will look to close the gap with the Guardians with Correa and Byron Buxton as key lineup pieces. Minnesota Twins : Can Carlos Correa silence lingering questions about his ankle? But the bats will need to show up this time. Tampa Bay has reached the postseason four years in a row and, with largely the same squad as last season, there’s little reason to believe it won’t contend again. The key for the Rays - a solid team that is equipped with desired depth and a manager in Kevin Cash who knows how to use the strengths of his roster - will be to stay healthy and save their best offensive moments for the playoffs. The Rays went out with a whimper last October, falling to the Cleveland Guardians in the AL wild-card series with an offense that became invisible down the stretch. Tampa Bay Rays : Can they carry their regular-season momentum into a long postseason run? Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi will attempt to do the heavy lifting. This year, Toronto goes into the season with a far more balanced roster in hopes of making that leap, but it will largely rely on a strong starting rotation to potentially collect more wins than the division-favorite Yankees. The Blue Jays have had their eyes on the AL East title for a few years, but they haven’t been able to grab it since 2015. Toronto Blue Jays : Can the new-look club stay consistent enough to grab the division title? Baltimore has an outrageous depth of upper level hitting prospects that it could trade for an immediate impact arm to help supplement that talent from its young roster. If the Orioles are an AL wild-card contender, they will also need support from the front office at the trade deadline to push the team over the edge. That’s a lot of pressure for guys like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle and Kyle Stowers. The front office made it clear this winter, when top brass made few outside additions, that the organization will rely on its young stars to build off last year’s 83-win season. He’s slated to start the second game of the season against the Orioles on Saturday at Fenway.īaltimore Orioles : Can their young stars carry them to contention and will the front office supplement that talent? ![]() ![]() Boston’s path to contention relies heavily on Sale taking the mound every fifth day and, of course, pitching effectively. The veteran southpaw was limited to just 48.1 innings pitched across the past two seasons due to injuries. After enjoying seven straight All-Star seasons from 2012-2018, Sale has a lot to prove this year - mainly regarding his health. If Volpe can shrug off an 0-for-4 day at the plate and rebound quickly while staying consistently solid on the dirt, the Yankees will have little to worry about with their potential franchise shortstop.īoston Red Sox : Can Chris Sale stay healthy for a full season?įor the first time since 2019, Sale is breaking camp instead of staying idle on the injured list. Volpe will undoubtedly go through slips and surges in his rookie season, and the focus will be on how he responds to those moments of adversity. The 21-year-old kid from New Jersey who grew up playing baseball with his dad in Manhattan has already forced himself onto the Yankees’ big-league roster now he will try to hold onto that starting shortstop role for the long haul.
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