2017 American League East Preview: Can Red Sox Repeat?
Southside Showdown previews American League East for 2017 season as part of AL Preview series. Can the defending division champions repeat this season?
The American League East for the past decade or so has been referred to as the ‘powerhouse division’ not only in the American League but in all of baseball. A rivalry for the ages took place between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the early to mid 2000’s.
Fast forward to 2017, and the two historic franchises now have two other teams eyeing the AL East crown this season. After the Red Sox claimed the AL East title in 2016, are they ready to repeat their success in 2017?
#5 Tampa Bay Rays
With Tampa Bay finishing with 94 losses and a last place finish in 2016, too many question marks still surround this team with just before Opening Day. Injuries decimated the Rays last season. The lack of depth and financial support will continue to haunt this franchise as they solely rely on their farm system for almost all of their production at the big league level.
The Rays big league staff, when healthy, is able to go head-to-head with any team within the AL East. Rays’ ace Chris Archer is coming off an awful season, Alex Cobb is always a question mark due to recent injuries, and the bullpen is not very deep past closer Alex Colome.
Tampa’s lineup still remains an issue even with the additions of catchers Wilson Ramos and Derek Norris. The Rays offense one through nine remains the weakest in the division by a substantial amount and their pitching staff needs to stay healthy and perform consistently enough if they have any hope of climbing out of the cellar anytime soon.
#4 Baltimore Orioles
Although Baltimore barely missed the postseason in 2016 with 89 victories, regression is in the O’s foreseeable future and it starts in 2017. Baltimore’s key strength will continue to be their lineup that consists of former and prior all-stars such as: Manny Machado, Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, Adam Jones, and J.J Hardy.
The bottom half of Baltimore’s lineup will also be a consistent problem all season long. There is no problems with the back of the Orioles pen consisted with the impeccable Zach Britton, and sold setup men Darren O’ Day and Mychal Givens.
The glaring issue for Baltimore will be the men starting games on the mound. Headed by ace Chris Tillman, it is very hard to find consistency in the rotation after that. Youngsters Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy need to show the Orioles organization why they were former first round draft picks. The back end of the rotation with Wade Miley and Vidal Nuno will surely get lit up in a solid offensive AL East. Manager Buck Showalter will have to pull every rabbit out of his hat this season just to keep his birds flying around the .500 mark.
#3 Toronto Blue Jays
Another bird that seems to be on a downward path than a soaring one, the Toronto Blue Jays will feel the loss of Michael Saunders and especially slugger Edwin Encarnacion. Yes, an addition of switch hitting designated hitter Kendrys Morales will soften the anguish a bit, but replacing any 40 HR/120 RBI player is virtually impossible to do.
The Blue Jays will still go strong at the middle of the order with Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, and the aforementioned Morales. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki still poses as a potential injury threat and his performance has been on the decline ever since arriving in Toronto in 2015. Surprisingly, the Blue Jays middle of the order might not be the strong suit of their 2017 season.
With the progression of young starters Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman, the Blue Jays appear to have two pitchers that will fortify the top of their rotation for years to come. Veterans Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, and Francisco Liriano solidify a solid back end of the rotation. Newly extended manager John Gibbons can lead this team to a second wild-card spot, but don’t expect the Blue Jays to fly back to the top of the AL East anytime soon.
#2 New York Yankees
Now before you decide to stop reading, let me explain why I believe the Yankees will finish in second place in 2017. The Gary Sanchez era has begun in New York and I am riding on this bandwagon extremely hard. Hitting 20 home runs in 201 at bats is no fluke, and manager Joe Girardi will rely heavily on the 24-year-old backstop to carry the lineup all season long.
Many around baseball believe the Yankees are “rebuilding” but instead they replenished their farm system at last year’s trade deadline while still landing themselves right in the middle of contention for 2017. One of the players they traded away, closer Aroldis Chapman, returned to New York this past offseason with a record setting deal for a relief pitcher.
The Pinstripes bullpen with Chapman and Dellin Betances will lock down games all season for the Yankees, but their one achilles heel continues to be their starting rotation. Masahiro Tanaka, their ace, is one of the best around when healthy. After that is where the question marks start to fly.
Aging veteran C.C. Sabathia had a nice bounce back season last year, and the Yankees still have young starters Michael Pineda and Luis Severino that are flooded with talent. A lineup mixed with a good blend of veterans and young stars, and a dominate back end of the bullpen could put the Yankees back in the postseason for the first time since 2015.
#1 Boston Red Sox
While most of the teams in the AL East seem to be on the decline, the Boston Red Sox look like they’re ready to run off a streak of division titles. After being the favorites in the American League to head to the World Series last year, they met an early exit in the playoffs from the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS.
Boston’s general manager Dave Dombrowski took the early exit as a sign to win now as he departed with top prospects to acquire Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale this past offseason. Sale, along with former Cy Young award winner David Price and recent recipient Rick Porcello will form one dynamic trio as they will torment American League offenses all season long. Speaking of offense, this Red Sox team has a perfect blend of star studded veterans and young players.
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Hanley Ramirez, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi, and Dustin Pedroia head one of the best offenses in all of baseball; even after the retirement of Red Sox fan favorite David Ortiz. The back end of Boston’s bullpen is also something not to mess with. Former All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel and setup men Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg will create one of the more underrated bullpens in the game. With a team that is filled with very few holes, Red Sox manager John Farrell should have little to no anxiety through the season.