2015 American League East Projections

X-Toronto Blue Jays 89-73

In 2014, the Toronto Blue Jays enjoyed their first winning campaign since 2010, but it still was not enough for them to get to playoffs for the first time since 1992 which is now the longest active postseason drought in Major League Baseball. But will this be the year that the Jays are able reverse the tide?

The past two-offseasons have seen Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos become active in making trades and signing free agents. This winter the Blue Jays signed free-agent catcher Russell Martin to a five-year deal for $82 million. Martin wasn’t brought to Toronto for his bat as his ability behind the plate is what teams truly covet. Martin spent the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and during his time there the team’s pitching staff never had a team run average lower than fifth in the National League which is a credit to Martin’s ability to call a game behind the plate and that is music to the ears of Anthopoulos and Blue Jays manager John Gibbons as their pitching staff’s team earned run average of 4.00 was ninth in the American League last season.

Veteran starting pitcher Mark Buehrle will provide tremendous experience for the Jays in their rotation while R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball will frustrate hitters in the AL. But there are questions behind Buehrle and Dickey for the Blue Jays in their rotation as they will need youngsters Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchinson, and Daniel Norris to step up if they are going to be able to entertain realistic thoughts about ending their playoff drought.

The questions about Toronto’s pitching don’t stop at their starting rotation. In the past three seasons, Casey Janssen saved 81 games for the Blue Jays, but he is now a member of the Washington Nationals and the task of closing games in the ninth inning for Toronto will be placed on the right arm of relief pitcher Brett Cecil.

If the Blue Jays are able to still be playing baseball come October, they will need pitching, but during the season they will rely heavily on their potent lineup which is one of the best in Major League Baseball. The Blue Jays hit 177 home runs last season and you can expect more of the same in 2015. Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista has been a late-bloomer by MLB standards as far as being a power hitter, but the folks in Toronto certainly don’t mind. Bautista is 34-years of age and he will once again be expected to deliver 30 home runs for the Jays in 2015. Bautista should once again be joined in the 30-homer club this season for the Jays as first baseman Edwin Encarnacion can launch the baseball deep over the outfield walls at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The Jays also added depth to their lineup by signing former Chicago White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo who is coming off of a 21-home run season. The Blue Jays have speed at the top of their lineup in the form of shortstop Jose Reyes, but the wild card for Toronto this season will be third baseman Josh Donaldson. The Blue Jays acquired Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics this off-season and he’ll give Toronto a good glove man at the hot corner along with another power bat in their lineup.

The American League East is as wide open as ever and as long as the Blue Jays are able to keep their key players healthy, they will have a great chance to end their long playoff drought.

Boston Red Sox 85-77

In the past four seasons it has either been the penthouse or the outhouse for the Boston Red Sox. After winning the World Series in 2013, the Red Sox lost 91 games last season as they finished in the basement of the American League East. The Red Sox also finished in last place 2012 before turning it around the following season and they are hopeful that this will once again be the formula for them in 2015.

The Red Sox missed out on bringing starting pitcher Jon Lester back to Boston this off-season, but they still have a pitching staff that has potential. The Red Sox acquired starting pitcher Joe Kelly from the St. Louis Cardinals last season. Kelly is 26-years of age and the Red Sox believe in his potential to be a solid starting pitcher in their rotation. The Red Sox also acquired starting pitcher Rick Porcello from the Detroit Tigers. Like Kelly, Porcello is 26-years old and he is also coming off of his first 15-win season in Major League Baseball and the Red Sox are hopeful that he is ready to turn the corner as a starting pitcher. Arm problems have been plaguing Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz over the past two seasons and it will be tough for manager John Farrell to be able to depend on him to make 30 starts this year.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington wasn’t afraid to spend money this off-season to upgrade an offense that was near the bottom of most statistical categories last year. After helping the San Francisco Giants win three World Series Championships in the past five years, third baseman Pablo Sandoval is heading to the Red Sox after signing a five-year, $100 million contract. In his seven years with the Giants, Sandoval averaged 20 home runs, 86 runs batted in, and a .294 batting average per season. But was Sandoval merely a system guy or a player that can shine under the immense pressure that he will now face in Boston? After spending nearly two-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hanley Ramirez is returning to the Red Sox. The Red Sox signed Ramirez as an amateur free agent out of his native Dominican Republic in 2000. Ramirez was groomed to be the Red Sox shortstop of the future until he was traded to the Florida Marlins in 2006. Ramirez has been a shortstop for the majority of his MLB career, but now the Red Sox will ask him the play left field which in itself is a tough transition and it will be more difficult due to the fact that the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston is no easy task for outfielders to figure out.

Cherington is also hopeful Rusney Castillo will be as good as advertised in center field while second baseman Dustin Pedroia will bounce back from an injury plagued season. At 39-years of age, the Red Sox are hopeful that designated hitter David Ortiz isn’t ready to slow down as he is one the cusp of hitting 500 career home runs and that he is not ready to slow down while it is time for Xander Bogaerts to live up to his potential at shortstop.

Just like the past few years in Boston, this season will either be really good or horrifically bad for the Red Sox and one way or the other it will be entertaining.

New York Yankees 85-77

After making the playoffs 17 times from 1995-2012, mediocrity is setting in for the New York Yankees. The Yankees core that guided them to five World Series Championships over that stretch has retired and the Bronx Bombers have a ton of questions about their roster heading into the season.

Joe Girardi is set to begin his eighth season as the Yankees manager and he is known as a skipper that will get the most out of his club which is a notion that will be tested in 2015. The Yankees are set to welcome back third baseman Alex Rodriguez to the team. Rodriguez missed the entire 2014 Major League Baseball season as a result of his role in the Biogenesis Scandal. Rodriguez is a three-time American League MVP, but at 39-years of age his skills are not what they once were. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has let it be known that he no longer views Rodriguez as a viable option at third base and he wants the slugger to be the team’s everyday designated hitter while also learning how to play at first base. Rodriguez’s bat has slowed down drastically and it isn’t feasible to expect him to have a big impact. But if Rodriguez is able to hit at least 20 home runs while batting .275, the Yankees will take it.

To replace Rodriguez at third base, the Yankees re-signed Chase Headley. The Yankees acquired Headley from the San Diego Padres last summer and in 58 games he batted .262. Now it is Headley’s job at third base and the Yankees are hopeful that he’ll be close to the player that he was when he hit 31 home runs in 2012 as a member of the Padres.

All eyes will be on the Yankees new shortstop Didi Gregorius. The Yankees acquired Gregorius from the Arizona Diamondbacks this off-season and he’ll have his work cut out for him as he is charged with replacing a legend at shortstop in the Bronx in Derek Jeter. Gregorius has never lit it up at the plate during his Major League Baseball career, but the Yanks brought him on board to be a defensive presence on the left side of their infield. Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is longer going to be a guy that will hit .285 with 30 homers, but he still has one of the best gloves in baseball at first base as he is the anchor on the infield which is evident by his five Gold Glove Awards. The Yankees have tremendous speed and range in left field with Brett Gardner and in center field as well with Jacoby Ellsbury, but there is a huge question mark surrounding Carlos Beltran in right field. Beltran is entering his second season with the Yankees, but he’ll be 38-years old in April and the team will be thankful if they are able to get 120 games out of him this season.

The Yankees team earned run average of 3.75 was eighth in the AL last season and their pitching will either be really good or extremely horrible this season. Last season Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was in line to become the AL Rookie of the Year. Tanaka was 12-3 with an earned run average of 2.27 through the beginning of July until discomfort in his elbow derailed his season. Tanaka attempted to comeback and pitch later in the season and his effectiveness was gone. To me Tanaka’s arm problems smell of a potential Tommy John procedure that could really hinder the Yankees chances in 2015 if that is the case. Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia and his bothersome knee were limited to just 46 innings pitched last season. Sabathia has always been a durable pitcher, but realistically the Yankees should be thankful if they are able to get 150 innings out of him this season as he is not the same pitcher that he once was. Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda has all of the tools necessary to be a dominant starting pitcher and Girardi is hopeful that this will be the season in which he is able to put it altogether while Chris Capuano and Nathan Eovaldi will round out the starting rotation in the Bronx.

The Yankees bullpen will once again be strong as they signed left-handed relief pitcher Andrew Miller. Miller split last season between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles as he had an earned run average of 2.02 while striking out 103 batters in 62.1 innings pitched. Miller is 6’7″ and he has the ability get batters out from both sides of the plate. The Yankees focused on Miller this off-season and in the process they allowed relief pitcher David Robertson to leave as a free agent and join the Chicago White Sox. Robertson saved 39 games for the Yankees last season and his departure means that the Yankees will have their fourth different closer in as many years. Last season relief pitcher Dellin Betances was tremendous as a setup man to Robertson, but now it will be his time in the ninth inning. The Yankees are hopeful that Betances is able to make the transition to pitching in the ninth inning in the same fashion that Robertson and Mariano Rivera did before him.

These aren’t your father’s Yankees as the name of the game this season will be pitching for the Yankees. If Girardi is able to get six solid innings from his starters, he can turn the game over to a reliable bullpen, but overall New York must remain healthy if they are going to entertain any thoughts of winning the American League East in 2015.

Baltimore Orioles 84-78

Last season the Baltimore Orioles enjoyed their finest year since 1997 which culminated in a trip to the American League Championship Series. But it will be tough for the Orioles to repeat that success in 2015. The O’s had some key departures in free agency that will be tough for them to replace. Last season designated hitter Nelson Cruz led the Orioles in home runs (40), and runs batted in (108), but he was a free agent and he signed on with the Seattle Mariners. Outfielder Nick Markakis had a tremendous glove in right field and he also led the Orioles in on-base percentage last season at .342. But like Cruz, Markakis left Baltimore and he signed with the Atlanta Braves. And to top it all off there are rumors that Orioles general manager Dan Duquette could leave Baltimore to take the same position with the Toronto Blue Jays. As the O’s were definitely one of the feel good stories in 2014, things could sour for them a bit in 2015.

Luckily for the Orioles they are still led by manager Buck Showalter who is one of the best motivators in Major League Baseball. The Orioles still have outfielder Adam Jones whom you can go ahead and pencil in to hit about .285 with 30 homers and 100 runs batted in. After being a bit player in his first seven Major League Baseball seasons, utility man Steve Pearce had his best season last year as he hit 21 home runs. And with Markakis now a member of the Braves, Showalter will count on Pearce even more in right field. Third baseman Manny Machado and catcher Matt Wieters missed the majority of 2014 with injuries and for the O’s to be a contender this season, each player will need to make some noise on the baseball diamond. After battling through injuries and eventually a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis will return this season and he could be the ultimate wild card for this team.

The Orioles pitching staff may not jump out at most people, but they had the third lowest team earned run average in the American League last season while four starting pitchers had at least 10 victories and they were led by starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen who had 16 wins. The Orioles pitching staff has a workman like approach, but they will miss relief pitcher Andrew Miller who left to sign with the New York Yankees after posting a 1.53 earned run average in 23 appearances last season.

The Orioles first 19 games of the season will be against their American League East foes. The Orioles could struggle to find their identity at first, but with Showalter leading the way you can never fully count them out.

Tampa Bay Rays 66-96

Last season saw the Tampa Bay Rays suffer their first losing campaign since 2007 and the folks in Western Florida have to get accustomed to it as wholesale changes have been made. Longtime Rays manager Joe Maddon was able to opt out of his contract which allowed him to become the skipper of the Chicago Cubs. The Rays also lost longtime general manager Andrew Friedman who left to become the president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Matthew Silverman is replacing Friedman while Kevin Cash is taking over for Maddon as the manager of the Rays. Silverman and Cash are basically starting over from scratch as they will have their hands full in trying to keep the Rays relevant in the American League East this season.

In 2014, the Rays traded starting pitcher David Price to the Detroit Tigers and they didn’t get the slew of minor-league prospects in return that most people expected them to receive. Longtime utility man Ben Zobrist was traded to the Oakland Athletics this off-season while outfielder Wil Myers who won the 2013 American League Rookie of the Year Award was sent to the San Diego Padres in a three-team deal that also involved the Washington Nationals.

The most recognizable player on the Rays roster in 2015 will be third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria has spent his entire seven-year Major League Baseball career in a Rays uniform, but with the team recently departing with so many other key players, will he be the next to go?

This Rays team is being held together by spit and glue as it will be tough for them to not get lost in the shuffle within the AL East.

X-Division Champion

Source: Baseball-reference.com