The AL East has long been one of MLB’s most competitive divisions, and 2025 looks to be no different as top teams battle for supremacy.
Heading into 2025, there are a lot of things that you should look forward to as baseball season gets underway, with the AL East division being one of them. With major offseason moves, young stars emerging, and perennial contenders looking to stay on top, this season promise to be another battle of stalwarts. Well, you can say that for least three teams. The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles are all poised to have another great season. As for the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays, you can expect them to be in a rebuild mode.
New York Yankees
The Yankees face sky-high expectations. This team is hungrier than ever heading into 2025. They’re coming off a difficult season where they fell short in the World Series. Even worse, they lost OF Juan Soto in free agency to the New York Mets. This was bound to happen, but at the end of the day, it’s business. Eventually, they were still able to have to have a good offseason that will keep them competitive in 2025.
Key Offseason Moves
– Acquired OF Cody Bellinger (via trade from Chicago Cubs)
– Acquired CP Devin Williams (via trade from Milwaukee Brewers)
– Signed 1B Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal
– Signed SP Max Fried to an eight-year deal
Projected Lineup
C Austin Wells
RF Aaron Judge
CF Cody Bellinger
1B Paul Goldschmidt
2B Jazz Chisholm
LF Jasson Dominguez
DH Ben Rice
SS Anthony Volpe
3B Oswaldo Cabrera
Projected Rotation
SP Max Fried
SP Carlos Rodon
SP Marcus Stroman
SP Clarke Schmidt
SP Will Warren
Team Predictions:
As far as predictions are concerned, I have the Yankees repeating as AL Champions once again. They will win 98 games, which would the second most in baseball. At the same time, they would lose to an NL team in the World Series once again.
Baltimore Orioles
Similar to the Yankees, Baltimore is also coming off a difficult season where they fell short in the Wild Card Series. For the second consecutive year, they were swept in another playoff series. As they moved on to the offseason, they eventually lost some key pieces in free agency. These players include stars SP Corbin Burnes and OF Anthony Santander. Burnes signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. As for Santander, he shockingly signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, an AL East rival. However, they shouldn’t use last year as a discouragement. This team still has a bright future with emerging prospects on the horizon to make their major league debuts.
Offseason Moves
– Signed OF Tyler O’Neill to a three-year deal
– Signed SP Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year deal
– Signed SP Charlie Morton to a one-year deal
– Signed C Gary Sanchez to a one-year deal
Projected Lineup
SS Gunnar Henderson
3B Jordan Westburg
C Adley Rutschman
RF Tyler O’Neill
DH Ryan O’Hearn
LF Colton Cowser
1B Ryan Mountcastle
CF Cedric Mullins
2B Jackson Holiday
Projected Rotation
SP Zach Eflin
SP Grayson Rodriguez
SP Charlie Morton
SP Dean Kremer
SP Tomoyuki Sugano
Team Predictions:
My expectations for the Orioles this season are very high. So therefore, my predictions for the Orioles this upcoming season is that Grayson Rodriguez has a breakout season and contends for the Cy Young award. Yep, you heard that right. The last year has not been too kind to the young right-hander, and if there’s a year that he bounces back to his old self, it’s this season.
Boston Red Sox
It is fair to say that the Red Sox’s 2024 season was average. The team dealt with a high number of injuries which had led them to missing the postseason. While at the same time, we saw some players take a leap forward in 2024. For example, OF Jarren Duran, who had struggled in his first couple of seasons, finally found his stride. Last year he turned out to become one of the best players in baseball. He led the league in both doubles and triples, hitting 21 homers, and finishing in the top 10 in WAR.
Team Predictions:
As for team predictions, here I have the Red Sox making the playoffs. They’re going to make it somehow, but it could be by winning either the division or becoming one of those wild card teams from the East.
Offseason Moves
– Signed 3B Alex Bregman to a three-year deal
– Signed RP Aroldis Chapman to a one-year deal
– Acquired SP Garrett Crochet (via trade from the Chicago White Sox)
– Signed SP Walker Buehler to a one-year deal
Projected Lineup
LF Jarren Duran
3B Rafael Devers
2B Alex Bregman
1B Triston Casas
SS Trevor Story
DH Masataka Yoshida
C Connor Wong
RF Wilyer Abreu
CF Ceddanne Rafaela
Projected Rotation
SP Garrett Crochet
SP Tanner Houck
SP Walker Buehler
SP Richard Fitts
SP Lucas Giolito
Toronto Blue Jays
The 2024 season was a disappointment for the Blue Jays. The team finished the season with a 74-88 record, becoming one of the two AL East teams to not finish with a winning record. There are reasons why last season was a failure. Some players dealt with injuries, while some had a down season. But there were also players with bright spots in Toronto last season. For example, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had a frustrating year in 2023, bounced back in 2024 and established himself as one of the best players in the league. Expect that trend to continue as he enters his possible final year in a Blue Jay uniform.
Offseason Moves
– Acquired 2B Andres Gimenez (via trade from the Cleveland Guardians)
– Signed OF Anthony Santander to a five-year deal
– Signed SP Max Scherzer to a one-year deal
– Signed RP Jeff Hoffman to a three-year deal
Projected Lineup
SS Bo Bichette
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
RF Anthony Santander
LF George Springer
CF Daulton Varsho
2B Andres Gimenez
C Alejandro Kirk
DH Will Wagner
3B Ernie Clement
Projected Rotation
SP Jose Berríos
SP Kevin Gausman
SP Chris Bassitt
SP Max Scherzer
SP Bowden Francis
Team Predictions:
The ceiling is very high for the Blue Jays this upcoming season. Here I got them winning more games than 2024. It’s hard to envision repeating a performance of last year after everything they went through. The only thing that’s going to stop Toronto from showing signs of improvement is injuries or poor performance in the tough East division.
Tampa Bay Rays
Lots of things went wrong for the Rays in 2024. Many of the key offensive contributors took a step back offensively. Players like OF Randy Arozarena, 1B Yandy Diaz, and OF Josh Lowe all had a down year. This was due to injuries and inconsistencies that got in their way. Regardless, the future is still bright for Tampa Bay in 2025. One of their emerging prospects, 3B Junior Caminero, is expected to make the major league roster. That is something to look forward to as the team looks to rebound this season in the AL East.
Offseason Moves
– Signed SS Ha-Seong Kim to a two-year deal
– Signed C Danny Jansen to a two-year deal
Projected Lineup
1B Yandy Diaz
2B Brandon Lowe
3B Junior Caminero
OF Josh Lowe
C Danny Jansen
DH Jonathan Aranda
OF Christopher Morel
OF Jonny DeLuca
SS Taylor Walls
Projected Rotation
SP Shane McClanahan
SP Taj Bradley
SP Ryan Pepiot
SP Zach Littell
SP Shane Baz
SP Drew Rasmussen
Team Prediction
As for team predictions, here I predict Junior Caminero entering himself as one of the contenders for the AL Rookie of the Year honors. This kid has lots of potential on this team and could see himself winning a couple of MVP honors in the future.
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