We now move on to the AL East, which sent a pair of teams of teams to the Postseason only to see both fall short. The division wasn’t its usual bloodbath in 2015 – the Orioles, Rays, and Red Sox were all erratic and never really contended, while the Yankees were up and down before running out of steam at the end of the year and the Blue Jays didn’t really turn on their jets until the second half. What will the offseason hold for a division typically thought of as the best in baseball?
Free Agent Primers
Free agents: Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Davis, Darren O’Day, Gerardo Parra, Steve Pearce, Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters
Needs: rotation, first base, outfield, catcher
The Orioles are going to be getting a facelift this offseason while looking at the possibility of losing Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Davis, and Matt Wieters (among others). Baltimore never adequately replaced Nelson Cruz’s power last year, and now, they’ll need to also replace the mighty power of Davis. Baltimore rolled out 14 (yes, 14) outfielders next to Adam Jones in center during the 2015 season, including Davis, and none were really able to stick as a potential long-term answer. That’s obviously not a good thing, and the Orioles need to seriously consider investing in a player like Justin Upton or even Colby Rasmus.
Losing Wieters will also be a tough blow, as Caleb Joseph is 29 and has a .284 career OBP in 630 plate appearances. He’s not a long-term fix. The same situation is arising at first base with Steve Pearce, who is 32 and hit .218/.289/.422 in 92 games last season after a near five win season in 2014. The club could *also* use a fix at DH, unless you’re a huge believer in Jimmy Paredes. Compared to the deficiencies on offense, the Orioles’ pitching woes seem almost insignificant. Baltimore is losing their best starter in Wei-Yin Chen, and really could use another arm in the wake of poor seasons from both Miguel Gonzalez and Chris Tillman. Not screwing with Kevin Gausman would help, and if Gonzalez and Tillman can pitch like they did in 2014, Baltimore will be in better shape – but wouldn’t everyone feel a lot better if they had another starter?
Boston Red Sox
Free agents: Craig Breslow, Rich Hill
Needs: rotation, bullpen
I think you can forget about the Red Sox doing much with their offense this offseason. They’re either locked into an expensive player or have a young, talented player at every position on the diamond. They’re not going to make a run on someone like Chris Davis, Alex Gordon, Jason Heyward, or Justin Upton – that would simply be inane.
But the pitching staff? Yeah, that could use an upgrade or two. Clay Buchholz, Wade Miley, and Rick Porcello are all guaranteed cash next year (and beyond, in the case of the latter two), and prospect Eduardo Rodriguez is too good to bump from the rotation. Now, Boston could tap into their cadre of pitching prospects and slide Matt Barnes and/or Henry Owens into the rotation, but Dave Dombrowski is in charge now – the man loves spending money on big name acquisitions. The sky is really the limit for Boston’s rotation. Could Dombrowski hunt David Price, who he acquired for the Tigers a year ago, or maybe set his sights lower with Jordan Zimmermann? The possibilities are endless. As for the bullpen, Dombrowski has done a hilariously bad job at crafting bullpens during his career, but Frank Wren works for the Red Sox now, and that’s his specialty. If Wren is allowed to dole out his advice to recraft Boston’s bullpen, they should be in good shape.
New York Yankees
Free agents: Andrew Bailey, Chris Capuano, Stephen Drew, Chris Young
Needs: second base, rotation
The Yankees are in a weird situation right now – they can’t really go ham on the free agent market this winter because they have so many positions spoken for with long-term contracts. One place where this isn’t an issue is at second base, where Stephen Drew hit 17 homers last year…but hit .201/.271/.381. Whoops. Rob Refsnyder could get the nod, but hell, he could have gotten the nod last year for the Yankees and they didn’t bite. I’m sure the Yankees would love to sign Ben Zobrist or Howie Kendrick, but neither may be a realistic option for them. The Yankees would also love to bring in someone like Jason Heyward or Justin Upton to take hold on an outfield position and replace Chris Young, but with Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brett Gardner signed through next season at eight figures apiece
And then, there’s the rotation, which really could use an infusion of some talent. CC Sabathia looked done this year, while Ivan Nova was still on his way back from Tommy John surgery and the duo of Nate Eovaldi and Michael Pineda were hot and cold. Given that this is the Yankees, they could easily sign one of the aces on the market, but I highly doubt that’ll be their MO this winter – maybe a Mike Leake style of pitcher?
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – SEPTEMBER 11: Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays fields the single by Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning of a game on September 11, 2015 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
Tampa Bay Rays
Free agents: Asdrubal Cabrera, John Jaso, Grady Sizemore
Needs: bullpen, shortstop, catcher
I think we all know the book on the Rays by this point – they’re not going to spend a lot of money in the free agent market, so they’ll need to look for good values where they can get them. The good thing for the Rays is that they really don’t have all that many holes this winter, though losing starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera will hurt. Former top overall pick Tim Beckham is the in-house option to replace Cabrera, and after hitting just .222/.274/.429 in 83 games last year, giving him the every day job might not be the best course of action. Former Mariner Nick Franklin is also an option, but he’s been so bad in the majors over the last two seasons and might be better suited at second base, where Logan Forsythe has clamped down onto the job (the same could also be said about Beckham).
The Rays also could use some help behind the plate, but that’s something that we’ve been saying about the franchise for years. Rene Rivera didn’t hit a lick last year, and though Curt Casali raked in 38 games, he’ll be 27 next week and doesn’t have much in the way of major league experience. This also may be an unpopular opinion, but I think that the Rays need another arm or two for the bullpen – they got some solid production from guys like Jake McGee, Xavier Cedeno, and closer Brad Boxberger, but wasted too many innings on sub-relplacement arms like Brandon Gomes, Ernesto Frieri, CJ Riefenhauer, and Kirby Yates. Getting one or two more experienced arms in there could help out a lot, but then again, that strategy didn’t work out well last year with Frieri and Grant Balfour.
ARLINGTON, TX – OCTOBER 12: David Price #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in relief in the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers in game four of the American League Division Series at Globe Life Park in Arlington on October 12, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Toronto Blue Jays
Free agents: Mark Buehrle, Marco Estrada, Jeff Francis, LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Lowe, Dioner Navarro, Cliff Pennington, David Price
Needs: bullpen, rotation
Following Toronto’s resurgent 2015, they could come back to the pack a bit in 2016. Pitchers who started a whopping 71 games will be free agents, while the starters of another 15 are no longer in the organization. Needless to say, they could use a starter or two, or three. Toronto could conceivably pony up the cash to sign someone like David Price, or Zack Greinke, or Johnny Cueto, or Jordan Zimmermann, but a more realistic option for them is likely a pitcher like Doug Fister, Yovani Gallardo, or Ian Kennedy, who won’t break the bank but is still a solid option. Toronto also could use some help in their bullpen, because John Gibbons has stuck behind a rock and a hard place in the Postseason after Brett Cecil’s injury in the ALDS. There are plenty of pitchers out there that can help the team, including a return for Mark Lowe, Oliver Perez, Tony Sipp, or even Ryan Madson.
Offensively, I doubt Toronto will do much. They’re only losing two offensive players, and neither Dioner Navarro nor Cliff Pennington was all that important in the grand scheme of things. A veteran catcher to replace Navarro as Russell Martin’s backup could be an option – maybe AJ Pierzynski? I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Toronto get involved in the bidding for an experienced first baseman, because I don’t know if they can do another year of this Chris Colabello/Justin Smoak platoon. One of the Asian players on the market, Dae-ho Lee or Byung-ho Park, could be a fit.
