Assessing how the offseason went for the rest of the American League East

The Toronto Blue Jays offseason has been anything but boring. From disappointment and bewilderment to celebration, Blue Jays fans have experienced every emotion over the past couple of months.

Amidst all of the commotion, it can be easy to forget that there are four other clubs in the American League East also having offseasons of their own.

And, per usual, the four AL East clubs all made moves this winter to improve their overall standing; there aren't any "rebuilding" organizations in this division. All the rest of the clubs have varying resources at their disposal, but they all seem to be leaning into their contention windows.

Having said that, the pecking order in the division may remain the same in 2025, though there could be some change at the bottom. The New York Yankees still seem superior to the Baltimore Orioles while the Boston Red Sox have improved. The Tampa Bay Rays will be palying their games in a minor league ballpark and seem poised for a long-awaited regression, which should help the Blue Jays should escape the basement in the division.

Without further ado, let's examine what the clubs did this winter and what their ceiling looks like for the upcoming season.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles made the postseason for a second straight year. But that's where the good news comes to an end. The Orioles have lost five straight postseason games thanks to their offense going cold when the season is on the line. Still, this is a young and talented team with postseason experience under their belt that should only make them more dangerous in the future.

The big question now is whether the Orioles have an ownership group that is willing to financially support their growth. The Orioles spent money this winter, hiking the payroll to levels not seen since the latest roster rebuild. They lost Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks in free agency and countered by signing 41-year-old pitcher Charlie Morton. They also took a swing on Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, who has pitched in the Nippon Professional Baseball for the past 12 years. Sugano will join a rotation comprised of Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer .

The Orioles nabbed Tyler O'Neill to hit home runs out of a park that's smaller than last year. O'Neill mashed 31 home runs last season and should help offset the loss of Anthony Santander's 44 home runs. O'Neill has to stay healthy and cut down on a 33.6% strikeout rate while continuing to bash left-handed pitching.

The Orioles made various tweaks to the edges of their roster by bringing in catcher Gary Sanchez as Adley Rutschman's backup. Sanchez has been disappointing since leaving the Yankees, but will be fine as a backup catcher. Reliever Andrew Kittredge was added to a bullpen that will welcome back Felix Bautista, while Dylan Carlson and Ramon Laureano were brought in as outfield depth.

The Orioles are still sitting the catbird seat. They have a roster filled with talented young players who aren't making a ton of money. Having said that, the departures of Burnes and Santander will sting. The additions to this roster will be helpful, but the Orioles need to be playing well once October rolls around.

Boston Red Sox

This offseason, Boston Red Sox club leaders once again talked about how committed they were to improving a team that has missed the postseason for three straight seasons. But one year after Craig Breslow promised a "full throttle" approach to the offseason, the Red Sox have a roster that has a lower payroll than last season.

Yet, the Red Sox will be better because of two big additions to the starting rotation. The Red Sox traded four prospects (highlighted by catcher Kyle Teel) to the Chicago White Sox for starting pitcher Garret Crochet. Crochet is a difference-maker who immediately slots into the front of a Boston rotation, along with holdovers Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello. It will be interesting to see how Boston handles Crochet since he has missed a lot of time in his career due to injuries, but that doesn't change the fact he posted a 3.58 earned run average in 146 innings last season.

Boston also added to their pitching reinforcements by signing Walker Buehler to a one-year, $21 million contract. Buehler, who is fresh off a World Series win with the Los Angeles Dodgers. is a great pitcher as long as he is healthy, and will be motivated to post a strong season after finishing the postseason with a 3.60 ERA and 13 strikeouts in four appearances.

Lefty Patrick Sandoval will further add depth to the group when he returns from Tommy John surgery, and they added Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to the bullpen to offset the loss of closer Kenley Jansen.

While the Red Sox scored the ninth-most runs in baseball last season, they're still in dire need a right-handed bat. They've been connected to players like Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado, but have yet to truly make a move for either.

The Red Sox will be better than their .500 finish last season. Jarren Duran is blossoming into a star, Wilyer Abreu won a Gold Glove in right field and placed sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting and third baseman Rafael Devers is the most underrated slugger in baseball.

If first baseman Triston Casas and shortstop Trevor Story can stay healthy, Boston could sport one of the best offenses in baseball. And now they have the pitching to complement that.While they're not as good some some of the top contenders, this team could be extremely dangerous.

New York Yankees

While the Yankees made it to the Fall Classic last year, they flamed out to the Dodgers and then lost slugger Juan Soto to the crosstown Mets. But you still have to give credit the Yankees for pivoting and improving the team in a number of areas.

Starting pitcher Max Fried was brought in to further stabilize a staff that already includes Gerritt Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil (the reigning AL Rookie of the Year), Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman. Recent injuries notwithstanding, Fried is a bastion of pitching stability, and he posted a 3.25 ERA in 174 1/3 innings for Atlanta last season. Fried's addition pushes everyone else in the rotation down a spot and probably makes Stroman trade bait. Time will tell if the Yankees can find a taker on Stroman's hefty contract, but their starting rotation is one the better units in baseball.

Their other big splash came in the bullpen, as general Manager Brian Cashman traded Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for closer Devin Williams. The two-time All-Star carries a 1.66 ERA since 2022 and is a terrifying pitcher to face in the ninth inning.

The Yankees knew they couldn't find one player to replace Soto's production, so they instead made a series of moves to hopefully replace him in the aggregate. They swung a trade with the Cubs for Cody Bellinger in the hopes of adding more defense and power, while Paul Goldschmidt will look to top Anthony Rizzo's production at first base. The 37-year-old Goldschmidt isn't the player he once was, but the Yankees are convinced he turned a corner during the second half of last season.

While the Yankees have been extremely quiet in the new year, they got most of their work done before the calendar flipped, and they have a solid core of players even with the loss of Soto. Aaron Judge is still in right field and the club remains excited about top prospect Jasson Dominguez getting an extended look in left field. Jazz Chisholm will fill in around the infield and help counter the loss of Gleyber Torres in free agency. The Yankees are playing for October and a division title is absolutely within their grasp.

Tampa Bay Rays

Last season, the Tampa Bay Rays missed the playoffs for the first time in six years. Then Hurricane Milton battered the west coast of Florida and ripped off the roof at Tropicana Field.

Now the Rays are playing their 2025 home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. The club's future remains incredibly uncertain while the powers that be determine whether to move forward with the construction of a new stadium in St. Petersburg and what to do with the dilapidated Tropicana Field.

On the baseball end of things, the club is blessed with an extremely talented (and oft-injured) group of starting pitchers and an unheralded bullpen. However, the payroll-conscious organization is always looking for ways to extract maximum value from the players on their roster. So, it didn't come as a surprise when they traded Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics in exchange for pitcher Joe Boyle, first baseman Will Simpson, pitcher Jacob Watters, and a 2025 Competitive Balance Round pick.

The players received probably won't impact the major league squad for a couple of years, but the Rays still have a surplus of starting pitching that always outperform their expectations.

That said, the Rays real focus this winter was to improve their pedestrian offense. Former star prospect Eloy Jimenez was brought in on a minor-league deal in the hopes that he can recapture his 2023 form (.272/.317/.441 in 489 plate appearances). Elsewhere, former Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen was brought in on a one-year deal to supply offense to a catching unit that posted putrid production last season. Jansen struggled through injuries at the end of his Blue Jays tenure, but will find himself at the top of the depth chart in Florida.

The best move of the winter was signing Ha-Seong Kim to a two-year, $29 million free agent deal. Kim seemed destined to land a lengthy contract, but an ill-timed shoulder injury cost him the opportunity to secure a massive payday.

That said, Kim should be back to full health before the All-Star Break. He can play multiple positions in the infield and has a very disciplined plate approach along with a bit of pop. This could be the masterstroke signing of the offseason by a club that has plenty of experience in making these kind of deals.

Count out the Rays at your own peril. This is one the most resourceful and efficient clubs in baseball, but they'll be challenged to keep up their magic as they adjust to an extremely uncertain future.