Battle for AL East supremacy could be won in the front office

The Toronto Blue Jays have officially ascended to the big table in the American League East. They have been steaming hot and currently hold the top spot in the American League East by two games over the New York Yankees.

The Blue Jays will be busy adding talent as they aim for their first postseason appearance since 2023. Now, the front offices of the respective contenders in the AL East will take center stage. Who is in the best position to add talent and what can be expected from each of them?

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is the elder statesman and has been doing the job since 1998. This season is all about returning the Yankees to the World Series and they need help. Cashman wasn't afraid to explicitly call out positions on the diamond that must get better.
“We’ve lost three starters out of our World Series rotation so far this year, so I’ve got to look and see if I can find a starter,” Cashman recently stated in a press conference.

The Yankees will be after some of the same pitching targets as the Blue Jays. Cashman didn't mention third base in the above quote, but he'll find that the Blue Jays could be chasing the same group of targets. The real question may be just how much additional payroll the Yankees are willing to take on.

Erik Neander has been the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays since 2016. Neander has done an amazing job keeping the payroll-strapped Rays in contention. The Rays reside in the AL Wild Card standings but have been leaking oil recently. The Rays may simultaneously buy and sell, with plenty of appealing options to bring to market. This team is the most challenging to forecast what their deadline will look like.

On the opposite end of the experience spectrum is Boston Red Sox general manager Craig Breslow, who is in his second full season in the big chair. Breslow had a good winter in which he traded for Garrett Crochet and signed Alex Bregman. Still, the team needs to fix a few flaws if they plan on playing baseball this October. Breslow also needs to replace the offensive production of slugger Rafael Devers, who isn't lighting it up in San Francisco just yet.

Breslow may act in a similar manner to Neander, straddling the line between buying and selling. He needs more starting pitching just like the Blue Jays. Another talented pitcher alongside Crochet would position Boston as a serious threat in the American League.

With all of that in mind, you still can't discount the Baltimore Orioles. Of course, the Orioles will approach the deadline with a selling mindset. They have already made one trade within the division when they sent reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays. The O's have pitchers that could appeal to any contender. A seller's market could be integral in helping them reload their farm system for contention next season.

Ross Atkins isn't too far behind in terms of time spent working in baseball, as he has been the Blue Jays' baseball boss since the winter of 2015. Atkins knows the pressure is through the roof. The Blue Jays are facing a pivotal period of time in franchise history as fan excitement is near record highs.