How has the rest of the AL East addressed roster holes this offseason?

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The American League East has been a formidable division for the past several seasons, with every team currently trying to extend their competitive window for both now and the future. Despite having the best winning percentage of all divisions (.554), the AL East combined for zero playoff wins in 2023, showing that all five teams need some work in order to get ahead, rather than fall further behind. After the Jays missed out on Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, they managed to add backup pieces in Kevin Kiermaier, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Both are useful players to have on a roster, but not the big fish that the Blue Jays currently need to send them to a higher tier. The other 4 teams in the division have also been addressing needs to improve next season, but is it enough?

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles shocked the baseball world, by winning a staggering 101 games last season, leading them to a division title, and their first playoff berth since 2016. Despite the heroics, the Orioles fell short to the inevitable World Series champs, the Texas Rangers. Baltimore is still on the rise, ranking 29th in the league in payroll, and an incredibly young core to go with it. Many had believed this would be the season the Orioles begin to go for it further by investing further in in the team. So far, the birds have only signed Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13M deal, with an opt out for 2025. Kimbrel is no longer his most dominant self, but has still shown capabilities of being a quality reliever pitching to a 132 ERA+ last year in 69 innings pitched.

With Felix Bautista being out for most of next season, it was smart to add some more insurance for the backend of the their bullpen. The rotation still feels questionable, and the Orioles have already missed out on some key pitching targets in this years class. There have been rumors that the Orioles could deal some of their prospects from their top farm system for a name like Dylan Cease, which could entirely change the complexion of their team. The Orioles will need that front end starter next year, or 2024 could have a similar end to 2023.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays always manage to be in the hunt, but can't break through, so they're determined to make the right moves in the off-season and see if it can push them further along. The Rays re-signed Chris Devinski to a one-year, $1.1M deal. Devenski had a middling 2023 campaign, but like many relievers, came into his own once arriving in Tampa. He should serve as another middle relief option they can go to, but the Rays had bigger plans in mind. Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot were traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for right-handed starter Ryan Pepiot and outfield prospect Jonny Deluca.

With one year remaining, The Rays send off Glasnow who put together one of his better seasons last year, with a 3.53 ERA over 120.0 innings, also striking out a career high at 162. Glasnow has an immense ceiling. yet a shaky health history, and for a team that will be without Shane Mclanahan and Drew Rasmussen next year, it makes sense why they'd move on from Glasnow. Pepiot and Deluca are encouraging returns for the Rays, as Pepiot has 5 years of control and will likely thrive in Tampa Bay with his pitch mix. Deluca is only 25-years old, and will be joining other outfielders like Randy Arozarena and Josh Lowe, and should be expected to get a lot of playing time, especially against left handed pitching.

The Rays have added while also subtracting, and have gotten younger in the process. There are still some questions looming over the Rays, none more pressing than what to do in absence of Wander Franco. They're in a deeply unenviable situation, but will still have to find a way past it, and while trading Glasnow and Margot is a start, it is not enough.

Editor's note: The Rays flipped Luke Raley to the Mariners for José Caballero and are in discussions with the Cardinals to swap Andrew Kittredge and Richie Palacios. These moves happened after this piece went live.

New York Yankees

2023 was a year to forget for the Yankees. In a season where their eyes were set on a championship, they'd end up missing the playoffs altogether. Naturally, they'd need to act fast to get back on track, and that's precisely what they did. The Yankees are one of 4 teams to spend zero dollars in free agency thus far, but have been heavily active in the trade market. The Yankees primary acquisitions for their major league roster were left-handed reliever Victor Gonzalez, left-handed outfielders in Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham, but most importantly, Juan Soto; one of the best hitters in all of baseball.

Victor Gonzalez is a nice addition to the Yankees bullpen, giving them a left-handed arm to prioritize getting same-handed hitters out. He underperformed his xERA by almost a full run, indicating that he may be due to face some positive regression, especially for a pitcher who excels at getting groundballs at the rate he does at 54.3% last season.

Alex Verdugo is no stranger to the Yankees, having been their division rival for the past four seasons, with the Boston Red Sox. Verdugo has slowly been regressing offensively each year, but still projects to be around a league average hitter, with the ability to hit to all fields with very low K rates and O-Swing%. He is likely to mainly fare against RHP, and sit against LHP for another outfielder, Trent Grisham.

Grisham's past couple seasons have not been great offensively, but has always graded out as a plus defender in CF (7 OAA in 2023). Grisham managed to post a 125 wRC+ against lefties last year, giving him reverse splits. Him and Verdugo could work well off each other in a platoon role, where they're both put in a spot to succeed. These are all respectable acquisitions by the Yankees, but the cream of the crop is none other than Juan Soto. At just 25-years old, Soto has put up a 140 wRC+ or higher in 6 straight seasons. He has never posted an OBP under .400, and likely has not reached his prime yet. The Yankees add Soto to Judge giving them likely the best hitting duo in all of baseball for 2024.

The cost of getting Soto was most certainly noticeable, as the Yankees traded away Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, and Kyle Higashioka in return. This is a significant amount of pitching being sacrificed to bolster the offense, which leaves the Yankees biggest remaining need being some starting pitching to go with Gerrit Cole at the top of the rotation. The Yankees have done an imposing job this offseason, and if they finish it out with one of the starting pitchers remaining on the trade or free agent market, they'll be in a much better place than they were just a few short months ago.

Boston Red Sox

After another last place finish in the AL East, the Red Sox opted for something new, and fired General Manager Chaim Bloom. His replacement would be the Chicago Cubs Assistant General Manager Craig Breslow. The Red Sox have been active, bringing in Isaiah Campbell, Cooper Criswell, Tyler O'Neill, Vaughn Grissom, and Lucas Giolito. The players shipped out of Boston were Luis Urias, Alex Verdugo, and one-time ace Chris Sale.

Campbell and Criswell are bullpen additions that raise the floor of Boston as middle leverage relievers, and the cost of obtaining them was fairly minimal. O'Neill has an All-Star-level ceiling, but with health concerns and hasn't been able to find consistency since 2021. Grissom is a young, offense-first second baseman, potentially giving Boston a middle infielder for many years to come. Lastly, Giolito is a pitcher who has gone from one of the top arms in the league to just a reclamation project. He still possesses good K rates, and could possibly get back to his old form with Red Sox coaching.

The Red Sox have been doing well getting players, with good ceilings in need of a bouncebback season, but they still need more. Their pitching staff is missing that top of the line arm to help propel them into a competitive position, and while names like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Aaron Nola are off the market, it's not too late for them to find the ace that they desperately need. The gap isn't extremely far between Boston and the other division rivals, especially compared to other 5th place teams. Continuing to plug the right holes could send Boston on the rise, and have the AL East outlook be much different from how it currently stands.

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