Power ranking the AL East after Blue Jays signing of Anthony Santander

Sometimes just a month’s worth of time can make quite the difference and you can just ask the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays appeared to be headed towards a disappointing 2024-25 offseason until their sudden awakening in recent weeks. Sure, one could argue that second baseman Andrés Giménez would be considered a solid add from the trade with the Guardians, but it wasn’t among the team’s must-needs this winter.

However, with the exciting and impactful signings of both Jeff Hoffman and now most recently the power-hitting Anthony Santander, the Jays have managed to put themselves back on the map all of a sudden.

In doing so, where do the Blue Jays stand with respect to their counterparts in their division in terms of their current offseason showing? Let’s take a closer look at the offseason power rankings for the five teams in the AL East as a fallout of the recent blockbuster signing of Santander by Toronto.

#5 - Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays have always been known to have one of the lowest payrolls in the entire league, while relying predominantly on internal talent to help round out their roster. Surprisingly, they have had considerable success the past decade while maintaining such an approach and philosophy. Having lost many elite players over the years as they eventually priced themselves out of town, those important pieces would be quickly replaced by more affordable options from their farm system. Without missing a beat, those players would quickly pick up where the departed ones left off. Somehow and some way though all of that, the Rays would remain a competitive team and actually a perennial contender in recent years. As a result, the Rays rarely spent big in free agency to bolster their roster.

That appears to be the case once again this offseason as their biggest moves to date have been signing catcher Danny Jansen to a one-year contract and former Chicago White Sox standout Eloy Jiménez to a minor league deal. However, that philosophy can only go so far, especially with all of the other teams within their division always looking for ways to make themselves better with external options. Last season, the Rays already appeared to be trending downwards, as they finished fourth in the AL East and out of the playoffs for the first time in six years. With every other team within the division making significant moves this offseason, this may be the year where if Tampa Bay doesn’t do anything more significant improve their roster, they could finally end up falling flat against their competition.