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

#4 - Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have been a team on the rise in recent years in the AL East. After bottoming out between 2018-2022 with three 100+ losses campaign during those four seasons, the Orioles have used a combination of internal development along with the recruitment of key players to help build their current successful squad. Having made the postseason for two consecutive years in a row, they will be looking to make it three straight this upcoming season.

To enhance their chances, the Orioles have brought in the likes of outfielder Tyler O’Neill, catcher Gary Sanchez, starting pitchers Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, and reliever Andrew Kittredge this offseason. Not like those moves aren’t good, but when they had lost top-calibre players in Corbin Burnes from their pitching staff and Santander from their everyday lineup, that supposedly solid offseason haul sure feels a lot more underwhelming as a result.

Baltimore may now have more players to tinker their lineup with, but on paper, the Orioles appear to be weaker than they were last season. Nevertheless, they still possess a strong core with Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, along with Grayson Rodríguez anchoring their rotation. So their hopes will be that the new supporting cast will be sufficient to sustain their winning ways for 2025.

#3 - Toronto Blue Jays

It may feel that just a few weeks ago, the Blue Jays were having one of their worst offseason in years when they were missing out on almost every single free agent target that they were going after. Coming off already a truly disappointing 2024 campaign, that was the last thing that they needed to reinstill confidence in both the team and the fanbase as a whole.

However, the circumstances has certainly changed substantially ever since as the Jays have finally become part of the action in recent weeks. Not only have they added some actual impact players, they have also addressed some of their mandatory needs in the process. The addition of Hoffman will help anchor a retooled bullpen featuring Nick Sandlin and the return of Yimi García. Santander will provide the outfield upgrade that the Jays have been desperately in search for, along with adding some massive power to their everyday lineup. Added to speedy, defensively-talented Giménez with sneaky offensive potential, Toronto is no doubt in a better position than they were one month ago. 

With the anticipation that the Jays could still be actively pursuing big-time players such as Pete Alonso and Max Scherzer, it wouldn’t be surprising if they will end up even higher on this list when all is said and done.