Boston Red Sox
2018 108-54, first place, World Series champions
MANAGER Alex Cora (second season)
HE’S HERE OF Gorkys Hernandez, RHP Jenrry Mejia
HE’S OUTTA HERE RHP Craig Kimbrel, RHP Joe Kelly, 2B Ian Kinsler
PROJECTED LINEUP
POS.;PLAYER;BA;HR;RBI
LF;Andrew Benintendi;.290;16;87
RF;Mookie Betts;.346;32;80
DH;J.D. Martinez;.330;43;130
SS;Xander Bogaerts;.288;23;103
1B;Steve Pearce;.284;11;42
3B;Rafael Devers;.240;21;66
2B;Dustin Pedroia;.091;0;0
C;Christian Vazquez;.207;3;16
CF;Jackie Bradley Jr.;.234;13, 59
STARTING ROTATION
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SO
LH Chris Sale;12-4;2.11;237
LH David Price;16-7;3.58;177
RH Nathan Eovaldi;6-7;3.81;101
RH Rick Porcello;17-7;4.28;190
LH Eduardo Rodriguez;13-5;3.82;146
CLOSER
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SV
RH Matt Barnes;6-4;3.65;0
OUTLOOK After a franchise-record 108 victories last season, the only box left for the Red Sox to check is back-to-back World Series championships. They haven’t done that since 1915-16.
New York Yankees
2018 100-62, second place, wild card, lost to Boston in ALDS
MANAGER Aaron Boone (second season)
HE’S HERE LHP James Paxton, RHP Adam Ottavino, INF DJ LeMahieu, SS Troy Tulowitzki, LHP Gio Gonzalez
HE’S OUTTA HERE RHP David Robertson, OF Andrew McCutchen, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Lance Lynn, INF Neil Walker, INF Ronald Torreyes, SS Adeiny Hechavarria, LHP Justus Sheffield
PROJECTED LINEUP
POS.;PLAYER;BA;HR;RBI
CF;Brett Gardner;.236;12;45
RF;Aaron Judge;.278;27;67
LF;Giancarlo Stanton;.266;38;100
1B;Luke Voit;.322;15;36
C;Gary Sanchez;.186;18;53
DH;Greg Bird;.199;11;38
3B;Miguel Andujar;.297;27;92
2B;Gleyber Torres;.271;24;77
SS;Troy Tulowitzki (missed 2018 season due to injury)
STARTING ROTATION
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SO
RH Masahiro Tanaka;12-6;3.75;159
LH James Paxton;11-6;3.76;208
LH J.A. Happ;17-6;3.65;193
RH Luis Severino;19-8;3.39;220
LH CC Sabathia;9-7;3.65;140
CLOSER
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SV
LH Aroldis Chapman;3-0;2.45;32
OUTLOOK The Yankees set a major league record with 267 home runs last year, three more than the 1997 Mariners, and if healthy for much of the season they could break the mark again. New York hopes a deep bullpen can overcome a rotation already reshuffled before opening day due to injuries to Severino (out through April because of right shoulder inflammation) and Sabathia (sidelined first few weeks because of knee surgery). The Yankees also hope Sanchez and Bird rebound from dreadful seasons, Torres and Andujar have stellar sophomore campaigns, Stanton settles in after a subpar-for-him first season in pinstripes and Clint Frazier rebounds from a concussion that sidelined him for much of 2018. Given all the injuries to starting pitchers, the Yankees might use Chad Green and Jonathan Holder as openers early in the season until Sabathia and Gonzalez are ready to join the rotation.
Tampa Bay Rays
2018 90-72, third place
MANAGER Kevin Cash (fifth season)
HE’S HERE RHP Charlie Morton, C Mike Zunino, OF Avisail Garcia, INF Yandy Diaz, OF Guillermo Heredia, RHP Emilio Pagan
HE’S OUTTA HERE Coaches Rocco Baldelli and Charlie Montoyo — left to become managers of the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays, respectively — OF Mallex Smith, 1B-OF Jake Bauers, RHP Sergio Romo, 1B C.J. Cron, RHP Chih-Wei Hu, OF Carlos Gomez, C Adam Moore, LHP Vidal Nuno
PROJECTED LINEUP
POS.;PLAYER;BA;HR;RBI
RF;Austin Meadows;.292;5;13
LF;Tommy Pham;.275;21;63
1B;Ji-Man Choi;.263;10;32
DH;Avisail Garcia;.276;19;49
3B;Matt Duffy;.294;4;44
2B Joey Wendle;.300;7;61
CF;Kevin Kiermaier;.217;7;29
SS;Willy Adames;.278;10;34
C Mike Zunino;.201;20;44
STARTING ROTATION
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SO
LH Blake Snell;21-5;1.89;221
RH Charlie Morton;15-3;3.13;201
RH Tyler Glasnow;2-7;4.27;136
LH Ryan Yarbrough;16-6;3.91;128
RH Yonny Chirinos;5-5;3.51;75
CLOSER
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SV
LH Jose Alvarado;1-6;2.39;8
OUTLOOK Winning 90 games despite a massive roster overhaul has heightened expectations for a young team that wants to prove last season wasn’t a fluke. The Rays went 41-25 after the All-Star break, including 19-9 in September, and feel they have everything necessary — pitching, defense and the prospect for an improved offense — to close the distance between themselves and division rivals Boston and New York to contend for a playoff berth. The lineup will have a different look with the addition of Garcia and Zunino. Diaz and Meadows are young players who will be given opportunities to make an impact, as will Pham, who hit .343 with 7 home run and 22 RBI over 39 games after being acquired from St. Louis in a trade.
Toronto Blue Jays
2018 73-89, fourth place
MANAGER Charlie Montoyo (first season)
HE’S HERE RHP Clay Buchholz, INF Freddy Galvis, RHP Matt Shoemaker, RHP David Phelps, LHP Clayton Richard, RHP Bud Norris, RHP John Axford, INF Eric Sogard, RHP Jason Adam
HE’S OUTTA HERE Manager John Gibbons, C Russell Martin, RHP Marco Estrada, SS Troy Tulowitzki, INF Aledmys Diaz, INF Yangervis Solarte, RHP Oliver Drake, RHP Tyler Clippard, OF Dwight Smith Jr
PROJECTED LINEUP
POS.;PLAYER;BA;HR;RBI
RF;Randal Grichuk;.245;25;61
2B;Lourdes Gurriel Jr.;.281;11;35
1B;Justin Smoak;.242;25;77
DH;Kendrys Morales;.249;21;57
LF Teoscar Hernandez;.239;22;57
3B;Brandon Drury;.169;1;10
CF;Kevin Pillar;.255;15;59
SS;Freddy Galvis;.248;13;67
C Danny Jansen;.247;3;8
STARTING ROTATION
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SV
RH Marcus Stroman;4-9;5.54;77
RH Matt Shoemaker;2-2;4.94;33
RH Aaron Sanchez;4-6;4.89;86
LH Ryan Borucki;4-6;3.87;67
LH Clayton Richard;7-11;5.33;108
CLOSER
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SV
RH Ken Giles;0-3;4.65;26
OUTLOOK The Blue Jays can expect some growing pains as they take the first steps of a youth movement and rebuild. The centerpiece is star prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who will miss the beginning of the season because of a strained left oblique. Once healthy and ready for his big league debut, Guerrero could immediately add a dangerous bat to the lineup. While he certainly looks ready to hit at the major league level, there are still several questions to be answered about Toronto’s other young players.
Baltimore Orioles
2018 47-115, fifth place
MANAGER Brandon Hyde (first season).
HE’S HERE RH Nate Karns, INF Richie Martin, INF Rio Ruiz, C Jesus Sucre, INF Hanser Alberto, SS Alcides Escobar, OF Dwight Smith Jr., INF Drew Jackson.
HE’S OUTTA HERE Manager Buck Showalter, OF Adam Jones, INF Tim Beckham, C Caleb Joseph, DH Pedro Alvarez, LHP Donnie Hart.
PROJECTED LINEUP
POS.;PLAYER;BA;HR;RBI
CF;Cedric Mullins;.235;4;11
2B;Jonathan Villar;.258;8;24
DH;Mark Trumbo;.261;17;44
1B;Chris Davis;.168;16;49
LF;Trey Mancini;.242;24;58
3B;Renato Nunez;.275;7,;20
RF;Joey Rickard;.244;8;23
C Pedro Severino;1.68;2.15
SS Richie Martin;Rule 5 pick from Oakland
STARTING ROTATION
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SO
RH Alex Cobb;5-15;4.90;102
RH Dylan Bundy;8-16;5.45;184
RH Andrew Cashner;4-15;5.29;99
RH Mike Wright;4-2;5.55;74
RH David Hess;3-10;4.88;74
CLOSER
PITCHER;W-L;ERA;SV
RH Mychal Givens;0-7;3.99;9
OUTLOOK The Orioles are in full rebuilding mode under Hyde and first-year GM Mike Elias. Untradeable veterans Davis and Trumbo stand in the middle of a lineup filled with players learning on the job, although Villar showed signs of promise after being acquired last summer from the Brewers. It’s essential that Cobb, Bundy and Cashner rebound from horrible seasons, or Baltimore will likely lose 100 games for the second year in a row. The goal for the Orioles is to be competitive and provide evidence that this overhaul has the potential to pay off down the road.