Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier and catcher Mike Zunino are gone from last season's team, but at this point the Rays have earned the benefit of the doubt that they can withstand losses like that and still win.ģ. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow missed almost the whole season, and Shane McClanahan finished sixth in the Cy Young vote despite his own shoulder problems. Tampa Bay has made the postseason four straight years, and the Rays did it last season despite injuries to shortstop Wander Franco (limited to 83 games) and second baseman Brandon Lowe (65 games). New York hasn’t been to the World Series since 2009, its second longest pennant drought since the club won its first in 1921.Ģ. The Yankees added two-time All-Star lefty Carlos Rodón to bolster the Gerrit Cole-led rotation but otherwise are bringing back largely the same roster that won the division in 2022 before getting swept by the Astros in the AL Championship Series. Aaron Judge returns after hitting an American League-record 62 homers last season with a $360 million, nine-year contract and a new role as captain for the Bronx Bombers - the franchise’s first since Derek Jeter. They know that we're a talented group, and we're looking forward to the challenge of being in a really, really tough division."ġ. It was nice that we took big steps last year, big strides, to be able to compete with them the way we did. It'll be good next year, too," Hyde quipped. When asked what he'd expect from the division this year, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde drew a laugh with the simplicity - and obviousness - of his answer. Toronto and Tampa Bay both earned wild cards, but they had to hold off a Baltimore team that improved by 31 games from the previous season. Last season did end with a familiar group at the top - the Yankees went 99-63 - but below them the race was intriguing. The days when the order of finish was so easy to predict are long gone. Boston has placed first three times, but the Red Sox have also finished last four times - including 2022. In the past nine seasons, every team in the division has won it at least once. Back then, the New York Yankees were dominant, the Boston Red Sox were contenders and everyone else was left chasing those teams - and that remained the status quo for a while. From 1998-2003, the five AL East teams finished in the exact same order every season.
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