2023 American League preview

 Now, it's time to take a look at the American League, with four days to Opening Day as this is being written.

American League East:

The Yankees rode Aaron Judge's record setting season to another AL East title. That was the good news. The bad news was that the Bombers were eliminated early from the post-season. The 99 wins, matching Judge's uniform number, wasn't even enough for bragging rights in NY, since the Mets won 101. Judge might not be able do duplicate last year's numbers, though MLB would love it if he erased Barry Bonds from the record books. 

The offense is largely intact, although Matt Carpenter ended up being a rental. When the biggest off-season pickup was 1 starting pitcher (Carlos Rodon, coming over from San Francisco), you wonder what Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman were thinking. Rodon's been hurt. So has Luis Severino. Nester Cortes looked good in a preseason start the other day. Domingo German has been hot & cold. Frankie Montas has to look better than he did last year, otherwise, until Rodon and Severino are cleared, Gerrit Cole is going to have a bigger burden than he should.

In contrast, Toronto made some moves in the off-season, bringing in outfielders Kevin Kiermaier (Tampa Bay) and Daulton Varsho (Arizona) and 1B Brandon Belt (San Francisco), heisting pitchers Chris Bassitt, (Mets) & Chad Green (Yankees) out of New York, Zach Pop out of Miami, and Zach Thompson from Pittsburgh. John Schneider (no relation to the actor-singer) begins his first full season as manager.

Baltimore gave the division quite a scare last season, staying in contention until roughly the final month of the season. Pitcher Mychal Givens returns after spending last season with the Mets, who also let James McCann find his way back to the AL as a free agent. Manager Brandon Hyde has to hope ace pitcher John Means finds his 2021 form after spending last season on the IL. Tampa Bay isn't scaring anyone, either, despite signing Jose Siri (Houston) to replace Kevin Kiermaier (Toronto), and adding Zach Eflin (Philadelphia) to bolster the rotation despite Eflin working in the bullpen during the playoffs.

The Xander Bogaerts era is over in Boston, with Bogaerts chasing the money to San Diego. However, Trevor Story is on the IL, and won't be ready for opening day. Boston restocked by picking up Adalberto Mondesi (Kansas City) and Yu Chang (Cleveland) to try to fill the void. The Red Sox loaded up on pitching, getting Kenley Jansen as their new closer (Atlanta), and bringing Joely Rodriguez back from the NL (Mets). Richard Bleier is hoping a new base will erase the stigma of a 3-balk-in-1-at-bat vs. the Mets in Miami. Corey Kluber (Tampa Bay) continues his tour of AL East clubs. Reese McGuire comes over from Chicago to handle the catching. Japan's Masataka Yoshida was a big reason why Japan won the WBC. Adam Duvall (Atlanta) provides the power bat lost with Bogaerts' departure. Boston could get Kevin Plawecki back as he was cut by Pittsbuirgh.

Projected order of finish:

1. Toronto.

2. Yankees.

3. Boston.

4. Baltimore.

5. Tampa Bay.

American League Central:

A name change did some good for Cleveland last season. As the Guardians, they won the division, just as the NFL's Washington "Football Team" (now Commanders) did the same 2 years earlier. Rookie catcher Bo Naylor is hoping to join big brother Josh on the active roster, and probably will. The Guardians got a much needed power bat in Josh Bell (San Diego/Washington), who will anchor the infield.

Minnesota boosted their offense, picking up Joey Gallo (Dodgers) and Michael A. Taylor (Kansas City) to play the outfield. After all the drama that brought Carlos Correa back, thanks to Scott Boras' shell games, Correa gets a new double play partner in Kyle Farmer (Cincinnati). Christian Vazquez finished 2022 as a World Series winner with Houston, and will share catching duties with Ryan Jeffers. Pablo Lopez comes over from Miami to help the pitching staff, but hopefully won't get lost in the shuffle like Kenta Maeda has the last couple of years.

Detroit is hoping to resurrect Michael Lorenzen's career after going one and done with the Angels last year. Tyler Nevin, son of Angels manager Phil Nevin, comes over from Baltimore to help in the infield. The Tigers heisted outfielders Nick Maton and Matt Vierling from Philadelphia. If you can call it a heist, that is. Chicago stood pat. Kansas City thinks Aroldis Chapman can still close games. After last season with the Yankees, I don't think so. The Royals also got Ryan Yarborough (Tampa Bay) and ex-Valleycat Jordan Lyles (Baltimore) to bolster the pitching staff. Other than that, not much.

Projected order of finish:

1. Cleveland.

2. Minnesota.

3. Chicago.

4. Detroit.

5. Kansas City.

American League West:

After their epic battle to end the WBC, Shohei Ohtani & Mike Trout are once more teammates with Los Angeles, hoping to finally make the postseason, which would be the last thing on the bucket list before Ohtani tries free agency after the season. Trout has some new faces in the outfield with Mickey Moniak (Philadelphia), Hunter Renfroe (Milwaukee), and Brett Phillips (Baltimore). The infield has some fresh blood, too, with Gio Urshela (Minnesota) and Brandon Drury (San Diego). Tyler Anderson moves across town from the Dodgers.

The most significant change for defending champion Houston was getting Jose Abreu away from Chicago to add another power bat. Dusty Baker probably would retire if he wins another title. Seattle sees Tommy La Stella, a career infielder (San Francisco) as a DH? Seriously? Kolten Wong comes over from the NL (Milwaukee) to play 2nd base. Teoscar Hernandez (Toronto) should give them a power bat.

Oakland picked up DH Jesus Aguilar and outfielder JJ Bleday (Miami) and pitcher JP Sears (Yankees), but will that mean anything?

The real story in the division is in Texas, and how they loaded up on pitching. The big prize, of course, was Jacob deGrom (Mets), but the Rangers also got Nathan Eovaldi (Boston), spoiling a possible reunion with the Yankees. Jake "Eggs" Odorizzi comes back to the AL after finishing last season in Atlanta. Mitch Garver comes over from Minnesota to help with the catching. A rotation of deGrom, Eovaldi, Odorizzi, Jon Gray, and Andrew Heaney or Dane Dunning could be a surprise, especially if deGrom is healthy.

Projected order of finish:

1. Houston.

2. Los Angeles.

3. Texas.

4. Seattle.

5 Oakland.

Of course, I could be wrong.