The Cubs did reasonably well against these teams in 2024.
The AL East has traditionally been a tough division, though last year only two of the teams finished over .500. The Cubs went 7-8 against these five teams, though that nearly even record was boosted by sweeping the Orioles. They were only 4-8 vs. the Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays and Yankees.
Hopefully, they can improve on that this year.
Baltimore Orioles
Key departures: Corbin Burnes, Anthony Santander, James McCann, Austin Slater, Eloy Jimenez
Key arrivals: Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sanchez, Charlie Morton, Andrew Kittredge, Dylan Carlson, Ramon Laureano
The biggest of the names above that departed are Burnes and Santander. To replace them, the O’s signed Morton and O’Neill.
Two of those things are not like the other. The Orioles are going to have a tough time winning 90 games again, as several of the other teams in the division have improved.
At Wrigley Field: Aug. 1-2-3
Boston Red Sox
Key departures: Danny Jansen, Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, Tyler O’Neill, Nick Pivetta, Bobby Dalbec
Key arrivals: Justin Wilson, Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Crochet, Patrick Sandoval, Walker Buehler, Adam Ottavino, Alex Bregman
The Red Sox didn’t appear to be doing much this offseason following the Crochet trade, but then they added Buehler and Sandoval and capped their offseason with the Bregman signing.
As I have written, I’m not sure Bregman is the guy he used to be. I could be wrong, of course. But Boston did really bolster their rotation, and also got some decent (if old) bullpen pieces.
They should be better than last year.
At Wrigley Field: July 18-19-20
New York Yankees
Key departures: Juan Soto, Clay Holmes, Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo, Lou Trivino, Jon Berti, Tim Mayza, Nestor Cortes
Key arrivals: Devin Williams, Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Fernando Cruz, Alex Jackson, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Carrasco
One thing is for sure: Whatever happens in New York this year, the Yankees will surely look different, as quite a number of key players from their 2024 AL pennant-winning team are gone.
Nevertheless, with the additions of Fried, Williams, Bellinger and Goldschmidt, they should still be a formidable team, though Goldschmidt is on the decline.
At New York: July 11-12-13
Tampa Bay Rays
Key departures: Jose Siri, Tyler Alexander, Dylan Carlson, Colin Poche, Tropicana Field
Key arrivals: Danny Jansen, Eloy Jimenez, Ha-Seong Kim, Steinbrenner Field
As you can see above, the biggest change for the Rays is their loss of hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field, and their move, at least for one season, to the Yankees’ Spring Training park of Steinbrenner Field. In an effort to avoid rainy and stormy weather later in the summer in the outdoor park, the Rays’ schedule has been front-loaded. They’ll play 37 of their first 54 games at home, then have only eight home games in July and eight in August. We’ll see if that affects their play.
At Wrigley Field: Sept. 12-13-14
Toronto Blue Jays
Key departures: Ryan Yarbrough, Genesis Cabrera, Jordan Romano, Spencer Horwitz
Key arrivals: Nick Sandlin, Yimi Garcia, Eric Lauer, Jeff Hoffman, Anthony Santander, Christian Bethancourt, Max Scherzer, Andres Gimenez
After being connected with just about every big-name free agent and failing to land any of them, the Jays finally made a splash by signing Santander to a five-year, $92,5 million contract. Then they signed Scherzer, who might or might not be done.
The Jays also have to deal with the looming free agency of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who says he won’t negotiate with Toronto during the season.
As always, we await developments.
At Toronto: Aug. 12-13-14
Tomorrow: AL Central