Part four of my 2011 MLB season preview has brought us to what is easily the most competitive division in all of baseball. It's also a division with the two biggest payrolls in all of baseball. Say hello to the AL East. Not many people had last year's winner, the Tampa Bay Rays coming out on top but this guy did. However this year's winner shouldn't surprise most people.
1. Boston Red Sox - The Red Sox had a huge winter as they won on both front, the free agent and the trade market. When you look at this lineup, it's stacked in every position except catcher and possibly shortstop depending on how you look at it. If Boston is going to win this division then they need their starters not named Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester to return to form. John Lackey, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka all struggled last year and it showed when the Red Sox finished third. I look for Boston's big moves, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford to help immensely in their run for first.
Key additions: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, LF Carl Crawford, RHP Bobby Jenks and LHP Dennys Reyes.
Key losses: C/1B Victor Martinez and 3B Adrian Beltre.
2. New York Yankees - The Yankees come up short for this division but they're my front runners for the Wild Card. They really didn't make any big splashes this offseason like they have in the past. Yeah they poached Rafael Soriano from Tampa Bay but the rest of their moves were rather minor in comparison. Their rotation after C.C. Sabathia scares me and losing Andy Pettitte doesn't help any. But when you're not afraid to spend like the Yankees are, you can easily go out and trade for the help you need.
Key additions: RHP Rafael Soriano, C Russell Martin, RHP Freddy Garcia, RHP Bartolo Colon and OF Andruw Jones.
Key losses: LHP Andy Pettitte and RHP Javier Vazquez.
3. Tampa Bay Rays - Last year few people saw the Rays coming up and taking first in this division but after their offseason of losing so many pieces from last year's puzzle it'll be hard to see the Rays finishing any higher than third this year. The bright news is the Rays seem to relish the underdog role and they still have Evan Longoria, David Price and B.J. Upton but it won't be enough. You just can't replace what they lost and expect to win in this division.
Key additions: OF/DH Manny Ramirez, OF Johnny Damon and RHP Kyle Farnsworth.
Key losses: LF Carl Crawford, RHP Rafael Soriano, RHP Joaquin Benoit, RHP Matt Garza, SS Jason Bartlett and 1B Carlos Pena.
4. Baltimore Orioles - You wouldn't know this club has had 13 straight seasons under .500 but they have. Buck Showalter has this club headed in the right direction but I think this year they still fall short of .500. They revamped their lineup to be a potentially scary one but their pitching is far behind the kind of hitting they have. They brought in multiple pieces to help build around Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts and Matt Wieters. Sorry Buck and O's fans.
Key additions: 3B Mark Reynolds, SS J.J. Hardy, 1B Derek Lee, DH Vladimir Guerrero and RHP Kevin Gregg.
Key losses: RHP Kevin Millwood.
5. Toronto Blue Jays - The Jays surprised a lot of people last year by finishing over .500 but this year I don't see them doing it again since they're going to the youth movement. That being said the future looks very bright for this team. Pitchers like Kyle Drabek and Zach Stewart and shortstop Brett Lawrie give them hope in a year or two. The big question this year for the Jays is can Jose Bautista repeat last season's offensive display?
Key additions: OF Juan Rivera, OF Rajai Davis, RHP Frank Francisco and RHP Jon Rauch.
Key losses: OF Vernon Wells, RHP Shawn Marcum and C John Buck.
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