2 key questions for each AL East team entering 2022

With the season, goodness, only days away now, it’s time to start previewing some divisions. While allowing for the fact that there are still some moves to be made, we have a pretty good idea, at this point, what teams will generally look like. Today, we dive into the AL East.

Previously: NL East | NL Central | NL West | AL Central | AL West

You wanna see a division with its hair on fire? The American League East is a division with its hair on fire. The Blue Jays brought in Matt Chapman and Kevin Gausman; the Red Sox brought in Trevor Story; the Yankees brought in Josh Donaldson and … well, some other people too; the Rays have Corey Kluber now, and they’re about to get a full season of Wander Franco. And also the Orioles will play 162 games, or close to it. Anyway.

The AL East has more teams flooring it than any in baseball. Here’s the best way to put it: Other than the Orioles, the Yankees have been the least active team. And they’re still, you know, the Yankees. The division could send four teams to the playoffs. Or the teams could all eat each other alive until only one makes it out. I can’t wait. Can you?

Let's go through each of the teams. My standings prediction is below.

Blue Jays

1. Is it OK if Chapman doesn’t hit like he used to?

A couple of years ago, Matt Chapman was a 36 home run hitter and a top-10 MVP vote-getter. His bat has fallen off quite a bit since then, dropping him to a league average hitter right as you thought he’d be entering his prime. That would be a problem for the Blue Jays, who just traded for him, if they weren’t, of course, totally stacked with hitters already. What the Blue Jays need is defense, and Chapman gives them one of the best defensive third basemen in the sport. If he's able to return to his old form at the plate -- and he certainly could -- they might have just added another All-Star.

2. Isn’t it nice to be home?

For the first time since 2019, the Blue Jays will get to play all of their home games in the same building, the same city, this year. Right as they were starting to ascend, a global pandemic hit and essentially turned them into a traveling team. No longer. Toronto has some of the wildest, most avid fans in the sport. Now they, and only they, get to have their team all year, all to themselves.

• Where Blue Jays stand after offseason activity

Orioles

1. When does Adley Rutschman get here?

This feels like it has been the question for a couple of years now, doesn’t it? Rutschman’s triceps injury has slowed him this spring, and the Orioles were likely considering starting the season with him in the Minors for just a little bit longer anyway. It’s not like Rutschman was suddenly going to show up and turn the Orioles into a .500 team or anything, but this fanbase has been very patient, and has been through a lot, and giving them something to get excited about would be, well, helpful. The moment when the game’s top prospect is on the roster can’t get here soon enough.

2. What’s the deal with Mancini?

This is a real sports fan conundrum, isn’t it? The Orioles are reportedly considering trading Trey Mancini, and there is a certain logic to it. He’s 30, this is the last year of his contract and he’s unlikely to be a core member of the next contending Orioles team, whenever that is. But forgive Orioles fans if they see things differently. Mancini is the inspirational face of this franchise, a guy who has overcome more than just about any of us and has returned to be one of the best players on the team.

• Here's where the O's stand ahead of 2022

Rays

1. Is there enough pitching?

This is a weird question to ask of the Rays: Having a bountiful harvest of pitching is their whole thing. But that rotation, such as it is, is awfully unproven, particularly with Shane Baz potentially in question. They’re counting an awful lot on Kluber, and on Shane McClanahan and Ryan Yarbrough. These are the Rays: They always seem to find some way to cobble it all together, particularly when they have a bullpen as deep as they do. But seriously, though, you look at this rotation and wonder how in the world this team could win the division. To be fair: You could have said the same thing before last year too.

• Rays confident in unconventional bullpen

2. Is Wander already an MVP candidate?

Some rookie phenoms struggle to gain traction in the Majors when they first arrive. Remember, Mike Trout hit .220 in his first 40 games. But not Wander Franco. In his first 70 games, Franco was instantly one of the best players in baseball, looking fully mature and ready from the get-go. He’s now the wise-old-age of 21, with a gorgeous offseason extension, and he’s here, full-time, for a long time. The Rays have always gotten by with above-average players all adding up to something larger than the sum of their parts. Now they have a bona fide superstar to build all that around. Is it possible that Franco raises the ceiling of everything down there?

Red Sox

1. Will the infield coalesce?

The Red Sox were not considered major contenders for Trevor Story, largely because they already had a shortstop: Xander Bogaerts, who is signed through the 2025 season. But the thing is, Bogaerts has an opt-out after this season, which, even though the Sox are moving Story to second base for this year, does put a spotlight on the whole infield dynamic. (Particularly with Rafael Devers just one year away from free agency himself). The Red Sox are better with Story, clearly. They also just gave him more money than anyone on the team other than Chris Sale. This should sort itself out. But it’s also Boston. Stuff often doesn’t sort itself out there.

• New team, new position 'a good fit' for Story

2. Can they hold the rotation together until Sale and James Paxton come back?

No Red Sox fan wants to remember the rotation debacle of 2020, when you almost couldn’t look at the Red Sox starters without shielding your eyes. With Chris Sale likely out until the end of May and Paxton out until the All-Star break (and returning from Tommy John surgery anyway), you start worrying this rotation could veer in that direction. There’s talent here, with old saw Nathan Eovaldi alongside Nick Pivetta and Tanner Houck, but the back end of this rotation appears to be counting on Michael Wacha and Rich Hill. There are a ton of good bats in this division. Can the Red Sox possibly withstand them?

Yankees

1. Can they withstand a slow start?

I’m not saying the Yankees are going to have a slow start. They’re a good team! They’ll probably start fine! But: If there’s ever a team whose fanbase is going to absolutely freak out if they fall five games behind in the first month, it’s the Yankees. The team’s relative inactivity this offseason, particularly with all the big-ticket free agents who seemed to be perfect fits, has led to considerable agita among the fanbase, and for good reason: Thirteen years without a World Series appearance is unacceptable in The Bronx. There seems to be a lot less urgency here than you’d suspect, considering that fact. Will a slow start get the vultures circling?

2. Can the offense stay healthy?

The Yankees look formidable, as always, so much so that it sure looks like DJ LeMahieu is going to start the season in a super-utility role. But rattling off the injury report on these guys is exhausting: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Josh Donaldson … how many games can anyone reasonably expect them all to play? It’s not an academic question, because the rotation hardly looks dominant enough to offset any dead spots in the lineup. Here’s a bet: At some point this year, they’re going to wish they hadn’t traded away Luke Voit.

• MLB's most loaded lineups? We ranked 'em

Predictions:

Rays: 94-68
Blue Jays: 92-70
Yankees: 86-76
Red Sox: 82-80
Orioles: 57-107

At the end of the day, it still feels like the story will be the same: The Rays end up finding a way to win this thing. Again.