Lincoln Zdunich
Toronto Blue Jays
Expectation: After coming so close to winning it all last year, the Jays leveled up with offseason acquisitions Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Max Scherzer, Eric Lauer, and Tyler Rogers to pitch alongside Kazuma Okamoto and Jesús Sánchez on the offensive side.
Though they lost Bo Bichette to free agency, they are a markedly better team than they were (and they were already really good).
But the biggest hope for Toronto fans is an expectation for a monster season from superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., propelling them towards a return to the postseason.
Concern: The Jays are in the AL East, which is arguably the most cutthroat division in the Junior Circuit–maybe in all of MLB. They’ve made plenty of offseason moves but the question of if they can follow up their Cinderella story from 2025 remains to be seen.
New York Yankees
Expectation: After Opening Night, Yanks fans have to be feeling good. They put on a show against San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb, after a 5-run 2nd inning propelled them to a 7-0 win.
Max Fried pitched 6 ⅓ innings of shutout ball, limiting Giants batters to two hits. Aaron Judge will pick up after an historically bad game, striking out four times as the reigning AL MVP.
Concern: New York has been content to run it back, not bringing on any new additions apart from bringing back Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and Trent Grisham.
They’re coming off consecutive 94-win seasons and could do so again, but in the bloodthirsty AL East, can they stay afloat?
Boston Red Sox
Expectation: The Sox bolstered their pitching by adding top free agent Ranger Suarez while trading for Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo.
They have one of the most complete starting rotations in baseball, with envious depth. Payton Tolle will not be in the starting five, but Connelly Early will fill out the back end well.
Concern: The departure of Alex Bregman hurts. Can Caleb Durbin replace the production of Bregman? Probably not, but he’s a great young up-and-comer and fills out third base well for Boston. But if he can build on his stellar 2025 rookie campaign, Boston will be a lot closer to returning to playoff glory.
Baltimore Orioles
Expectation: The O’s, after an incredibly disappointing 2025, made a swath of moves this offseason. That disappointment largely came due to incredibly bad pitching.
They signed Chris Bassitt and Zack Eflin out of free agency, and traded for Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge. Despite giving up prospect Grayson Rodriguez, these moves should bring them closer to their 101-win season from 2023.
Concern: Like with most of the teams on this list, can they stay afloat in the East? The Birds have done plenty to try to keep pace with the Yanks, Jays, and Sox, but whether or not they can do so will be seen under new manager Craig Albernaz’s leadership.
Their offense looks a whole lot better with Pete Alonso at first base, but their ‘25 was incredibly disappointing after poor seasons from young stars Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman but if they can return to form the O’s will be set.
Tampa Bay Rays
Expectation: There’s not a lot to expect from this Rays team outside of Junior Caminero following up with another incredible year after slugging 36 home runs last season. After his dominant World Baseball Classic run, he’ll be the lone superstar in a Tampa Bay that is seriously lacking.
Concern: Who is going to take the mound? Shane McClanahan is returning from injury, but they traded Shane Baz and only added Nick Martinez. The Rays will not be contending in the AL East this year, but they can at least expect good performances from Caminero and Chandler Simpson.
