the al east
Baltimore Orioles
2014 96-66, first place, lost to Kansas City in AL Championship Series Manager Buck Showalter Core four CF Adam Jones, 3B Manny Machado, 1B Chris Davis, SP Chris Tillman Key additions OF Travis Snider Outlook General manager Dan Duquette did an exceptional job adding supplemental pieces when needed last year, but had a quiet off-season. Showalter is a master at getting the most out of a pitching staff and juggling his lineup, skills that will be essential if the Orioles are to remain competitive.
New York Yankees
2014 84-78, second place Manager Joe Girardi Core four CF Jacoby Ellsbury, 1B Mark Teixeira, SP Masahiro Tanaka, SP CC Sabathia Key additions LHP Andrew Miller, RHP Nathan Eovaldi, SS Didi Gregorius Outlook The Yankees have missed consecutive postseasons for the first time since 1992-93. New York has had had declining wins totals in three straight seasons for the first time since 1986-90. To reach the postseason, the Yankees must improve an offence that scored 633 runs (13th in AL) and had a .307 onbase percentage (14th).
Tampa Bay Rays
2014 77-85, fourth place Manager Kevin Cash Core four 3B Evan Longoria, SP Chris Archer, SP Alex Cobb, LF Desmond Jennings Key additions IF Asdrubal Cabera, C Rene Rivera, RHP Ernesto Frieri, C-DH John Jaso, OF Steven Souza Jr. Outlook In the wake of losing manager Joe Maddon to the Cubs and watching executive Andrew Friedman flee for a similar job with the Dodgers, the Rays overhauled their roster with a series of trades that shipped out nine players, including 2013 AL rookie of the year Wil Myers and three-time all-star Ben Zobrist. The team is counting on Longoria and Jennings to bounce back offensively.
Boston Red Sox
2014 71-91, last place. Manager John Farrell (third season). Core four 2B Dustin Pedrioa, DH David Ortiz, 3B Pablo Sandoval, LF Hanley Ramirez.
Key additions LHP Wade Miley, RHP Rick Porcello, RHP Alexi Ogando, RHP Justin Masterson, Sandoval, Ramirez.
Outlook Moving Mike Napoli down in the order behind Ramirez and Sandoval gives the lineup depth and fixes the Red Sox offensive woes. Two years ago, Boston followed its last-place finish by capturing the World Series.