How Are the Yankees the Only Non-Mediocre Team in the American League East?
The American League East has fallen far from its glory years as one of the elite divisions in baseball. It was mostly average, as most of the league was in 2024. However, it was predicted that it would be vastly improved this season by the process of probability. Yet, one week into May, the New York Yankees are the only team in the division above .500 with a 22-17 record. The rest are at or well below .500. So, how did the Yankees find themselves on top after most of MLB wrote them off?
Starting with the Yankees themselves, they had to pivot from the start, beginning with the initial rash of pitching injuries which cost New York three-fifths of their starting staff before the season even began. This left the onus on the bats to carry them through. A more balanced lineup with newly acquired veterans and emerging youngsters racked up the numbers. They also panicked the league briefly with their torpedo bats that some players favored. The fear that the loss of Juan Soto in free agency would take all the teeth from the attack has been countered by more weapons up and down the lineup. They are not always clicking at once, but enough production from multiple and varied sources on a nightly basis has made them more flexible in the attack.
The Yankees have four players who started hot. Aaron Judge, the defending MVP, has had the best start of his career. Judge is leading the American League in batting at .396, home runs with 14, RBIs with 37, and hits with 59. The captain has been supported on one side by free agent Paul Goldschmidt, who is among the leaders in batting average and hits. Ben Rice is the other pillar as he continues the momentum he brought out of spring training. He has eight home runs, 16 RBI’s, and 31 hits thus far. In addition, you have Trent Grisham, who is doing his best Juan Soto impression by making the most of the playing time he has received this year by hitting .280 with ten home runs and 20 RBIs, many of which are timely. You add to this mix Austin Wells, Cody Bellinger, and Jasson Dominguez, and the offense has more weapons than a season ago.
The starting pitching staff has been rebuilt around new ace Max Fried, who leads the A.L. in wins and ERA. Carlos Rodon is finally rounding into the best form of his Yankee career to become a true number two. The growth of Will Warren is giving the Yankees more depth as the third-best starter thus far, as Clarke Schmidt still has not made an impact. This gives the Yankees a fighting chance to win three of every five games.
The rest of the division has been a mix of unrealized potential and below-par play, with the Boston Red Sox the main culprits. This franchise had great hopes when they acquired free agent Alex Bregman and swung a deal for Chicago White Sox lefty starter Garrett Crochet and free agent righty Walker Buehler from the World Champion Dodgers. Crochet is pitching well, but the rest of the staff is well below and mostly injured. Bregman is holding up his end, but Rafael Devers and his public complaints about playing first base imply there is dissension in the ranks.
The Toronto Blue Jays retained their best player, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, when he signed a 14-year, $500 million contract. They added free agent Anthony Santander from the Baltimore Orioles. However, neither has translated to wins as the pitching staff is unimpressive. Toronto continues to talk big but rarely show it by results on the field, and this year, with an average staff, looks no different.
The Tampa Bay Rays are playing in the Yankees' spring training home as a result of Hurricane Milton. A franchise not known for spending had to put down $15 million for the rights to play in George M. Steinbrenner Field. In addition, they are looking at $60 million to fix Tropicana Field. They are offensively inept outside of Jonathan Aranda. The pitching, which used to be a Rays specialty, is struggling, along with no arms impressing thus far.
The Baltimore Orioles have lost momentum. Cal Ripken and new management spoke about big moves, but they lost ace Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander to free agency. Their young stars Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson are not driving in runs. Ryan O’Hearn is the only .300 hitter in the lineup. The pitching is not to the level of the past, with Charlie Morton leading the league in earned runs given up with 33. The starting staff has given up 32 home runs. On the heels of two first-round playoff losses, the Orioles appear to be out of the running from the start.
This is the state of the A.L. East and why the Yankees have been able to spring ahead. Yet it is still early, and there is a lot of baseball to be played. This division order can change multiple times before it is said and done. Boston is still the most likely rival to be challenging the Yankees for division honors, with Toronto possibly if its stars can raise their games to previous levels. The Yankees are still not playing at full capacity. What they have done is get more contributions from more sources regularly, which has set them apart from the rest of the division at this point. Time will tell the rest of the story of this storied division.
