MLB AL East: New York Yankees & Baltimore Orioles Tied As Favorites To Win Division

The AL East is one of the best divisions in the MLB.

No MLB team gets discussed more than the New York Yankees.

Baltimore is filled with a ton of young potential.

Toronto has a good pitching staff and a dangerous batting lineup.

The Tampa Bay Rays will be severely shorthanded this year.

Boston lacks a pitching staff but their lineup is impressive.

All five teams have a good team, with four of the five teams projected to have 85.5 wins or more.

The Red Sox have the lowest projected win total in the division.

Here are the odds to win the AL East.

Below, we will review each team in the AL East and give the best bet to win this tough division.

AL East Teams

The AL East is stacked with four teams having a projected win total of 85.5 or better.

Below is a review of each AL East team.

Baltimore Orioles (+170)

• Over 90.5 Wins: (-130)
• Under 90.5 Wins: (+100)

The Baltimore Orioles won 101 games last year and won the AL East.

In the offseason, they acquired ace pitcher Corbin Burnes to bolster their pitching rotation.

Their pitching rotation enters the season banged up.

Kyle Bradish, who had a breakout 2023 campaign will begin the year on the IL due to a partial UCL tear he suffered in February.

John Means is expected to be out until the end of April due to an elbow injury.

Grayson Rodriguez struggled in his first MLB stint last year but after rejoining the club in July, he was excellent and lived up to the hype.

The Orioles are hoping Rodriguez takes another big step this year and becomes a true number two behind ace Corbin Burnes.

Star closer Felix Bautista will not play this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October.

Baltimore signed Craig Kimbrel to a one-year deal and he will close for the Orioles this season.

While Kimbrel may not have the arm he once had or that Bautista had before the injury, Kimbrel will still be a solid closer.

Yennier Cano was outstanding as the setup man last year.

Cano had a 2.11 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 72 games last year.

Danny Coulombe is another relief pitcher that the Orioles have as a weapon.

Coulombe had a 2.81 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 61 games last year.

The Orioles have a very good bullpen.

Baltimore’s batting lineup is young and full of potential.

Adley Rutschman is quickly becoming one of the best catchers in the league.

Gunnar Henderson looks like a promising star.

It is only a matter of time before Jackson Holliday gets his chance in the big leagues, possibly to begin the season.

Anthony Santander offers good power, likely batting cleanup.

It is not just the top of the order that can get on base.

Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, and Ryan O’Hearn will all hit around .250 or better.

While Baltimore is young, they have already proven they can win.

New York Yankees (+170)

• 1. Under 91.5 Wins (-130)
• 2. Over 91.5 Wins (+100)

The most popular team in the MLB has a projected total of 91.5 wins.

However, they have taken a massive hit even before the season begins.

Star pitcher Gerrit Cole has inflammation in his right elbow and he is not even expected to throw for 3-4 weeks.

No timeline has been mentioned and it is not known when he can return.

A lengthy absence looks very possible for Cole.

This is a massive hit to the Yankees’ pitching rotation.

Not only is Cole the best pitcher for New York but he is one of the best pitchers in the league.

Last year, Cole won 15 games, had a 2.63 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and had 222 strikeouts in 209 innings pitched.

New York hopes Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes can stay healthy this season and perform like they have when healthy.

Rodon and Cortes are good pitchers when healthy and the Yankees need them with Cole expected to miss quite some time.

Clay Holmes is likely to be the main closer but will also enter the game in the eighth if it is a high-leverage situation.

Ian Hamilton will be the setup man for the Yanks.

In 39 games last year, Hamilton had a 2.64 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.

New York has a good bullpen and they will need to rely on the pen more with Cole sidelined.

Aaron Judge is also banged up.

While he is not expected to miss much time, if any to start the season, it is worrisome he is already injured before the season begins.

Judge is arguably the best power hitter in the league.

New York signed star Juan Soto in the offseason.

If Judge can stay healthy, the Yankees will have a lethal offense.

Judge and Soto form one of the best duos in the league.

The Yankees are hoping Anthony Volpe can improve as a batter.

He has the potential to be a top SS in the MLB.

The main concern for the Yankees this season is injury concerns.

Toronto Blue Jays (+400)

• 1. Over 86.5 Wins (-130)
• 2. Under 86.5 Wins (+100)

The Toronto Blue Jays could emerge as a real threat in the AL East.

Toronto had a top-five team ERA last year and brought back their starting rotation.

However, Kevin Gausman will not begin the year in full health.

Gausman is expected to be out until at least April 12 but it may be even longer.

He is the team’s ace and is coming off a very impressive 2023 season.

Toronto will be careful with Gausman to begin the season and will not rush him back.

Jordan Romano will once again be the closer and he has a very good track record.

Erik Swanson will be the setup man and he is coming off an impressive 2023 season.

Swanson had a 2.97 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 69 games last year.

Tim Mayza was also very impressive last year, recording a 1.52 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 69 games.

Toronto has an impressive bullpen.

The Blue Jays have a very similar batting lineup as last year with the addition of Justin Turner.

Turner will bat fourth behind George Springer, Bo Bichette, and Vlad Guerrero.

He is what the Blue Jays need, a batter with excellent contact skills that can knock in runners.

Toronto has a very good 1-4 batting lineup but will need their 5-9 batters to step it up as it was a weakness for the team last year.

The Blue Jays are a sneaky good team that can emerge as a real threat to win the division.

Tampa Bay Rays (+550)

• 1. Under 85.5 Wins (-130)
• 2. Over 85.5 Wins (+100)

Tampa Bay will be shorthanded this year.

Wander Franco will not play this season and his career is in jeopardy due to an alleged relationship with a 14-year-old girl.

Shane McLanahan had Tommy John surgery and will not pitch this season.

McLanahan is not only Tampa Bay’s best starting pitcher but he is one of the best in the league.

The Rays will be missing their best hitter and pitcher this season.

Shane Baz and Taj Bradley will be out until at least May 1.

This leaves the Rays very shorthanded at pitching to begin the year.

Zach Efflin will get the opening-day nod for Tampa Bay.

He is coming off a very impressive 2023 season.

Efflin won 16 games, had a 3.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and had 186 strikeouts in 31 starts and 177.2 innings pitched last year.

Aaron Civale will be relied upon earlier in the season to be the team’s number two pitcher.

Peter Fairbanks will be the closer.

He is an injury risk but when healthy, he is a very reliable closer.

Jason Adam will be the setup man for the Rays.

In 56 games last season, he had a 2.98 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.

Tampa Bay’s bullpen will be busy to start the season with injuries to Shane Baz and Taj Bradley.

The batting lineup for Tampa Bay is lacking and they could have used Wander Franco.

Yandy Diaz will bat leadoff and is one of the best contact hitters in the league.

He gets on base frequently and has some pop.

Randy Arozarena will bat third and has proven to be a reliable bat.

The rest of the lineup is questionable and they have the worst batting lineup in the division.

Boston Red Sox (+1600)

• 1. Over 77.5 Wins (-115)
• 2. Under 77.5 Wins (-115)

The Boston Red Sox are the only team projected for less than 85.5 wins in the AL East.

This is mostly due to how poor their pitching rotation is.

Bryan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Garrett Whitlock are expected to be the starting rotation for Boston.

Neither of those five have proven to be a reliable arm and they all struggled last year.

Bello has the most potential out of the five but he will need to take a significant leap in 2024.

The bullpen is not much better.

Kanley Jansen will be the closer but is a major injury risk and his play has dwindled as he is older.

Chris Martin is the setup man and is one of the only bright spots in Boston’s bullpen.

He had a 1.05 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 55 games last year.

If Boston is going to have any success this year, it will be because of their batting lineup.

Jarren Duran is expected to bat leadoff and he gets on base frequently and gets stolen bases.

He may not bat leadoff against Southpaws but he will see ample time in the leadoff spot.

Rafael Devers will bat second and he remains one of the best hitters in the league.

Triston Casas may begin the year batting sixth but he will move up in the order sooner than later.

Casas has a lot of potential and should bat third or fourth in the lineup.

Boston is putting him lower in the lineup to get a mix of lefties and righties at the top of the order.

Trevor Story will bat third and Tyler O’Neil will bat fourth.

They both have good power and O’Neil is hoping to get back to near what he was in 2021 where he had a massive breakout year.

Masataka Yoshida will bat in the middle of the order and he makes elite contact.

Yoshida does not have a ton of power but he has the potential to hit .300 or better this year.

Any success Boston may have this season will be because of their batting lineup.

Best Bet To Win The AL East

The AL East is one of the best divisions in the MLB.

We can eliminate three teams from consideration.

The Boston Red Sox do not have the pitching to be able to compete for the division crown.

Tampa Bay is missing their best pitcher and batter this year.

Taj Bradley and Shane Baz will be out until at least May 1, leaving their starting rotation very shorthanded.

The batting lineup for the Rays is the weakest in the division.

New York Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole has inflammation in his right elbow and he is not expected to throw for 3-4 weeks.

No timeline has been mentioned and it is not known when he can return.

A lengthy absence looks very possible for Cole.

Aaron Judge also enters the season banged up and can not be relied upon to play the majority of the games this year.

This leaves the Yankees as a risky bet to win the division.

The safest bet to win the division is the Baltimore Orioles.

They won 101 games last year and won the AL East.

In the offseason, they acquired ace pitcher Corbin Burnes to bolster their pitching rotation.

The Orioles also have a young but very talented batting lineup.

Baltimore is only a +170 odd, which is why they are not the best bet to win the division but are the safest bet.

The best bet to win the division is the Toronto Blue Jays at +400 odd.

They had a top-five team ERA last season and brought back pretty much the same starting rotation.

The bullpen for Toronto is very good as well.

The batting lineup is dangerous, led by stars Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero.

The Toronto Blue Jays at +400 odd is the best bet to win the AL East.