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The start of MLB spring training is right around the corner, and the beginning of a new season always brings a renewed sense of hope for fanbases across the country.
Time to crush some dreams.
Ahead we’ve highlighted the one fatal flaw on each team’s roster that could keep them from contending for a World Series title.
For some clubs, it’s a simple lack of talent during the early stages of rebuilding. For others, it’s a lack of depth in a key area or an overreliance on young, unproven talent.
In a few cases, it took some serious nit-picking to find a major flaw, but every team has at least one hypothetical that could derail its title hopes.
American League East
Baltimore Orioles: Inexperience
The Orioles took a huge step forward last season, improving from a 52-110 record in 2021 to an 83-79 finish. This is an exciting young club headed in the right direction, but it’s set to lean heavily on young players still finding their footing in the big leagues such as Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, DL Hall, Kyle Stowers and Joey Ortiz.
The future is bright, but their youth could also mean growing pains.
Boston Red Sox: Pitching
Lefties Chris Sale and James Paxton have pitched a combined 70 innings over the past three seasons, including a grand total of 5.2 frames in 2022. The Red Sox will be counting on both of them to hold down a spot in the starting rotation. In the bullpen, 35-year-old Kenley Jansen and 36-year-old Chris Martin were the biggest additions to one of the worst relief corps in baseball a year ago.
All of that seems like a recipe for disaster, especially on a team poised to score fewer runs following the loss of Xander Bogaerts.
New York Yankees: Pitching depth
Upgrading from Jameson Taillon to Carlos Rodón should give the Yankees one of the better starting rotations in the American League, but there is little depth behind their top five arms. Frankie Montas is a wild card given his shoulder issues, Clarke Schmidt has looked better in relief, and Randy Vasquez, Deivi García and Jhony Brito remain largely unproven.
In the bullpen, Miguel Castro, Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman and Chad Green are all gone, leaving Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga and free-agent signing Tommy Kahnle to do a lot of the heavy lifting in the late innings. A few key injuries on the staff could derail the Yankees’ season.
Tampa Bay Rays: Middle-of-the-order production
As usual, a strong pitching staff was the key to success for the Rays last season, as they finished 21st in runs scored (666) and 24th in team OPS (.686). Can they survive any sort of regression from 2022 breakout starters Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs?
The return of Brandon Lowe, who played just 65 games last year after a 39-homer, 99-RBI season in 2021, will help, but this is largely the same group as last year, minus Ji-Man Choi, who was traded to Pittsburgh.
Toronto Blue Jays: Starting pitching
The Blue Jays did well in replacing free agent Ross Stripling with veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt, who signed a three-year, $63 million deal in December.
However, they are still left relying on José Berríos (5.23 ERA, 172.0 IP) and Yusei Kikuchi (5.19 ERA, 100.2 IP) to fill two spots in the rotation until Hyun-Jin Ryu returns from Tommy John surgery, and outside swingman Mitch White, they have next to nothing in the way of proven rotation depth.