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We may not have all the answers when it comes to an intriguing lot of American League clubs that open spring training with as many as 11 teams claiming they have legitimate shots at making the playoffs.
But we have at least one burning question for each of them:
Baltimore Orioles
Do the O’s have enough starting pitching to take the pressure off the bullpen and take another step toward the top of the division?
The surprise success story of the team in 2022 was more the tale of an exceptional Orioles bullpen than their emerging young lineup core. But keeping that inherently volatile position area a strength could depend on how much the O’s have improved their rotation with the trade for Oakland’s Cole Irvin and the one-year signing of Phillies free agent Kyle Gibson, a former All-Star who struggled especially down the stretch in 2022. If that’s the best they’ve got for the front two spots, it’s even more important what they’re able to build out between 30-year-old journeyman Austin Voth and a bunch of young guys.
Boston Red Sox
Will the real Boston Red Sox please stand up?
Spring training will go a long way toward defining whether a dramatically new-look roster has a chance to go from last year’s face plant to something more resembling the Bosox clubs that won three of the last seven AL East flags, four of the last 19 World Series and made the playoffs 11 of the last 20 seasons. Until then, are the Sox the team that wouldn’t go big enough to keep popular All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts from signing with the Padres or the team that went $313.5 million large to extend Rafael Devers? The poor-fielding team that backfilled for the Bogaerts loss and long-term Trevor Story injury with a low-level trade for injury-hampered shortstop Adelberto Mondesi (and signed an astounding 10 shortstops to minor-league contracts) or the big-market club that made sure it landed Japanese free agent outfielder Masataka Yoshida? Does Justin Turner cover for the loss of J.D. Martinez, both in the clubhouse and the lineup? Are Chris Sale and Corey Kluber the kind of front-of-the rotation pitchers they used to be — need to be? Or is the rotation a juggling act again? The only thing that seems sure about these guys is that nobody else in the league has a wider range of reasonably predictable outcomes.
Cleveland Guardians
That’s it?
The Guardians added two big-league players after their unexpected AL Central title, signing first-baseman Josh Bell to a two-year, $33 million deal and catcher Mike Zunino (coming off shoulder surgery that sidelined him the second half of last season) for a year and $6 million. That’s it? Yep. And it might be enough. They return most of a rotation headed by Cy Young righty Shane Bieber, all four 2022 Gold Glove winners, stud closer Emmanuel Clase and four-time All-Star second baseman José Ramirez, who has top-6 MVP finishes each of the last three years. All they have to do this spring is stay healthy and figure out some pitching roles.