5. Toronto Blue Jays
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The reign of the Yankees appears to be over at the moment in the American League East, which provides a window of opportunity for the rest of the division. The Boston Red Sox have been rather on and off over the past few years, but have made huge additions to their team that has made them favorites to take the division again in 2015. Who else will compete in this seemingly wide-open division?
Well, our friends to the north have reason to believe in the royals blue and red, once again. The additions of Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin give much-needed star power to back Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion in the Blue Jays’ offense. Outfield was a focal point of struggle for the Jays as well, so they brought in Michael Saunders from Seattle.
It was a smart move, and the acquisition looked to help improve a mostly youthful outfield. If it wasn’t for that meddling sprinkler head! Michael Saunders injured his knee while shagging fly balls in outfield drills earlier this spring, stepping into a sprinkler hole. The unfortunate injury was expected to sideline a worthy left-handed bat until the All-Star Break. However, after having much of the cartilage removed in his knee, Saunders is expected to miss only three to five weeks of the regular season.
Pitching is also key to winning a division, and the Blue Jays have a handful of promising young pitchers. That handful included hard-throwing righty, starter Marcus Stroman. After posting an 11-6 record to go with an ERA of 3.65 in 2014, Stroman fell victim to another unfortunate practice drill incident, tearing his left ACL fielding bunts earlier this spring.
Such a series of unfortunate events that occurred to a hopeful Toronto team would even have author Lemony Snicket reeling.