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AL East: What Needs to Go Right for Each Team to be Successful

By Michael Francis

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Members of the Boston Red Sox hold up the World Series trophy after winning the 2018 World Series in game five against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 28, 2018 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Members of the Boston Red Sox hold up the World Series trophy after winning the 2018 World Series in game five against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 28, 2018 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

The AL East is going to be led by the typical juggernauts, but each team will need several things to go their way to have a successful season.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be going division by division highlighting what needs to go right for each team in 2019. I last discussed the National League East, now let’s move on to the AL East.

It was a big winter for many teams as they either positioned themselves for the 2019 playoff race or distanced themselves for future success. The off-season was also a quiet time for some teams that did not seem to have a clear path toward contention or rebuilding.

Regardless of how successful or disappointing each team’s off-season was, every team has things that can break right for them this season. Whether that means enough things go well that a surprise team sneaks into the playoffs, a juggernaut hits on all cylinders and wins the World Series or a rebuilding team has young players develop in a positive way.

Last year’s AL East was a story of David and Goliath. The Division had three 90 win teams, two 100 win teams and one team that had one of the greatest seasons of all time. With all the talent up top, it also had one of the worst teams ever.

Not a whole lot has changed heading into 2019. There are still three teams that have a legitimate shot at the playoffs, one team in no man’s land, and one team that should be picking first overall again in the 2020 draft.

The AL East should be the most exciting division in the league as it’s the only division that will likely have an actual race for the divisional crown. It’s very close at the top with a lot of things needing to break right for any team to come away victorious.

Hopefully, some things will break right for the teams at the bottom of the division as well so that fans in Baltimore and Toronto don’t completely check out by June.

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