Injury Problems and Poor Performances Shakes up the AL East
Coming into the 2019 season, both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees were slated to fight over the top spot in the AL East, with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles fighting for last. With a barrage of injuries on both teams and the Tampa Bay Rays leading the charge, how will the season shape up in this powerhouse division?
While the 2018 season was a bit disappointing for Yankees fans, they were fielding a bit of a different team going into 2019 compared to the year prior. Some infield additions in D.J. LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki were going to bolster the young team with some veteran influence in a tough AL East division.
Infielder Didi Gregorius and pitcher Jordan Montgomery were not going to return until the all-star break and next season (respectively) with both recovering from Tommy John surgery, and this looked to be the only serious injuries on the squad.
And then the injury bug flew into New York City’s team in pinstripes. First, it was star reliever Dellin Betances and starting pitcher Luis Severino; two key arms in the Yankees pitching corps. This injury was followed by newly extended outfielder Aaron Hicks, who went down with a back injury.
Then the talented young infielder Miguel Andujar tore a muscle in his shoulder and will be sidelined until May at the earliest. Backstop Gary Sanchez would then be put onto the injured list as well.
Boston Red Sox
After the 2018 World Series win, the Boston Red Sox were looking to book another ticket to the postseason after winning the AL East last year. With almost the exact same team minus some arms in the bullpen, the core of the team was still playing at Fenway. Pretty good odds when you think of another title contender.
The Red Sox saw a majority of their infield roster visit the IL with Brock Holt, Eduardo Nunez, and Dustin Pedroia seeing time on the injured list, making the team call up some top prospects in the organization.
The pitching staff only has Marco Hernandez and Nathan Eovaldi on the injured list (Eovaldi was just placed).
While the Red Sox are not nearly as injured as the Yankees, they are suffering in terms of quality starts from their starting pitching. Their rotation has really struggled out of the gate, with the key contributors of Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, and Nathan Eovaldi all throwing for an ERA over 6.00. Even starter Eduardo Rodriguez is not throwing well, with his ERA also above 6.00 ERA.
The Toronto Blue Jays were not expected to contend this year with many of the veterans being traded away and the front office focused on rebuilding with younger, farm-raised talent.
The team struggled mightily out of the gate, and couldn’t buy a hit while also striking out in record fashion.
The team was dealt a significant blow when both Ryan Borucki and Devon Travis were put on the 60-day IL to begin the season. Aaron Sanchez still continues to deal with finger and blister issues that have impacted his past few seasons.
This was followed by starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker tearing his ACL, rendering him unavailable for the season. This was an even more significant blow to both the team and the player, as Shoemaker was having an excellent start to his first year in Toronto.
The Division is Turned Upside Down
To be brutally honest, this whole division is starting to unravel when it comes to where teams sit in the standings.
The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays came out of the gate playing well to begin the season, while the Red Sox and Yankees were playing under .500 ball.
Now the Orioles are at their rightful (and predicted) placement at the bottom of the standings, while the Rays are first in the AL East, a spot they have occupied all season. This was expected due to the young core of the Orioles team and the aging veterans having difficulty contributing on the field.
With a recent series loss to the Red Sox, the Rays top position may be in jeopardy with the Yankees pulling closer to 1st place. The Rays are extremely talented with absurd depth in both position players and pitching staff but they too are dealing with some injury issues, but not nearly as much as the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.
Blake Snell just needs to stop moving furniture when he gets out of the shower (dropped a granite ornament on his toe and is on the IL). The team will now also be without Austin Meadows, who was off to a terrific start to the season for the team.
Overall
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It would be different to see a team like the Tampa Bay Rays make the playoffs from the AL East, as the team has made some very successful trades and developed some great prospects and should contend over the next 5 years (batting significant player turnover).
The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are beginning their rebuilds, and both teams are going to have a few rough years before their young players start getting comfortable in the major leagues.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will most likely turn things around and start creating tension at the top of the standings in the AL East. Once the injured players return and the Sox pitching staff figures out their issues, it will be a barn burner as we get into September, with the Jays and Orioles looking to play spoiler.
dark. Next. Tampa Bay Rays: Is Tyler Glasnow an early Cy Young candidate?
Once again, the AL East division may prove to be one of the most interesting divisions to watch when September hits and could see some teams not make the playoffs after great seasons in 2018.