Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees: 3 early-season AL East thoughts

Three weeks into the 2023 season in the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays have separated themselves from the four other teams, but the season is young and the standings will look different than they do today when the regular season comes to an end on Oct. 1.

In the first three weeks, there have been some surprises and disappointments, while teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are already dealing with key injuries. Giancarlo Stanton, really to the surprise of nobody who has struggled to stay healthy in his time in the Bronx, is going to be out for up to six weeks according to manager Aaron Boone with a hamstring injury.

One of the biggest surprises through the first week of the season was the start Adam Duvall had with the Red Sox in center field. Batting fourth, he was hands down their best hitter and most productive hitter in the lineup for Alex Cora. His injury leaves a void, but after getting swept by the Rays last week, they came home and took advantage of the Los Angeles Angels in two by winning three out of four and then rallying to beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4, in 10 innings on Tuesday night.

In what many consider to be the best division in baseball, there has been no bigger surprise in Major League Baseball so far than Kevin Cash’s Rays. This is where we will start with some random thoughts about the AL East through three weeks.