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

By Scott Roche |
FORT MYERS, FL- MARCH 13: Anthony Volpe #77 of the New York Yankees runs during a spring training game against the Minnesota Twins on March 13, 2023 at the Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FL- MARCH 13: Anthony Volpe #77 of the New York Yankees runs during a spring training game against the Minnesota Twins on March 13, 2023 at the Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
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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.

Aug 24, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan (18) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 24, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan (18) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports /

Rays: Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen have been strong in Tampa’s rotation

The Rays began the season winning their first 13 games and currently sit at 16-3 following winning two out of three over the Cincinnati Reds this week on the road. Their offense has been one of their strengths this season, but their pitching has been just as good with Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen leading the way.

It should come as no surprise that McClanahan is off to the start he is this season. He’s 4-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 23 innings pitched and batters are just hitting .185 off of him. After 13 consecutive wins to begin the season, Tampa Bay hit its first bumps in the season last weekend, losing the first two games of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Rays were looking to avoid being swept in Canada and McClanahan came to the rescue by scattering four hits, striking out six, and allowing just one run in six innings of work in an 8-1 win. It would not be surprising to see him make his second straight All-Star appearance this summer.

Rasmussen has been just as good as McClanahan early this season with a 3-1 record and a 2.01 ERA in 22.1 innings. Opponents are hitting just .182 this season off of him and he has a 0.94 WHIP with 26 strikeouts. In 28 starts last season, he went 11-7, but this season he is solidifying himself at the top of the rotation.

Tampa Bay has been putting up some runs early this season, but their pitching has been just as good and will be a big key as the season goes along.

BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 6: Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom of the Boston Red Sox addresses the media during a press conference following the final game of the 2022 season on October 6, 2022 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 6: Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom of the Boston Red Sox addresses the media during a press conference following the final game of the 2022 season on October 6, 2022 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Red Sox: veteran roster additions not looking like it’s going to work out

If there has been one common theme in the Chaim Bloom era in Boston, it’s been finding veterans on cheap deals to fill in the pitching rotation. Over the winter, he took it to another level by letting Nathan Eovaldi leave in free agency and they basically replaced him with Corey Kluber, while also signing James Paxton. What could go wrong?

Well, just about anything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong for the Red Sox. Kluber looks like someone who is clearly on the backend of his career and for some strange reason, he was named the Opening Day starter over Chris Sale. Whether that was Alex Cora making the decision or Bloom, it was a head-scratcher then and it is still one now.

In four starts, he has a woeful 8.50 ERA in 18 innings pitched and he has allowed 19 hits and 17 earned runs. Six of his 19 hits have been home runs. It has not been anything like what the Red Sox were hoping when they signed him last off-season.

He’s not only not giving the Red Sox a chance in any of the starts, but he’s been putting behind early in the game and there are only so many times you can dig an early hole and expect to get out of it. How much longer will he be on the roster?

To compound matters, Paxton had an outing for the Worcester Woo Sox in Triple-A Wednesday night that is not exactly promising. In two-thirds of an inning against Lehigh Valley out of the bullpen, he gave up five hits, seven earned runs, and walked two. He faced just nine batters. Talk about adding more problems to a pitching staff that is not built to be a contender.

The Red Sox signing pitchers who still think they have something left is not working out well and it’s going to bury them in the standings by Memorial Day. It’s hard to believe that the once big-spending Boston Red Sox are in this situation and model in 2023.

TAMPA, FL – FEBRUARY 23: Anthony Volpe #77 of the New York Yankees looks on during Spring Training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 23, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – FEBRUARY 23: Anthony Volpe #77 of the New York Yankees looks on during Spring Training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 23, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) /

Yankees: Anthony Volpe finding success at the top of the order

Anthony Volpe is getting more and more confident with the Yankees with each game he plays in his first season in the majors and now he has been setting the table at the top of the order for Aaron Boone while making an impact.

Boone has moved his shortstop to the top of the order and he has been finding ways on base and causing traffic for opposing teams. In Wednesday night’s 3-2 10-inning Yankees win over the Los Angeles Angels, he singled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, then scored on Aaron Judge’s two-run homer.

Thursday afternoon in New York’s 9-3 win over the Angels, he once again got things started right away in the first inning with a leadoff walk that led to a five-run outburst. He has reached base in some capacity in 15 of his last 32 plate appearances. Just 21 years old, he is turning into a sparkplug at the top of the order, getting on base, stealing bases, and giving the Yankees something that DJ LeMahieu couldn’t always provide.

The AL East is going to be a beast all summer long and is the best division in baseball. The Rays and Yankees will be battling with the Toronto Blue Jays and even the young Baltimore Orioles at the top, but the top of their rotation is going to be trouble for the division, as will Volpe while the Red Sox will be competitive, but need more from Bloom’s patchwork rotation.

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