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3 American League teams facing a make-or-break June

By Scott Roche |
May 21, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) gets a high five from Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) after defeating the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 21, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) gets a high five from Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) after defeating the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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One quick look at the American League standings shows that there is very little room and I mean, very little room for any mistakes. It is clearly a tougher league than the National League, from top to bottom.

The American League East is a monster of a division with all five teams over .500, the only division in both leagues that can say that. The Central Division is very similar to the NL Central, mediocrity could very well be good enough to win a flawed division. In the AL West, the two Texas teams are leading the way, while the other teams continue to spin their wheels in, well, mediocrity.

Six postseason spots are up for grabs in the AL, but unlike the National League, it’s going to take a strong four months to get one of those spots. If you’re in the AL East, it’s going to be a long summer where a significant losing streak can be the difference between playing October baseball to watching it from home. It’s not out of the question that four of the five teams could find themselves in the playoff field. Yes, it’s a long shot, but not impossible.

The two teams from Texas, the Texas Rangers, and Houston Astros, will have a say in that, but the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners are two teams capable of making a move for a berth. Both teams face a big stretch coming up in June. With that said, here are three teams that need to have a strong June to avoid being sellers at the trade deadline on August 1.

Sep 30, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA;Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) is greeted after scoring a run against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA;Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) is greeted after scoring a run against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Los Angeles Angels

Out of all the teams in the majors, no team will be closely watched more than the Los Angeles Angels. Why? It’s simple really for two reasons.

First off, it’s almost an annual tradition that they play good baseball in April and May and look like a playoff team, only to slowly fall off following Memorial Day Weekend and find themselves digging too deep of a hole to be close enough to claim a playoff berth. Second? That’s easy, Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani’s impending free agency following the 2023 season has teams lining up to make a bid for his services. If he hits the free agent market, this will be a lot different than Aaron Judge’s free agency last offseason. It never felt like he was going to leave the New York Yankees, despite multiple teams making a run at the 2022 home run King. Ohtani feels different.

It’s bad enough that the Angels are spending Mike Trout’s prime years playing out the string in September, but doing so again this season should be a warning sign to Ohtani that winning in Los Angeles might not happen with the Angels. Making a move across the city to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, however, could be a path to winning for him, and what a story that would be.

It is also possible that the Angels decide to trade him at the trade deadline, but it’s very unlikely unless they get the sense he’s gone for good over the winter. Having to deal with the Rangers is one more obstacle for Los Angeles to deal with this season and a tough June, which has started off by losing three out of four in Houston, could be a serious dent into the postseason hopes and Ohtani’s future with the organization.

May 30, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) throws to first for the final out against the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) throws to first for the final out against the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto Blue Jays

Last season, the Toronto Blue Jays made the playoffs as a wild card, but dropped their best two out of three series at home to the Seattle Mariners. It was disappointing, but it was thought of as the beginning of a run that Canada’s only MLB team was going to make to October baseball.

A young team full of offensive talent up and down their lineup and a pitching staff that made strides in 2022, it has been the first two months of the 2023 season the Blue Jays and their fans hoped it would be. The Tampa Bay Rays are the division’s measuring stick, while the Baltimore Orioles continue to prove that they are on the up and up.

Then there’s Toronto. Stuck in fourth place behind the Rays, Orioles, and New York Yankees, they have been getting enough offense to win games, but until their weekend stop in New York over the weekend where they swept the Mets, pitching has been their biggest question mark. Alek Manoah is not having anywhere the season he had last season and they need more of him.

Offensively, they are going to score runs with a lineup that can be a nightmare for opposing pitchers with George Springer, Bo Bichette, Vlaadamir Guerrero, Jr., and Matt Chapman leading the way. Chasing the Rays, Orioles and Yankees are not what the Blue Jays want to do all summer long.

Jul 12, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 12, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports /

Boston Red Sox

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Boston Red Sox lost some big-named free agents over the offseason, mainly shortstop Xander Bogaerts. On paper, the worst roster in the AL East is over .500, and after a good May, find themselves in the hunt in early June.

Things have got harder for the Red Sox in the last week with the news that Chris Sale, who had a good bounce-back May after struggling in April, was going on the injured list for an unknown amount of time. It’s a blow to a pitching staff that has been counting on some young arms and the return of James Paxton.

Right now it’s pretty simple … if the Red Sox hit, they win, if they don’t, they lose. Manager Alex Cora sends out a lineup that, like Toronto, can cause fits for opposing pitchers. They had their most impressive win of the season to date on Saturday when they rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the middle innings against the Rays, to win 8-5 on the strength of a Justin Turner bases-clearing double. Top free agent Masataka Yoshida is settling and is making a case to be in the conversation for the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Sunday, they took a step back with a 6-2 loss that included some bad defense. It’s pretty simple for the Red Sox, they need to find a way to survive until they get Sale back. Offensively they are good enough to get into the playoffs, defensively and pitching are the two question marks. They need to find a way to survive June.

Next. Updated win totals for Rangers, Yankees and DBacks. dark

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