SARASOTA, Fla. — The Orioles finished last season atop the AL East with 101 wins, 19 games behind the Yankees.
They’ve since added ace Corbin Burnes and a slew of young talent returning with another year of experience and more accomplished in the game’s top-ranked farm system. baseball.
That’s what stands between the Yankees and their return to the top of the division.
“I think they’re going to be really good again,” manager Aaron Boone said Saturday before the Yankees opened their first game of the spring against the Orioles, a 7-3 loss at Ed Smith Stadium. “I’m looking forward to that challenge. Obviously, they’ve come completely out of a rebuild and established a really good young core. It’s the American League East. I’m always looking forward to playing against the best teams. But they are certainly formidable.”
Boone likes to say he has to provide lunch to play in the AL East, but the Yankees had lunch provided last season, a year after winning the division in 2022.
His fourth-place finish was his lowest since 2016, when he was sold at the trade deadline. On the way to 82-80, they were 22-30 in the division, including a 6-7 loss against the Orioles.
After spending years offseason trying to close the gap on the Astros in the American League, the Yankees first need to prove they can close the gap in their own division.
Boone’s club certainly has reason to believe it’s improved through both external additions and internal improvements, but it doesn’t seem like the Orioles are going anywhere anytime soon.
With a young core that includes catcher Adley Rutschman, third baseman Gunnar Henderson, and right-handers Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez, the Orioles suddenly seem more likely to extend as a new ownership group approaches. strengthened their rotation this offseason with the trade for Barnes.
And this spring, they’re giving 20-year-old shortstop Jackson Holiday a chance to earn a starting spot.
The only difference for the Orioles this time around, in addition to having a Cy Young Award winner entrenched in their rotation, may be that they actually enter the year with high expectations.
“I don’t think our mindset has changed,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Saturday morning. “I think this is how the season ended last year.” [getting swept by the Rangers in the ALDS] Our companions were even more hungry.
“We won this division last year, and we’re proud of that, so we’re trying to live up to that. We’re not looking at anything else. It’s a long season. We’re really focused on growing every day and building the best team we can and developing our players. We’re still It’s a really young team and there’s going to be ups and downs. We try to be as consistent as possible. We did a great job in that regard last year.”
As for Hyde’s decision on the Yankees’ offseason transfers, he quipped, “Which one?”
“I think everyone in our division is going into this year thinking we’re going to make it to the postseason,” Hyde said. “The Yankees made moves this offseason to try to improve the club, and adding Juan Soto to the top third of the order will definitely help. You can’t control it.”
There’s still work to be done before the Yankees start thinking about dethroning the Orioles.
The only thing they know for sure is that nothing is easy within the department.
“The AL East is a beast, man,” said Marcus Stroman, who joined the Blue Jays and returned to the division. “I’ve been here less than a minute, but this is what I came for. You have to be really prepared to come every night from 1 to 9. … To play at Fenway, to play in Baltimore. excited to compete [who is] We have a great team now. The Rays are one of the worst pitching teams in the league. That’s what makes it fun. To me, that’s what you want, to play against the best talent and competition in the world. ”
