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Ranking the AL East after a busy 2025/2026 offseason
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Photo credit: © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Ben Wrixon
Mar 6, 2026, 14:00 ESTUpdated: Mar 6, 2026, 07:07 EST
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The American League appears as if it will once again be MLB’s most competitive division in 2026. The Toronto Blue Jays won’t have an easy time defending their crown, with four of their five closest rivals looking like playoff-calibre teams. 
Here’s how all five teams stack up on paper after a wild offseason.
5: Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa is clearly the weakest team in the division after a quintessential Rays offseason that involved letting several marquee players go. They traded long-time second baseman—and known Blue Jays killer—Brandon Lowe to the Pittsburgh Pirates and watched closer Pete Fairbanks sign a one-year deal in Miami, among other moves. 
This team still has elite talent, though. The core lineup trio of Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz, and Jonathan Aranda is fantastic, and a rotation led by Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan could be dynamite if either of them manages to stay healthy. Still, it’s hard to see this squad competing for first place given the strength of the competition. 
4: Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles would probably be considered first-place favourites in several other divisions after the offseason they had. Pete Alonso was a great signing to inject some much-needed right-handed power into their lineup. Adding Chris Bassitt and Ryan Helsley were also great moves to bolster the starting rotation and bullpen, respectively. 
Baltimore still has a ton of question marks, though. Exciting yet unproven prospects like Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo will be asked to carry a ton of weight offensively. Adley Rutschman hasn’t been elite at the plate for almost two years. Their ace, on paper, appears to be Trevor Rogers, coming off an unsustainably good half-season after years of mediocrity. This squad has serious upside if everything breaks right—but in baseball, it rarely does. 
3: Boston Red Sox
Boston was active on the trade market after winning 89 games in 2025. They brought in Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals, Johan Oviedo from the Pirates, and Caleb Durbin from the Milwaukee Brewers. These additions, coupled with free agent addition Ranger Suarez, give them a formidable rotation behind ace Garret Crochet. 
Alex Bregman’s departure is the elephant in the room. The Red Sox lineup is sorely lacking his established middle-of-the-order bat, and their young clubhouse will undoubtedly miss his much-discussed leadership. The bullpen options after closer Aroldis Chapman also leave something to be desired. This is nonetheless a team that should at least secure one of the three Wild Card spots, and will probably compete for first place. 
2: Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays entered the offseason with a ton of organizational momentum after coming within two outs of winning the World Series. They capitalized on that by signing Dylan Cease to a seven-year megadeal to be their new ace, then further bolstered their pitching staff with the additions of reigning KBO MVP Cody Ponce and reliever Tyler Rogers. 
However, like Boston, the Blue Jays also let a star infielder walk. Losing Bo Bichette is going to hurt, even if newcomer Kazuma Okamoto is a great consolation prize. Bichette is a one-of-a-kind hitter and proven run producer. Regression from anyone—whether it be George Springer, Addison Barger, or Ernie Clement—could spell trouble. This squad should nevertheless be in the thick of the division race until the end. 
1: New York Yankees
The Yankees are essentially running back the same team that won just as many regular games as the Blue Jays in 2025. They still have arguably the greatest right-handed hitter ever in Aaron Judge. They brought back Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. David Bednar will be their closer for a whole year after being acquired at the trade deadline. 
It’s Gerrit Cole who should ultimately propel the Yankees ahead of the competition in this division. When he does eventually return, he’ll be injecting Cy Young pedigree into an already loaded starting rotation. The quartet of Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and rookie phenom Cam Schlittler could be argued as the best in the entire sport. This team simply has too much firepower to be considered anything other than the best on paper. 

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