For the second year in a row, a team from the AL East has won the American League. Last year it was the New York Yankees, and this year it was the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Boston Red Sox aren’t too far behind either of them, however, finishing five games behind both in the standings this year. The Red Sox went 9-4 against the Yankees before losing to them in the AL Wild Card Series and had a better run differential than the Blue Jays.
Boston had better pitching than both of them this season, ranking fifth in MLB in ERA (3.70). New York was 14th at 3.91, while Toronto was 19th at 4.18. The Yankees will get Gerrit Cole back next year, but if the Red Sox acquire a legit No. 2 starter to pair with Garrett Crochet, they’ll be in good shape.
New York led MLB in scoring at 5.24 runs per game, while the Blue Jays ranked fourth (4.93) and Boston was seventh (4.85). The three teams have similar rankings in OPS with the Bronx Bombers first, Toronto third and the Red Sox ninth.
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If Boston re-signs Alex Bregman and acquires a big bat to replace Rafael Devers, it should have one of the best lineups in baseball again.
All three teams struggle defensively, but the Red Sox have the most ground to make up here after leading MLB in errors this season. Boston must clean up its fielding if it wants to be a serious World Series contender.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, they’re not too far away from being championship contenders. Another slugger, a quality starter and better fielding are all they need to take that next step and challenge the Yankees and Blue Jays. If they’re aggressive this offseason, they should be well-positioned to get back to the playoffs and compete for their first division title since 2018.
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Featured image via David Butler II/Imagn Images
