A.L. Preview: The Yankees reload

Injuries aside, New York has enough to get back to the Series.

Aaron Judge

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

NEW YORK YANKEES\

2024 Record: 94-68.

Rank In Runs Scored: First in A.L.

Runs Allowed: Seventh.

Manager: Aaron Boone.

Rotation: Carlos Rodon, Max Fried, Marcus Stroman, Will Warren, Carlos Carrasco.

Bullpen: Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., Voendrys Gomez, Very De Los Santos.

Closer: Devin Williams.

Lineup: 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 2B Jazz Chisholm, SS Anthony Volpe, 3B Oswaldo Cabrera, LF Jasson Dominguez, CF Cody Bellinger, RF Aaron Judge, DH Ben Rice, C Austin Wells.

Injured List: RHP Gerrit Cole, RHP Luis Gil, RHP Jonathan Loaisiga, RHP Clark Schmidt, DH Giancarlo Stanton, 1B/3B DJ LeMahieu.

Fun Fact: Chisholm showed up in August and had 18 steals, 13 home runs and an OPS of .825

Fun Fact II: With four more 50 home run seasons, Judge will have 515, 21 behind Mickey Mantle, 144 behind Babe Ruth.

Forecast: Cy Young winner Cole is out for the year, Rookie of the Year Gil out for a good chunk. The additions of Bellinger, Williams and Fried should keep the Yankees at the top of the heap.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

2024 Record: 91-71.

Rank In Runs Scored: Second.

Runs Allowed: Eighth.

Manager: Brandon Hyde.

Rotation: Zach Elfin, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano, Cade Povich.

Bullpen: Seranthony Dominguez, Keegan Akin, Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto, Cionel Perez, Bryan Baker, Albert Suarez.

Closer: Felix Bautista.

Lineup: 1B Ryan Mountcastle, 2B Jordan Westburg, SS Jackson Holliday, 3B Ramon Urias, LF Tyler O’Neill, CF Cedric Mullins, RF Colton Cowser, DH Ryan O’Hearn, C Adley Rutschman.

Injured List: SS Gunnar Henderson, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, RHP Kyle Bradish, LHP Trevor Rogers,, RHP Tyler Wells, SS Jorge Mateo, RHP Andrew Kittredge.

Fun Fact: Orioles were 20 games over .500 before the All-Star break. They played .500 baseball afterward.

Fun Fact II: Henderson has 350 hits in his first 343 major league games.

Forecast: Bautista’s return is as huge as he is. Orioles’ best days are still ahead, beginning with a wild-card in 2025.

BOSTON RED SOX

2024 Record: 81-81.

Rank In Runs Scored: Third.

Runs Allowed: Twelfth.

Manager: Alex Cora.

Rotation: Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Richard Fitts, Quinn Priester.

Bullpen: Liam Hendriks, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert, Justin Wilson, Brennan Bernardino, Michael Fulmer.

Closer: Aroldis Chapman.

Lineup: 1B Triston Casas, 2B David Hamilton, SS Trevor Story, 3B Alex Bregman,, LF Jarren Duran, CF Ceddane Rafaela, RF Wilyer Abreu, DH Rafael Devers, C Connor Wong.

Injured List: DH Masataka Yoshida, RHP Brayan Bello, RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Kutter Crawford, LHP Patrick Sandoval, LHP Chris Murphy.

Fun Fact: Duran was the first player to lead the A.L. in triples and doubles in the same season since Minnesota’s Cesar Tovar in 1970.

Fun Fact II: Red Sox stole 144 bases, their most since 1914.

Forecast: Lots of X factors here, including Chapman and Buehler, and rookie hitters on the way. They’re unquestionably younger and more athletic. Wild-card contender.

TAMPA BAY RAYS

2024 Record: 80-82.

Rank in Runs Scored: 14th.

Runs Allowed: 6th.

Manager: Kevin Cash.

Rotation: Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen.

Bullpen: Edwin Uceta, Garrett Cleavinger, Manuel Rodriguez, Mason Montgomery, Alex Faedo, Mike Vasil.]

Closer: Pete Fairbanks.

Lineup: 1B Yandy Diaz, 2B Brandon Lowe, SS Taylor Walls, 3B Junior Caminero, LF Christopher Morel, CF Jonny DeLuca, RF Josh Lowe, DH Jonathan Aranda, C Danny Jansen.

Injured List: SS Ha-Seong Kim, LHP Nate Lavender.

Fun Fact: Rays began with 10 losing seasons. They’ve had winning seasons in 11 of their last 17.

Fun Fact II:: Edwin Uceta, waived by the Dodgers in 2021, allowed a .174 batting average in 41 ⅔ innings.

Forecast: Rays welcome back McClanahan, a Cy Young talent. They’ll need an offensive makeover to contend.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

2024 Record: 74–88.

Rank in Runs Scored: 11th.

Runs Allowed: 11th.

Manager: John Schneider.

Rotation: Jose Berrios, Keith Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis, Yariel Rodriguez.

Bullpen: Chad Green, Yimi Garcia, Nick Sandlin, Richard Lovelady, Zach Pop, Brendon Little, Tommy Nance.

Closer: Jeff Hoffman.

Lineup: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2B Andres Gimenez, SS Bo Bichette, 3B Ernie Clement, LF Anthony Santander, CF Joey Loperfido, RF George Springer, DH Will Wagner, C Alejandro Kirk.

Injured List: RHP Max Scherzer, RHP Alek Manoah, RHP Angel Bastardo, OF Daulton Varsho, RHP Erik Swanson, RHP Ryan Burr.

Fun Fact: Wagner might not be available on July 24. That’s the day his dad Billy, the relief pitcher, goes into the Hall of Fame.

Fun Fact II: The Jays ranked 13th in runs, their worst American League rank since 1982.

Forecast: They apparently won’t sign Guerrero, who had 50 more RBI than any other Jay, so that will be Issue No. 1 until the trade deadline. It’s up to the rotation and Hoffman to give Toronto something else to talk about.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Bobby Witt Jr

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

2024 Record: 86–76.

Rank In Runs Scored: Sixth.

Runs Allowed: Fourth.

Manager: Matt Quataro.

Rotation: Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Michael Lorenzen, Kris Bubic.

Bullpen: Carlos Estevez, Hunter Harvey, John Schreiber, Angel Zerpa, Chris Stratton, Sam Long, Daniel Lynch.

Closer: Lucas Erceg.

Lineup: 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, 2B Michael Massey, SS Bobby Witt Jr., 3B Maikel Garcia, LF MJ Melendez, CF Kyle Isbel, RF Hunter Renfroe, DH Jonathan India, C Salvador Perez.

Injured List: RHP Alec Marsh, RHP Kyle Wright,, RHP James McArthur.

Fun Fact: Witt has played three seasons. His OPS has gone from .722 to .813 to .977.

Fun Fact: Erceg came over from Oakland and saved 11 games in 13 chances, with an 0.840 WHIP in 23 appearances.

Forecast: If the young hitters keep coming on, this team might actually deserve a new ballpark.

DETROIT TIGERS

2024 Record: 86-76.

Rank in Runs Scored: Ninth.

Runs Allowed: Third.

Manager: A.J. Hinch.

Rotation: Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson, Casey Mize,, Kenta Maeda.

Bullpen: Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Tommy Kahnle, Will Vest, Brennan Hanifee, John Brebbia, Brant Hunter.

Closer: Jason Foley.

Lineup: 1B Colt Keith, 2B Gleyber Torres, SS Trey Sweeney, 3B Zach McKinstry, LF Riley Greene, CF Manuel Margot, RF Kerry Carpenter, DH Spencer Torkelson, C Jake Rogers.

Injured List: RHP Alex Cobb, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, RHP Ty Madden, RHP Jose Urquidy, OF Wenceel Perez, RHP Alex Lange, OF Parker Meadows, OF Matt Vierling.

Fun Fact: Skubal had 22 quality starts out of 31. The Tigers lost none of those starts.

Fun Fact II: On July 4 the Tigers were nine games under .500. They still got into the Wild Card and won a playoff series.

Forecast: Hinch’s manipulation of the bullpen last year was a key, and now Detroit has beefed up the rotation. Quite a turnaround.

MINNESOTA TWINS

2024 Record: 82-80.

Rank In Runs Scored: Fifth.

Runs Allowed: Ninth.

Manager: Rocco Baldelli.

Rotation: Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Chris Paddack.

Bullpen: Griffin Jax, Cole Sands, Brock Stewart, Danny Coulombe, Jorge Alcala, Louis Varland, Justin Topa, Randy Dobnak.

Closer.: Jhoan Duran.

Lineup: 1B Ty France, 2B Edouard Julien, SS Carlos Correa, 3B Willi Castro, LF Trevor Larnach, CF Byron Buxton, RF Matt Wallner, DH Jose Miranda, C Ryan Jeffers.

Injured List: 3B Royce Lewis, 3B Brooks Lee, RHP Michael Tomkin.

Fun Fact: For the first time since 1912-19, the Twins (then the Senators) have led the league in strikeouts in back-to-back seasons.

Fun Fact II: Twins were 23-2 against the White Sox, Angels and A’s. They were 59-77 against everyone else.

Forecast: If Lewis ever gets healthy, he’s an All-Star. As the bettors say, this is a “live dog.’

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

2024 Record: 92-69.

Rank In Runs Scored: Seventh.

Runs Allowed: Second.

Manager: Stephen Vogt.

Rotation: Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz, Triston McKenzie.

Bullpen:; Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Paul Sewald, Tim Herrin, Andrew Walters, Kolby Allard, Jakob Junis.

Closer: Emmanuel Clase.

Lineup: 1B Carlos Santana, 2B Gabriel Arias, SS Brayan Rocchio, 3B Jose Ramirez, LF Steven Kwan, CF Lane Thomas, RF Nolan Jones, DH Kyle Manzardo, C Bo Naylor.

Fun Fact: Guardians won 22 of Bibee’s starts, tops in the league.

Fun Fact II: For the sixth time in nine years, Cleveland won at least 90 games, and it had its best attendance year since 2018.

Forecast: Guardians are accustomed to shedding players, but they’ll miss Josh Naylor and Andres Gimenez.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

2024 Record: 41-121.

Rank In Runs Scored: 15th.

Runs Allowed: 15th.

Manager: Will Venable.

Rotation: Sean Burke, Martin Perez, Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin, Shane Smith.

Bullpen: Justin Anderson, Fraser Ellard, Cam Boose, Taylor Gilbert, Penn Murfee, Bryse Wilson, Mike Vasil.

Closer: Mike Clevinger.

Lineup: 1B Andrew Vaughn, 2B Lenyn Sosa, SS Jacob Amaya, 3B Miguel Vargas, LF Travis Jankowski, CF Luis Robert Jr., RF Michael A Taylor, DH Andrew Benintendi, C Korey Lee.

Injured List: INF Josh Rojas, OF Mike Tauchman, RHP Drew Thorpe, RHP Jesse Scholtens, LHP Ky Bush, RHP Prelander Berroa.

Fun Fact: The Sox finished last in the A.L. in runs, hits, homers, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, ERA and WHIP.

Fun Fact II: They had leads in 56 of their losses. Chris Flexen tied for the MLB lead by having seven potential leads blown by the bullpen.

Forecast: Lots of new faces. That can’t be bad.

Corey Seager

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

TEXAS RANGERS

2024 Record: 78-84.

Rank In Runs Scored: Eighth.

Runs Allowed: Tenth.

Manager: Bruce Bochy.

Rotation: Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, Jacob deGrom.

Bullpen: Robert Garcia, Marc Church, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong, Patrick Murphy.

Closer: Chris Martin.

Lineup: 1B Jake Burger, 2B Marcus Semien, SS Corey Seager, 3B Josh Jung, LF Wyatt Langford, CF Evan Carter, RF Adolis Garcia, DH Joc Pederson, C Jonah Heim.

Injured List: RHP Jon Gray, RHP Cody Bradford, RHP Josh Sborz.

Fun Fact: Rangers led the league in OPS in 2023, finished 11th last year.

Fun Fact II: Pitchers allowed a .653 OPS at home, .785 on the road.

Forecast: Their bad injury luck hasn’t let up, but they should hit enough to beat a weak field.

SEATTLE MARINERS

2024 Record: 85-77.

Rank In Runs Scored: Tenth.

Runs Allowed: First

Manager: Dan Wilson.

Rotation: Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock.

Bullpen: Collin Snider, Gregory Santos, Trent Thornton, Tayler Saucedo, Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo, Carlos Vargas.

Closer: Andres Munoz.

Lineup: 1B Luke Raley, 2B Ryan Bliss, SS J.P. Crawford, 3B Jorge Polanco, LF Randy Arozarena, CF Julio Rodriguez, RF Victor Robles, DH Rowdy Tellez, C Cal Raleigh.

Injured List: RHP George Kirby, RHP Matt Brash, RHP Jackson Kowar, RHP Troy Taylor.

Fun Fact: Gilbert, Miller and Kirby finished 1-3-5 in American League WHIP.

Fun Fact II: Mariners led the league in striking out and ranked 14th of 15 in batting average.

Forecast: They’ll be the division favorites if Rodriguez can get it together.

ATHLETICS

2024 Record: 69-93.

Rank In Runs Scored: 12th.

Runs Allowed: 13th.

Manager: Mark Kotsay.

Rotation: Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Osvaldo Bido, JP Sears, Joey Estes.

Bullpen: Jose Leclerc, Tyler Ferguson, T.J. McFarland, Justin Sterner, Hogan Harris, Mitch Spence, Noah Murdock.

Closer: Mason Miller.

Lineup: 1B Tyler Soderstrom, 2B Max Muncy, SS Jacob Wilson, 3B Gio Urshela, LF Seth Brown, CF JJ Bleday, RF Lawrence Butler, DH Brent Rooker, C Shea Langeliers.

Injured List: 2B Zach Gelof, 3B Brett Harris, RHP Luis Medina, LHP Brady Basso, LHP Ken Waldichuk, RHP Michel Otanez.

Fun Fact: Bleday had 43 doubles last year after hitting 23 in his previous 147 MLB games.

Fun Fact II: As a 30-year-old rookie, Ferguson gave up 32 hits in 51 innings.

Forecast: Their minor league park in Sacramento isn’t suitable for the playoffs, so the Athletics need to find Plan B. It’s actually a possibility.

HOUSTON ASTROS

2024 Record: 88-73.

Rank In Runs Scored: Fourth.

Runs Allowed: Fifth.

Manager: Joe Espada.

Rotation: Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, Spencer Arrighetti, Hayden Wesneski.

Bullpen: Bryan Abreu, Tayler Scott, Bryan King, Luis Contreras, Steven Okert, Rafael Montero, Ryan Gusto.

Closer: Josh Hader.

Lineup: 1B Christian Walker, 2B Mauricio Dubon, SS Jeremy Pena, 3B Isaac Paredes, LF Jose Altuve, CF Jake Meyers, RF Cam Smith, DH Yordan Alvarez, C Yainer Diaz.

Injured List: RHP J.P. France, RHP Luis Garcia, RHP Cristian Javier, RHP Lance McCullers, RHP Shawn Dubin, OF Taylor Trammell, OF Pedro Leon.

Fun Fact: Brown’s ERA was 2.24 after the All-Star break, 4.39 before.

Fun Fact II: Altuve has 2,232 career hits, 35 fewer than active leader Freddie Freeman in 684 fewer plate appearances.

Forecast: It’s hard to see more than 85 wins out of this group. But that keeps them in the race.

ANGELS

2024 Record: 63-99.

Rank In Runs Scored: 13th.

Runs Allowed: 14th.

Manager: Ron Washington.

Rotation: Yusei Kikuchi, Jose Soriano, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks, Reid Detmers.

Bullpen: Ben Joyce, Brock Burke, Jose Quijada, Ryan Zeferjahn, Angel Perdomo, Garrett McDaniels, Ian Anderson.

Closer: Kenley Jansen.

Lineup: 1B Nolan Schanuel, 2B Tim Anderson, SS Kevin Newman, 3B Luis Rengifo, LF Taylor Ward, CF Jo Adell, RF Mike Trout. DH Jorge Soler, C Logan O’Hoppe.

Injured List: RHP Robert Stevenson, 3B Yoan Moncada, 3B Anthony Rendon, SS Zach Neto.

Fun Fact: Adell was a first-round draft choice eight years ago. With the Angels he has struck out 345 times and walked 65.

Fun Fact II: Trout has appeared in 266 games the past four seasons.

Forecast: You can see the vague outline of a rotation and a bullpen, but the Angels might not have bottomed out yet.

POSTSEASON

Division champs: New York, Kansas City, Texas.

Wild-cards: Baltimore, Detroit, Boston.

Wild-card round: Boston over Texas, Baltimore over Detroit.

Division playoffs: New York over Boston, Baltimore over Kansas City.

ALCS: New York over Baltimore.

MVP: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City.

Cy Young: Logan Gilbert, Seattle.

Rookie: Jackson Jobe, Detroit.