Camila Sosa
The 2022 Major League Baseball season is about to begin and the American League East Division is shaping up to be one of the most closely contested of the campaign. So, here is a list with the main reason why each of the teams that make it up should be happy.
Toronto Blue Jays: Powerful Offense Returns to Rogers Centre
The Toronto Blue Jays offense promises to be one of the most dangerous in the 2022 season following the arrival of Matt Chapman. The third baseman joins the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez, in a lineup that last year made a splash in the American East Division.
But as if the arsenal were not enough, the Blue Jays will play from the first game at the Rogers Centre, which is historically a hitter-friendly stadium, where they played just 36 games in the last two seasons due to Canada’s restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the team posted a 25-11 record after its return, so this season the stadium could become an insurmountable fortress for visitors.
Boston Red Sox: Trevor Story in the Second Base
The Red Sox shook up the free agent market last week by securing the services of one of the best players available: Trevor Story. The experienced shortstop signed with Boston for six seasons and $140 million, agreeing to move to second base in favor of Fenway Park’s incumbent Xander Bogaerts.
Were it not for injuries, Story would rank among the best shortstops of the last decade because his defensive quality goes hand in hand with a powerful performance from the batter’s box. At 29 years of age, it will be the first time in his career that he plays in the middle infield, although this transfer could be momentary pending the decision of Bogaerts, who can opt out of his contract with the organization after the end of the season.
Baltimore Orioles: Adley Rutschman’s Debut
The Orioles have in their ranks who is considered the second best prospect in baseball by MLB.com. Adley Rutschman is the name of the future of Baltimore behind the plate and is expected to debut this season with the big team.
Last season, the 24-year-old played 124 games between AA and AAA in which he collected 23 home runs, 75 RBIs, a .285 average and committed just four errors in 142 innings behind the plate. Rutschman developed some triceps discomfort during Spring Training, so he is expected to start in the minors and move up on May 2, when the Orioles would gain another year of control over the shortstop.
Tampa Bay Rays: Wander Franco’s First Full Season
In just 70 games last season, Franco showed the baseball world what he is capable of. The Dominican finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting playing less than half of the season and his numbers leave no room for discussion.
In addition to tying Frank Robinson for the most games on base by a player 20 years of age or younger at 43 consecutive games, Franco hit seven home runs, drove in 39 runs, batted .288 and finished with an OPS+ of 129. So for the 2022 campaign, with an 11-year, $182 million contract extension he signed over the winter, the shortstop should be more than ready to dazzle and help Tampa Bay on its mission to win the American Division East for the third straight season.
New York Yankees : Luis Severino Returns to the Rotation
The Yankees need a good rotation partner for Gerrit Cole and Dominican Luis Severino could be the one. After pitching just 18 innings since the 2019 campaign due to various injuries that have plagued him, Severino appears ready to return for the big time with the team with which he made his major league debut in 2015.
Severino, 28, between 2017 and 2018 was the leader of the Yankees’ rotation and thus earned two All-Star Game call-ups, as well as placing third and ninth in the American Cy Young voting, respectively. By 2022, the right-hander aims to be healthy and able to help his team in an East Division that is quite complicated.
