toronto blue jays
Expectation: After coming so close to winning it last year, the Jays added offseason acquisitions Dylan Cease, Cody Pons, Max Scherzer, Eric Lauer and Tyler Rogers to pitch alongside Kazuma Okamoto and Jesus Sanchez on the offensive side.
Although they lost Bo Bichette in free agency, they are a much better team than they were before (and they were already really good).
But the biggest hope for Toronto fans is a stellar season from superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which will propel them back to the postseason.
Worry: The Jays are in the AL East, which is probably the toughest division in the junior circuit – maybe in all of MLB. They have made a lot of offseason moves but the question still remains to be seen if they can follow up their Cinderella story from 2025.
New York Yankees
Expectation: Yanks fans should be feeling good after opening night. He had a dominant performance against San Francisco Giants veteran Logan Webb, earning a 7–0 win after a 5-run shutout in the second inning.
Max Fried pitched 6 ⅓ innings of shutout ball, limiting the Giants batters to two hits. Aaron Judge, the four-time reigning AL MVP, will be eliminated after historically poor play.
Worry: New York has been content to run it back, making no new additions other than bringing back Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Trent Grisham.
They are coming off 94 consecutive winning seasons and could do so again, but in the bloodthirsty AL East, can they keep up?
boston red sox
Expectation: The Sox strengthened their pitching by adding top free agent Ranger Suarez while trading for Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo.
They have one of the most complete starting rotations with great depth in baseball. Peyton Towle won't be in the starting five, but Conley will fill out the back end nicely.
Worry: Alex Bregman's passing is sad. Can Caleb Durbin replace Bregman's production? Probably not, but he's a great young player and fills in at third base nicely for Boston. But if he can build on his stellar 2025 rookie campaign, Boston will be that much closer to returning to playoff glory.
baltimore orioles
Expectation: After an incredibly disappointing 2025, the O's made several moves this offseason. That disappointment came largely from incredibly poor pitching.
They signed Chris Bassitt and Zack Eflin in free agency, and traded for Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge. Despite Grayson Rodriguez leaving the possibility, these moves should get them closer to their 101-win season from 2023.
Worry: Like most of the teams on this list, can they hang on to the East? The Birds have done a lot to try to keep pace with the Yanks, Jays and Sox, but whether they can do so remains to be seen under new manager Craig Alberta.
Their offense looks much better with Pete Alonso at first base, but their '25 was incredibly disappointing after poor seasons from young stars Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, but if they can return to form the O's will be set.
tampa bay rays
Expectation: Not much can be expected from this Rays team outside of Junior Caminero having another incredible year after hitting 36 home runs last season. After his dominant performance in the World Baseball Classic, he will be the only superstar Tampa Bay is seriously lacking.
Worry: Who's going to take the mound? Shane McClanahan is returning from injury, but they traded Shane Baz and only added Nick Martinez. The Rays won't compete in the AL East this year, but they can at least expect good performances from Caminero and Chandler Simpson.
