2026 MLB Odds, AL East Preview: Pros and cons for every AL East team

The AL East is perennially one of the strongest divisions in baseball and that should be no different in 2026.

AL East teams won eight more games than the next closest division in last year and three AL East teams made the playoffs, with Toronto becoming the second straight AL East team to reach the World Series.

And this division is only going to be stronger in 2026. The Blue Jays doubled down on their run to the World Series with an aggressive off-season. The Yankees’ bats will drive in as many runs as any team. The Red Sox pitching should be top notch. The Orioles have one of the best power hitting lineups. And the Rays are always competitive regardless of how little they spend.

With regular season baseball returning this week, let’s look art the pros and cons of every team in the best division in baseball.

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Baltimore Orioles

Notable additions: Pete Alonso, Chris Bassitt, Ryan Helsley, Shane Baz, Taylor Ward, Blaze Alexander, Andrew Kittredge, Leody Taveras

Notable losses: Grayson Rodriguez, Jorge Mateo, Tomoyuki Sugano, Gary Sanchez, Kade Strowd

Glass half full: Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward improve Baltimore’s lineup exponentially and this team should mash homers in 2026. Chris Bassitt is a solid addition on the mound, but the O’s will be relying on power hitting to win.

Glass half empty: Bassitt is good, but there’s still not enough depth in the rotation. The only starters with ERAs below 4.00 last year were Bassitt (3.96 with Toronto), Kyle Bradish (2.53 after returning from Tommy John surgery in August) and Trevor Rogers (1.81 in 18 games).

Boston Red Sox

Notable additions: Ranger Suarez, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Danny Coulombe

Notable losses: Alex Bregman, Richard Fitts, Brandon Clarke, Hunter Dobbins, Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, Jordan Hicks, Steven Matz, Dustin May, Rob Refsnyder, Jhostynxon Garcia, Liam Hendriks, Nathaniel Lowe

Glass half full: Run prevention and defence is the name of the game for Boston. The rotation is anchored by Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet and the outfield is littered with elite gloves.

Glass half empty: Alex Bregman is a big loss and there’s no doubt the Red Sox are weaker at third base as a result. Top prospect Roman Anthony will get a shot at shouldering the load offensively, but it’s a lot to ask of a 21-year-old who only played half the season in the majors last year.

New York Yankees

Notable additions: Ryan Weathers, Paul DeJong, Randal Grichuk, Rafael Montero

Notable losses: Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Mark Leiter Jr., Ian Hamilton, Jonathan Loaisiga, Austin Slater

Glass half full: The Yankees brought back most of their roster from last year, highlighted by the re-signing of Cody Bellinger. Reigning back-to-back AL MVP Aaron Judge is still in his prime and expectations are just as high after reaching the World Series in 2024.

Glass half empty: Giancarlo Stanton can’t be relied on to produce the way he has in the past and he’s already reportedly dealing with sever tennis elbow in both arms. Stanton is one of many veteran players who will need to get back to full health for the Yankees to get over the top.

Tampa Bay Rays

Notable additions: Steven Matz, Nick Martinez, Gavin Lux, Ben Williamson, Cedric Mullins, Jacob Melton, Jake Fraley

Notable losses: Brandon Lowe, Shane Baz, Josh Lowe, Pete Fairbanks, Jake Mangum, Mason Montgomery, Adrian Houser, Christopher Morel, Kameron Misner

Glass half full: Junior Caminero cemented himself as a star last season, with the 22-year-old launching 45 bombs. Caminero should have another strong year after a great run at the WBC where he slashed .350/.409/.850 in six games.

Glass half empty: The Rays are arguably the best team in the majors at finding cheap talent, but that’s because they don’t like to spend. In particular, Tampa Bay is gambling hard that Shane McClanahan will return to form and anchor the rotation after not throwing a pitch in a regular season game in over 1,000 days.

Toronto Blue Jays

Notable additions: Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, Taylor Rogers, Cody Ponce, Jesus Sanchez, Chase Lee

Notable losses: Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Seranthony Dominguez, Joey Loperfido, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ty France

Glass half full: The Blue Jays came as close to winning the World Series as you can in 2025 and most of that roster is back in 2026. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looked great at the WBC and Dylan Cease significantly upgrades the rotation.

Glass half empty: Obviously, Bo Bichette leaving is a big loss, but Toronto proved they can win without Bichette in the playoffs and Kazuma Okamoto should plug that hole in the lineup. The bigger concern is the bullpen. Jeff Hoffman is still around and the Jays likely won’t feel great about themselves until they find a way to upgrade their ninth-inning pitching.