Chapter 1: What makes the AL East the toughest division in baseball?
Yeah, there should be some passion. This doesn't have to be boring.
I find this fascinating. I put up a poll the other day. off of the Okamoto signing with the Blue Jays. And I said, okay, who had the best offseason? Because the perception of the Blue Jays are blowing everybody away. All right, for 2026, who do you want? Okamoto, Cease, Ponce, Blue Jays, Orioles. Um, Afflin, um, Boz and Alonzo Orioles, Red Sox who haven't signed a free agent yet.
Sonny Gray, Wilson Contreras, Oviedo. So my point is that, first of all, we know that if you win the offseason, the Mets and Diamondbacks won the offseason last year. They didn't make the playoffs. What's your perspective on where do you feel like the Orioles have positioned themselves and how do you view the power structure right now?
Well, first of all, I'll start with this.
Chapter 2: Which team had the best offseason in the AL East?
I love the AL East. I love what it is right now because every team is competitive now. Every single one. Even the Rays, where on paper right now, they would be the team that could be finishing last. Ironically, that team last year, or the fourth place team in some places, was the Toronto Blue Jays, and they were
one uh play away from being world series champs last year right so uh i love the competitive spirit but what i also love is they ain't messing around this year and and you're right the off season it makes you feel good in the moment but it's going to be how you perform on the field but you do need to go out and make moves to improve your ball club so to start off with the orioles uh
2025 was a letdown. That's an understatement. They were banged up going in. They didn't have enough pitching depth, and they got burned tremendously. And one of the mottos I used last year was if they were going to be considered weak in the pitching department, their hitting and defense was going to have to be elite, and it wasn't.
And so you went as far as your young core was going to take you, and it didn't take that step that they wanted. And Mike Elias, people were burning Mike Elias, but I said, you know what? Give him time. See what he does now with ownership having a full year now and a fully comfortable year of understanding what they have with their team.
Chapter 3: How do the Orioles' offseason moves impact their competitiveness?
And you know what Mike Elias did? He said, I ain't going to get burned twice. And they've been aggressive. And I mean, the other name you didn't add there was Ryan Helsley. The guy that's looking to bounce back. And also Taylor Ward. It's been so many damn moves, but you know what? They had to do that. Because you know why? The Yankees, to me, going into this, if no moves were being made...
Their pitching staff of Garrett Cole comes back from a starting standpoint. That's elite. Freed, Rodon, Cole. Schlittler.
Yeah.
Chapter 4: What challenges did the Orioles face in the previous season?
I mean, Cam, that's right. The dude throwing fuzz. The Yankees develop pitchers just better than almost anyone when I've been around. I mean, that was a team I hated facing in the minor leagues, Rob. So when I look at that, oh, plus you have one of the greatest hitters of all time on your team, even though they need more help.
Mm-hmm.
Like that's the Yankees. Then the blue Jays are like, screw it. We're spending money. And I talked to Mark Shapiro about this last year and he's the president of the blue Jays for those that don't know. And he goes, we're a big market. You know, we are the team of Canada here, but also we want to win and they're backing it up Boston. I like their nucleus.
So, you know, I, I think that they still need a piece or two, but point being, um, at least a gauntlet, and it should be.
Chapter 5: Why is pitching depth crucial for success in the AL East?
But that's also why this offseason teams have to get better because if you don't, it's going to be tough sledding, and you better hope that you are excellent at something. And that's what the Blue Jays were. Rob, Blue Jays were the best bad and average team last year. They were the best situational hitting team last year. That's why they went to the World Series.
So that's – but they understand they have to get better. So that's a long-winded answer for me. But this is why I love the AL East, and if I'm the Orioles, so far you've done what you've said you would, except I do think they got one more move up their sleeve, Rob.
You think – so that's what I was going to ask, right? You know, it's – the Orioles have put themselves in position, and as you said, it's great that – After that year of the sad trombone year, okay, you know what? We're going to course correct and we're going to shock and awe in the offseason. But the one thing that they're sort of waiting for is that alpha. Are they going to get the alpha?
Are they going to get that Corbin Burns from a couple years ago?
Chapter 6: What role do injuries play in a team's success in baseball?
And they have them. They had one of the best pitchers in baseball for the last three months. People should understand that. But do you think that they get that one last guy?
Yes, I do. You know, right now when I look at this, this is the part where I'm being around the game and understanding, especially nowadays, what's one thing that has now become a guarantee in the sport of baseball, which always had been relevant or at least a part of it, but it's even more because of how things have changed. It's that pitchers are going to get injured. It's not if, it's a when.
And it's at a higher clip. So if you're a team, you need more starting rotation depth. That's the biggest thing that you need. And for the Orioles, Eflin was great. Boz, love his stuff. He's got team control. Kyle Bradish coming back.
Chapter 7: How do the Yankees' pitching staff compare to other teams?
He's going to be, in my opinion, he's going to be in the Cy Young running because he is that damn good. I think I tweeted this out a couple days ago. If you combine Kyle Bradish's last 39 starts, I think he's got like a 278 ERA, which would put him in the top eight in all of baseball. Both leagues. So you have an ace already.
And then Trevor Rogers, if he continues on with what he did last year, I'll take 70% of that. That's good. But that's still – there's six guys. Dean Kramer is the other one that I didn't list. You have six guys in this list. Six guys in a rotation for depth isn't going to be enough. So I think that they need one more big arm, one big pitcher. A lot of news around Ranger. Rob, I –
Um, who do you want?
Chapter 8: What are the projected win totals for AL East teams this season?
Who do you want? I think Ranger is the fit. You know, the one thing for me with Framber, I gotta be honest. Like if that whole situation in Houston didn't happen is that's, what's holding people up for, for Framber because he was talking about a guy that posts every year. It's been Framber, but, but clearly like even the reports, um,
I'm not hearing a ton of teams that are, that are suited for the thing is like you heard, oh, he went to the winter meetings or he was that he had to sell himself and all because you're right. I mean, all because they had to order extra chest protectors. You know, it's like all because of that one thing. But it was a pretty big thing. But still, I'm kind of with you. And here's the thing, Ryan.
So Bob Nightingale actually tweeted this out just before we started recording about over-unders. The over-unders for win totals are out. I'm going to quiz you, all right? I won't ask you the numbers, but I'm going to ask you the order of what you think it is. So give me the order of what you think from highest to lowest. Win total. In the AL East? Yeah.
All right. I still think because of going to the pitching, I'm going to say the Yankees are still going to be the favorite. I will then say, oh, man, it's going to coin flip. I think the Orioles are fourth, and I think the Blue Jays second, Red Sox third, Orioles fourth, Rays fifth.
Oh, you nailed it. There we go. Yankees, 93 and a half. Blue Jays, 91 and a half. Red Sox, 87 and a half. Orioles, 84 and a half, which, by the way, I'll take the over on that. Rays, 78 and a half. So, man, good for you. See? Your instincts are keen. Good for you.
And here's the thing. When you look at organizations... I was asked about what's going to take the step for the Orioles for people to consider them to be serious contenders moving forward. Well, one is proving to free agents or the perspective around the league is this isn't a one-year thing.
So like in 2023 when they got hot, when no one expected them to jump from, okay, maybe it's a nice story to be a playoff contender to being the one seed in the AL East. People still had some questions. They thought they were on the right track, but what Orioles organization, what were they going to be moving forward? And last year, they didn't spend a lot, and people went out.
They're going back to some of their old ways. So you have to prove it. The Yankees have proved it. And also, I think Boone gets a bad rep. They're always in it. They are a well-run organization. They haven't won in 16 years. Don't tell Yankees fans that. They haven't won in 16 years, but a really good organization. Boston, expectations, but same thing. They cycle back to being contenders.
They make big moves. The Garrett Crochet move in extending, that was the deal of the offseason last year for me. And that was a move that the Orioles could have had him, and the Red Sox made the move. Um, and then the blue Jays, you know, they're putting their money where their mouth is right now. So, um, yeah, I, I think that it makes sense, but I'm with you.
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