Since winning the World Series, the Boston Red Sox have been anything but a top-tier team. In fact, they’ve been one of the worst teams in the American League in a division that has yielded some of the most competitive races.
The Red Sox are 26 games below .500 in the previous two seasons. Despite that ineptitude, oddsmakers have Boston as tied with last year’s American League East champion Toronto Blue Jays at +160 to win the division. The Yankees are third at +350, while Baltimore and Tampa Bay are at +900.
Many of the higher expectations for the Red Sox are based on offseason signings. David Price was the biggest signing, but Chris Young and Craig Kimbrel also will provide big names to a team that has enough firepower to compete.
I’m not buying into the Red Sox like everyone else. Let’s not forget about the Blue Jays and all the weapons north of the border. Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion make life very hard on opposing pitchers. The pitching will take a hit without Price, but there’s still enough there to make Toronto the best pick in the AL East.
The Yankees have decent value, but I still don’t like their pitching. CC Sabathia can’t be trusted anymore and we don’t see any other starting pitchers, other than Masahiro Tanaka, who can go out on a consistent basis to provide solid outings.
The Blue Jays are the best bet, but the Orioles have shown in recent years to be competitive even when no one believes in them. Baltimore has finished at or above .500 in the last four years. Much of the same pieces are still there, offering bettors with the best off-the-radar pick.
I’m sticking with Toronto, but the Orioles aren’t a bad side option.
