The American League East has a rich history of being the toast of Major League Baseball. Since interleague play and realignment have swept through baseball in recent decades, the American League East has maintained its integrity and competitive form. It remains the most highly competitive division in baseball, compiling a total of 41 World Series titles among its five teams. Of course, the New York Yankees have a total of 27 Championships, and they remain in the mix with division leaders and the best the league has to offer every year.
Each team in this storied division has proven that they can win. Even the Tampa Bay Rays, the youngest of the proud American League teams, having come into the league in 1998, can boast of some highly productive playoff runs. The 2025 MLB season has seen a shift in performance levels, with some clubs meeting or exceeding early expectations set for them heading into the season.
Here, as the first month of the season comes to a close, is a formative evaluation of each team’s output so far. A progress report for April, with a description (above) of how each level is assigned, with qualifiers as they pertain to both offence (hitting) and pitching.
The Bombers came right out of the gate, hitting bombs. They sit tied with the Dodgers for the MLB lead for home runs as April comes to a close. Aaron Judge remains over .400 for the season so far, with his usual 50-plus annual home run pace safely intact. This has contributed significantly to the Yankees’ American League-leading .262 team batting average and impressive .816 OPS. Max Fried has stepped in as the interim ace while Gerrit Cole undergoes his surgical recovery process.
Fried has been dominant, while the remaining starting pitchers have carried their weight. The question remains what to do with the backend of the bullpen. Devin Williams has been uncharacteristically ineffective, but his role as closer remains safe for now. It remains to be seen how far manager Aaron Boone’s patience will extend with the newly added Yankees closer.
The Red Sox bats are beginning to heat up. The only primary production early on came from early Rookie of the Year candidate Kristian Campbell and some flashes of power from Alex Bregman. Abysmal starts from Rafael Devers and Tristan Casas are hopefully now in the rearview mirror as the club moves into May, just a couple of games above .500. Once Bregman, Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, and the rest of the Boston lineup hits close to their potential, this lineup should be the very best in the league.
On the pitching side, the starting rotation is starting to take form. Garrett Crochet is appearing even more dominant than expected. He punches in a quality start every time he takes the ball, and is among the league leaders in all major categories. It’s fair to say that the rest of the rotation has been decent, with Lucas Giolito set to return, making for a rather lethal one-through-three, and even four-pitching combination.
Like the Yankees, there is a bit of uncertainty with the closer role, although Aroldis Chapman has emerged as the wise choice. Will Chapman last the season in that role? He has been exciting to watch so far, having successfully converted all of his save opportunities.
This report is factoring in all of April, which has been respectable and productive for the Blue Jays. George Springer has reinvented himself as a middle-of-the-order hitter who can once again drive in runs. Springer is playing with a renewed “spring” in his step and making regular, solid contact. He could very well be in the conversation for American League comeback player of the year, provided he can stay close to his current pace.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Jays’ lineup, including All-Stars Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr, have been slow to get started in the power department. Jays fans had hoped that the signing of Anthony Santander would help boost the underperforming middle of the lineup. So far, other than surprising pop from Andres Gimenez, it just has not happened.
The Blue Jays are putting up embarrassing run totals, combined with home run and OPS numbers that are among the lowest in MLB. The starting pitchers, led by veteran ace Chris Bassitt, have been somewhat of a saving grace for this Blue Jays team. They have been outstanding so far, despite having lost future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to a mysterious thumb injury.
The bullpen has also been solid through the first month of the season, with Jeff Hoffman’s early numbers indicating that he may be a valuable signing. Great pitching will only take this team so far; there have already been signs of some cracks in the pitching armour. The Blue Jays have to score runs, or they will quickly slip out of contention and move towards selling off some of their more well-known players.
With the loss of Corbin Burnes and the injury prognosis involving Grayson Rodriguez, the Orioles knew that pitching would be an area of need for 2025. Nobody could have predicted that it would be this bad, coming out of the gate for 2025.
The addition of veteran righty Charlie Morton was supposed to offer leadership and help to stabilise the rotation. Morton could also provide mentorship to young, projected starters like Cade Povich. To say it has not worked out would be an understatement.
The Orioles brass needs to consider the impact that continuing to have Morton in the rotation will have on both the pitcher’s proud legacy and career, as well as on his mental health. He might still be able to serve the club as a fifth starter option, but as it stands, the Orioles are expecting the veteran to lead the front end of a hobbling rotation. This plan is unsustainable.
The bullpen has been somewhat of a saviour, but they just haven’t been handed enough leads to hold. The much-anticipated return of closer Felix Bautista has worked out reasonably well, and setup man Yennier Cano has been great. Still, unless they plan to turn some of these relievers into starters, the Orioles appear to be in trouble in the American League East standings.
Their bats came out hot with an epic home run hitting performance in Toronto on opening day. They have gradually cooled off since then. The return of All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson will add some serious pop to this offence that has been relatively slow out of the gate.
The Rays have adjusted to their new temporary home, and so far, Steinbrenner Field has proven to be a hitter’s haven. Rays pitchers, despite having a string of quality starts and a respectable team ERA, are surrendering an epic number of home runs. They have the dubious distinction of having given up an MLB-leading 39 home runs in April.
Their hitters, meanwhile, are around the middle of the pack, having cleared the yard 25 times so far. Starters Ryan Pepiot and Zack Littell have been hit hard at times, but they have shown improvements in their most recent starts. Taj Bradley, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen have all looked good. Even with the absence of ace Shane McClanahan, the Rays are moving in the right direction in terms of the starting rotation.
In the bullpen, Pete Fairbanks continues to be one of the game’s more dependable closers. Junior Camanero is offering fans a glimpse of what his future holds. He fits the bill as a bona fide star player. The rest of the Rays’ lineup is hitting, with Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Diaz proving to be very difficult outs.
Baseball needs an American League East dog fight. It’s safe to say that the Red Sox have the personnel to challenge the Yankees for the division title. The Blue Jays and Orioles are losing their footing and will need to improve their hitting metrics (Blue Jays) or pitching statistics (Orioles) if they are to have any hope of securing a wildcard berth. The Rays, in typical character mode, are a bit of an anomaly and could easily rise to the top if they go on a run. It has been an exciting and action-packed first month in the American League East, a division which has also had its share of disappointments.
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