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How the rest of the AL East should react after the Stanton trade

Tom Szczerbowski / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Giancarlo Stanton trade to the New York Yankees sent shockwaves through the baseball world on Saturday.

A team that was on the verge of reaching the World Series in October just got a whole lot better by acquiring the home run king of 2017. The pinstripes now have the home run leader from each league on the roster entering next season, and are the presumed favorite to take home the AL East title.

They probably aren't finished, either. The Yankees could use another starting pitcher (perhaps re-signing CC Sabathia) and an upgrade at second base to replace Starlin Castro who is on his way to Miami.

The rest of the division now faces a big problem. The Yankees are poised to be a superhuman force for the next decade. Decisions will need to be made. Here's a look at what the other four franchises should do in the coming weeks and months:

The Red Sox need to power up

The Boston Red Sox are the only AL East team with a realistic shot at challenging the Yankees for first place. It's worth remembering this Red Sox team won the division in 2017 and looked darn good doing it.

Their biggest hole is only magnified by the Stanton deal. As a unit, the Red Sox hit 168 home runs, more than only three other teams. Then, you have the new heart of the Yankees order in Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez. Together, the three of them combined for 144 dingers last season. With this, it becomes evident the power outage in Boston has to stop.

If Dave Dombrowski isn't going all-in on free agent J.D. Martinez to be the team's designated hitter for the next several years, it will be a major shocker. Martinez cranked 45 homers in only 119 games a year ago, trailing only Judge and Stanton for the major-league lead.

Making a play at left-handed first baseman Eric Hosmer is also a possibility, though it may throw Hanley Ramirez's role into question.

Adding a right-handed starting pitcher is also a major priority, which could manifest in a run at either Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish. Targeting the rotation is probably secondary to addressing their power problems.

The Blue Jays can't do anything stupid

The Toronto Blue Jays nearly reached the World Series in back-to-back years chock-full of magical moments, but ultimately came up empty. Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista departing in back-to-back seasons while Josh Donaldson enters his final campaign before free agency puts the team in flux.

The Blue Jays shouldn't do anything rash as a knee-jerk reaction even though the roster needs work. While trading Donaldson during next week's Winter Meetings is certainly in play, they may as well see what this team can do. The rotation is mostly formed provided it stays healthy. The lineup could use tweaks - that Kendrys Morales deal was dead on arrival - but they will absolutely not consider trading top prospects in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

Unless a team offers a ridiculous deal for Donaldson, it's probably best to play the waiting game and make the appropriate moves in July depending on the team's trajectory. With questions constantly swirling around the health and effectiveness of Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin, and Devon Travis, there's not much else they can do.

It's time for the Orioles and Rays to blow it up

The Baltimore Orioles are kind of stuck. The Chris Davis contract is untradeable and sees him getting paid deferred money until after 2037. The only thing that makes any kind of sense is to start over everywhere else. And, unfortunately, that means giving up on a future with Manny Machado.

Machado, Adam Jones, and Zach Britton are free agents after 2018. Deal them all. Even if Machado somehow wants to sign an extension, he's going to bring in the best haul in the event of a rebuild. Maybe his impending free agency reduces the prospect capital a tad, but after missing out on Stanton, the St. Louis Cardinals may be one team willing to try and spin-to-win.

The Orioles need to build around young pitchers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy, and maybe consider signing them through their arbitration years and past the first couple seasons of free agency - similar to how the Cleveland Indians locked up MVP finalist Jose Ramirez. If they can snag near MLB-ready prospects, it can help expedite the process.

The Rays are in a similar boat, and they have two amazing trade chips in third baseman Evan Longoria and starting pitcher Chris Archer. Where they differ from Machado is that they're locked into multi-year deals at discount prices. Both cost below the market value for their positions, and while Longoria didn't perform at his usual level in 2017, he's been remarkably consistent most of his career, and still plays a solid defensive third base.

Archer should be the crown jewel of the offseason. At 29, the right-hander costs a pittance compared to players on the open market. According to Cot's Contracts, Archer will earn $6.25 million in 2018 followed by $7.5 million before a pair of club options totaling $20 million kick in. The only reason the Rays should actually listen to offers on Archer instead of building around him is the potential astronomical value of prospects they receive.

In that same vein, trading defensive wizard Kevin Kiermaier could become a possibility despite his own, long-term, team-friendly contract.

Stanton's arrival in the AL East should act as verification that their windows have closed, and it's time to think long term. It worked for the Houston Astros, and it worked for the Chicago Cubs. If the alternative is to try and keep up with the Yankees, there's no choice to be made.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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