End-of-season reactions for every AL team
On Opening Day 2021, theScore overreacted to small samples. Now that every team has completed its 162-game campaign, it's time to take in all the reasonable reactions one can glean for each club.
We looked at the NL clubs Friday. Now, let's take a look at the 15 American League teams:
Baltimore Orioles: It may not look like it after they lost 110 games, but the next Orioles stars are starting to arrive. Cedric Mullins was great this year, and Ryan Mountcastle seemed to figure it out in the second half. They're still a long way from contending, but the farm system - led by Adley Rutschman - is loaded, and hope certainly helps.
Boston Red Sox: It turns out the Red Sox might actually be pretty good. There are some questions about whether they can carry their 2021 success over to next year, starting with whether or not J.D. Martinez uses his opt out and if Chris Sale can become an ace again. Either way, with Xander Bogaerts around for at least one more year alongside Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo, the lineup boasts plenty of pop.
Chicago White Sox: They're great but not elite just yet. It's unclear what's holding them back, but the White Sox are leagues better than anyone else in the AL Central yet still a tier below the top contenders. It doesn't help that Dallas Keuchel looks like he might not be worthy of a starting spot anymore. Continued steps forward from ascendant stars like Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech could help, but Chicago will likely need to make some additions this winter as well.
Cleveland: Jose Ramirez is the most underappreciated star in the majors. In fact, the third baseman ranks first by FanGraphs WAR among all position players since the beginning of the 2020 season. At 9.8 WAR, Ramirez is ahead of Trea Turner (9.6), Juan Soto (9.1), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (9.1), to name a few. And to think, Cleveland might part with him next.
Detroit Tigers: Despite being bad, the Tigers were still measurably better than two teams in their division. Plus, they could quickly find themselves better than a third heading into what might be a fun offseason for the rebuilding club. Helmed by A.J. Hinch, the Tigers are in a unique position to perhaps land both Justin Verlander and Carlos Correa this winter. And with a loaded farm system, neither would feel like a bad investment.
Houston Astros: Folks will still hold a grudge, but the Astros are clearly elite, trash cans or not. Helping that along is the fact that the guard is changing. Correa seems destined to sign elsewhere, while Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Luis Garcia represent the future of the club. Like it or not, the Astros are here to stay.
Kansas City Royals: It's going to sound like a backhanded compliment, but every mediocre team should strive to be more like the Royals. Despite having very little chance of making the postseason, Kansas City opts to field a fun roster and shows very little hesitation in calling up pitching prospects, thereby starting their service time clocks. No team is going to win every year, but at least the Royals - unlike the Orioles, Pirates, and Rangers - try to come up with reasons to sell tickets.
Los Angeles Angels: Not only are the Angels squandering arguably the best player of all time, but now they've wasted the greatest two-way season of all time from Shohei Ohtani. There are so many reasons to watch the Angels, and, hopefully one day soon, winning will be one of them.
Minnesota Twins: It's mystifying how quickly the Twins plummeted and how far they went. Perhaps it's partially karma for non-tendering Eddie Rosario, who went on to win NLCS MVP for the World Series champion Atlanta Braves. Others might say it's because literally everything went wrong for their pitching staff, which posted a 4.83 ERA for the season, the second-worst mark in the AL. Either way, they're a team that could bounce back as quickly as next year.
New York Yankees: It's time to start acting like the Yankees again. Signing Corey Kluber and trading for Jameson Taillon are nice supplemental moves for a fringe contender, but this is New York. Aaron Boone, who landed a three-year extension after this latest disappointing season, closed out the campaign by saying that the rest of the league had "closed the gap" on the Yankees. But the gap has been non-existent since 2009, the last time the club even won a pennant. Twelve seasons without a championship ... it's so un-Yankees.
Oakland Athletics: The A's seem to be heading into a transition phase in more ways than one. Whether they follow the Raiders to Las Vegas or end up elsewhere, it sure feels like they're not long for Oakland. Even further, the loss of longtime manager Bob Melvin feels like a harbinger of an impending fire sale, with so many players on the roster set for raises in the near future.
Seattle Mariners: The Mariners punched above their weight class in 2021, remaining in the playoff hunt until the last day of the season despite a minus-51 run differential, which was worse than six non-playoff teams with lower winning percentages. However, the club might finally be ready to break its 20-year playoff drought. Between Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, Logan Gilbert, and Justus Sheffield, the building blocks feel like they're finally in place.
Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays continue to find a way and, for better or worse, change baseball in the process. In all likelihood, the new CBA will cause the Rays to rethink how they weaponize rules to build a perennial contender while maintaining an aggressively low budget. However, so long as trading away players like Blake Snell continue to pay immediate dividends, this front office seems almost too smart.
Texas Rangers: They certainly are a professional baseball team. How long until a meaningful game that isn't a World Series contest between the Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers is played at Globe Life Field?
Toronto Blue Jays: It might be tough to replicate everything that went right this past year as Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien hit free agency, but the Jays are an ascendant superpower. The front office will still need to play its cards right, but building around Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette while finally being able to play at home for a full season next year is a great place to start.