The Yankees are targeting Cody Bellinger and Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai among other free agent stars, and despite owner Hal Steinbrenner’s obvious lingering concerns about the end result, they will almost certainly work hard to improve their postseason team. The bigger problem may be their stiff competition in the AL East, which is gearing up for a battle that could dwarf the spirited regular-season battle that ended with a pair of 94-win teams (the division and American League champion Blue Jays and the Yankees) and a third playoff team (the Red Sox).
Boston and Toronto have already taken early hits, and the situation is only expected to worsen from here. The Red Sox went first, landing standout starter Sonny Gray, who was great everywhere but The Bronx. And Boston is far from done.
The Red Sox are considering joining two of these five major lineup upgrades: the ultra-popular Kyle Schwarber, plus Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto and JT Realmuto, as well as last winter’s big pickup, Alex Bregman.
With the quarter of a billion dollars saved from the clever midseason dumping of Rafael Devers, Boston looks to be a major player this winter in what is shaping up as a battle royal in baseball’s only division with three legitimate big-market teams. Bregman seems the most likely fit, but they would like another big bat, with righty hitters favored, although Schwarber is heavily in the mix after his brilliant 56-home run season, stellar clubhouse reputation and notoriety from his cameo there in 2021.
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