AL East preview

1. Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are the division's most consistent winner since they ditched the "Devil" in their moniker six seasons ago, having won at least 90 games five times in that span. With 2013 AL Rookie of the Year Wil Myers in the heart of their lineup for a full season, plus All-Stars Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist, this lineup will score plenty to make life easier for stellar starting pitchers David Price, Matt Moore and Alex Cobb.

2. Boston Red Sox

The defending World Series champs will return to the postseason; they might even defend the division crown. But things went so well for this team a year ago that a small step back is reasonable. Expect Clay Buchholz to put up a more mortal ERA than the 1.74 he posted in 16 starts last season, and one can't rely on aging John Lackey and Jake Peavy to be consistent year-to-year. At least the lineup is still stacked, even without Jacoby Ellsbury.

3. Yankees

Speaking of Ellsbury, he's a clear upgrade for this team, as are Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran. They'll miss Robinson Cano, but having a presumably healthy Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira back is a solid trade-off. On the mound, CC Sabathia should bounce back and Michael Pineda will endear himself to New Yorkers, at long last. Keep expectations in check regarding Masahiro Tanaka. If he posts an ERA under 4.00, it's worth celebrating.

4. Baltimore Orioles

As great as Chris Davis was in 2013, that's likely the peak of his performance. He'll still put up big numbers, but there will be no repeat 50-homer season in Baltimore. Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez were savvy additions that will keep the O's in the thick of the division race, but they'll probably be on the outside looking in by the end of September.

5. Toronto Blue Jays

As bad as 2013 was for a Blue Jays team that expected to compete for a World Series, they managed to improve their win total by one. That still added up to just 74 wins. This season could be worse, given that they failed to make any significant additions. Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Reyes will perform, but it won't add up to many victories.