With the start of the baseball season upon us, teams are finalizing their rosters, hoping to put together the group of players that will lead them to the postseason. Which player could be a key — the X factor — for each American League team?
American League East
Baltimore Orioles: RHP Zach Eflin
The Orioles have enough offense to compete, but questions persist about their pitching after Corbin Burnes signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Grayson Rodriguez was injured. Eflin leads the rotation after going 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA in nine starts after a trade from Tampa Bay last season.
Boston Red Sox: 3B Rafael Devers
Devers’ response about being a third baseman is a hot topic, but how much will it linger into the season? There’s no questioning his bat, but his shaky defense was enough for the Red Sox to sign Alex Bregman and consider moving Devers to first base or designated hitter.
New York Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodon
With Gerrit Cole sidelined all season, pressure will be on other starters to fill the void. After a disastrous first season due to the injuries, Rodon set career-highs for wins (16) and starts (32) over 175 innings in Year 2.
Tampa Bay Rays: 3B Junior Caminero
The Rays scored the second-fewest runs in MLB last year. They’re counting on bounce-back years from several players, but the biggest ceiling (and the most power) belongs to this 21-year-old who got 177 valuable plate appearances during the second half of last season.
Toronto Blue Jays: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
With Juan Soto signed to the Mets for the next 15 years, Guerrero inherits the title of Most Discussed Potential Free Agent. The Jays are hoping it does not become a distraction while also hoping Guerrero repeats his monstrous 2024 — either to max his trade value or make a playoff run.
American League Central
Chicago White Sox: CF Luis Robert Jr.
Robert smashed 38 homers and had an OPS of .857 in 2023, but slipped 200 points last year while missing 60 games. With no illusions about contending, the White Sox want Robert to return to greatness so they can snag several top prospects like they did with the trade of pitcher Garrett Crochet.
Cleveland Guardians: DH/1B Kyle Manzardo
Manzardo hit 20 homers at Triple-A last season, but only five in a 53-game MLB cameo. The Guardians traded Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks for two reasons – so they can save money and because they believe in Manzardo’s bat.
Detroit Tigers: 2B Gleyber Torres
Once a 38-homer player, Torres had to sign a one-year “prove it” deal with Detroit because he amassed just 15 homers last season with a .709 OPS with the Yankees. Now that he’s away from the Bronx Zoo for the first time, this could serve as a career rebirth.
Kansas City Royals: RHP Seth Lugo
Lugo really thrived as a starter last season when he won 16 games and was the runner-up in the Cy Young voting. Lugo is not the hardest thrower and is entering his age-35 season, but his unmatched repertoire has the Royals hopeful he can replicate 2024.
Minnesota Twins: 3B Royce Lewis
Is this the year Lewis finally stays healthy? Considering the Twins did not add much to surround Carlos Correa, they can use someone who played 82 games last season to play closer to 130 this time around.
American League West
Athletics: RHP Luis Severino
With the A’s moving from Oakland to Sacramento, the front office spent some money and Severino was the first big free agent to climb aboard. Severino rebounded nicely with the Mets last season, so the A’s hope he’ll again look more like the pitcher who was an All-Star with the Yankees in 2017 and 2018.
Houston Astros: LF Jose Altuve
After 2,232 hits and nine All-Star appearances as a second baseman, Altuve is making the move to left field. So far, there have been some shaky moments, but the Astros want it to work so superb-fielding Mauricio Dubon can handle second base.
Los Angeles Angels: RF Jo Adell
Adell used to be one of the top 10 prospects in the game. He has yet to prove that ranking to be right, but he started to show some potential last year with 20 homers and 15 steals. He turns 26 on April 8, so there’s still more in store.
Seattle Mariners: OF Randy Arozarena
The Mariners added Arozarena for the stretch drive last year, but he only hit five homers in 54 games as the playoff run was a flop, too. The Mariners added little to their offense in the offseason, so a return to his peak form in Tampa would help.
Texas Rangers: RHP Jacob deGrom
He threw just 30 innings last year, but deGrom has recovered from his second Tommy John surgery and appears to be pitching with slightly less velocity than during his time with the Mets. Texas invested five years on the former Cy Young winner and would like to see a return.
