2017 Major League Preview: AL East

Boston Red Sox

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: The club’s youthful core continues to shine, with Andrew Benintendi contributing a Rookie of the Year turn. Chris Sale makes a seamless change of Sox to fortify the AL’s best rotation and Mookie Betts wins MVP as the Red Sox claim their fourth World Series this century.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: The Red Sox feel the loss of David Ortiz in the lineup and the clubhouse and their young stars falter without his cover, David Price’s spring elbow issues linger and Sale struggles to adjust as the staff spirals.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: LHP Chris Sale, RHP Tyler Thornburg, 1B Mitch Moreland.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: DH David Ortiz, 3B Travis Shaw, RHP Clay Buchholz.

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: OF Andrew Benintendi

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Baltimore Orioles

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo provide the power, Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy the leadership and Many Machado the stardom, while Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy step forward to complement Chris Tillman in the rotation as the O’s net their fourth playoff berth in six seasons.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Losing Matt Wieters proves disastrous as Gausman and Bundy don’t take that leap in consistency, leaving Wade Miley, Ubaldo Jimenez and the rest of a thin rotation to take an AL East pounding.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: C Welington Castillo, OF Seth Smith, OF Aneury Tavarez.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: C Matt Wieters, DH Pedro Alvarez, RHP Yovani Gallardo

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: RHP Kevin Gausman

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Toronto Blue Jays

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Toronto’s rotation effectively mixes the power of Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman with the touch of J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada, enough to overcome the loss of Edwin Encarnacion as the Jays return to the playoffs for the third straight season.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Kendrys Morales, Justin Smoak, Steve Pearce and an aging Jose Bautista fail to provide enough corner power, leaving Toronto to find a new identity from its recent power past while the staff struggles to repeat last year’s success.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: DH Kendrys Morales, OF/1B Steve Pearce, LHP J.P. Howell

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: 1B Edwin Encarnacion, OF Michael Saunders

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: RHP Marcus Stroman

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New York Yankees

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Gary Sanchez becomes the next big thing in the Big Apple, Luis Severino steps forward to help the rotation get to the league’s nastiest bullpen, and the rest of the Baby Bombers prove ready to produce right away and compete for a wild card.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Sanchez proves mortal, the rotation fails to hold up and the lineup’s lack of star power gets exposed as the post Derek Jeter/A-Rod era kicks off with a sub-.500 finish.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: LHP Aroldis Chapman, OF Matt Holliday, DH/1B Chris Carter

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: C Brian McCann, 1B Mark Teixeira, RHP Nathan Eovaldi

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: C Gary Sanchez

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Tampa Bay Rays

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: The return of Alex Cobb and addition of Jose De Leon provides a boost to the rotation, while Evan Longoria continues his resurgence and teams with recent additions Colby Rasmus, Wilson Ramos and new shortstop Matt Duffy to spur a run at a wild card.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Longoria returns to modest pre-2016 levels, the offense remains sporadic and the team starts poorly, spurring a full rebuild with Archer, Cobb and Jake Odorizzi traded at the deadline.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: OF Colby Rasmus, C Wilson Ramos, RHP Jose De Leon.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: 1B Logan Morrison, OF/1B Steve Pearce, OF Mikie Mahtook.

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: OF Kevin Kiermaier