The Yankees have watched as the Rangers won the last two American League pennants and GM Brian Cashman decided to swap the organization’s top offensive prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda and sign Hiroki Kuroda and Raul Ibanez.
But he wasn’t the only one who made some moves during the offseason, and the Yankees’ pursuit of another title figures to be made even tougher by the arrivals of Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols to the American League.
So following losses to the Tigers in the ALDS last season and the Rangers in the ALCS in 2010, here’s what the Yankees have to look forward to this year:
RANGERS: The two-time defending AL champs lost C.J. Wilson, who signed with the Angels, but hope to have made up for that in their rotation by bringing in Yu Darvish from Japan. The right-hander was one of the most sought-after prizes of the winter. He will be joined in Texas by Joe Nathan, who left the Twins to close for the Rangers. Nathan will replace Neftali Perez, who is attempting to become a starter.
ANGELS: After striking out in the free-agent market before last season, the Angels ‹ and new GM Jerry Dipoto ‹ made some serious additions this winter. The prize was Albert Pujols. While it can be argued that giving the 31-year-old first baseman a 10-year contract ($240 million) might not have been the best long-term investment, there is little doubt about what he’ll be able to do this season.
Dipoto also brought in C.J. Wilson to join a rotation that includes Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana. They also have promising young players such as Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout, as well as the return of a seemingly healthy Kendrys Morales and new catcher Chris Iannetta.
RED SOX: GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona are gone, but Boston still figures to be a threat. Given the epic collapse in 2011, it can be easy to forget the Red Sox were the best team in the sport for most of the year.
And while they have more question marks than they have had in recent years, plus a new manager, they figure to still be a force.
Bobby Valentine takes over for Francona and has to deal with the loss of closer Jonathan Papelbon, who signed with the Phillies, as well as shortstop Marco Scutaro. Clubhouse leaders Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield retired and Daniel Bard is making the switch from reliever to starter.
Andrew Bailey was brought in from Oakland to replace Papelbon. They’ll need Carl Crawford to improve on a disastrous 2011 to challenge in the East.
TIGERS: Just when it looked as if the Tigers might be in trouble when Victor Martinez went down with a season-ending knee injury, they swooped in and signed free agent Prince Fielder, who appeared to be running low on suitors. His presence in the lineup makes the Tigers just as dangerous as they were a year ago, when they were good enough to outlast the Yankees in five games in the ALDS.
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