USA Today’s AL Offseason Report Cards

USA Today is one of my daily bookmarks that I frequent when looking for inspiration for a blog, for news or sometimes just to pass the time. The reason I come back every single day is because the content on the site is always top notch, especially when earlier in the week they graded all of the American League’s offseasons for each team. CLICK HERE to see the entire write up but just for you guys I will include the American League East here as an excerpt.

FYI the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim got the two best scores

A-

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays lost GM Andrew Friedman as the offseason began, but newly installed Matt Silverman scarcely missed a beat, as a whirlwind of moves fulfilled the club's never-ending younger/cheaper mandate while fielding a representative club for 2015. There are many question marks — can Steven Souza be an everyday outfielder, for one — but also a ton of upside. The Rays could win 75 games, 90 games or something in between.

B+

Boston Red Sox: They swooped in to corner a thin market on hitters, spending big — but not wildly — on Pablo Sandoval ($95 million) and Hanley Ramirez ($88 million) after an aggressive makeover at the July 31 trade deadline. Boston now has depth, trade chips and a solid rotation with little long-term liability. But can it win the East with Rick Porcello, Wade Miley and Justin Masterson leading the way?

B

Toronto Blue Jays: Another solid step forward, particularly if the slight overpay for catcher Russell Martin (five years, $82 million) doesn't hinder future spending. Trading for four seasons of Josh Donaldson should be a significant coup. Yet with the reliance on so many developing pitchers, why not bring in one more veteran starter?

C

New York Yankees: Avoided big-ticket items and got aggressive on the trade market. Didi Gregorius replaces Derek Jeter at shortstop, Nathan Eovaldi makes the rotation younger and Garrett Jones provides depth at designated hitter and first base should Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez get hurt. With so many pitchers facing health issues, are the Yankees penny-wise and pound-foolish for failing to land a rotation anchor? Perhaps.

C-

Baltimore Orioles: It's hard to fault them for failing to commit $101 million to retain outfielders Cruz and Nick Markakis. You can fault them for failing to replace them, along with key reliever Andrew Miller, who defected to the Yankees. The Orioles are clearly counting on huge rebounds from infielders Chris Davis and Manny Machado, but that might not be enough.