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Baltimore Orioles: Ranking The American League East Lineups

By Ari Ezra

TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 24: Trey Mancini #16 of the Baltimore Orioles hits an RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning during their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on September 24, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 24: Trey Mancini #16 of the Baltimore Orioles hits an RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning during their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on September 24, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /
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Baltimore Orioles
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 29: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox hits a double during the seventh inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on September 29, 2019 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. It was his 200th hit of the season. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

2) Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox look quite similar to last year with a few key shake-ups, including one really big subtraction.

  1. Xander Bogaerts
  2. Rafael Devers
  3. Alex Verdugo
  4. JD Martinez
  5. Mitch Moreland
  6. Jose Peraza
  7. Andrew Benintendi
  8. Christian Vazquez
  9. Jackie Bradley Jr.

The most obvious hole will be the departure of Mookie Betts, one of the best hitters in the league. Unfortunately for other AL East teams, this lineup is here to stay. Newly acquired Alex Verdugo will be amongst the leaders in extra-base hits. Another sneaky addition is Jose Peraza who came over in free agency after playing the last four seasons with the Reds. One through nine, there is a great mix of power, speed, and agility.

The key to the Red Sox success this season will be the ability to put up runs. Their pitching staff took a big hit with the departures of David Price and Jhoulys Chacin. This means with a down year for the pitching staff, there needs to be a burst of runs if they have a chance of making the playoffs.

Why are the Red Sox at #2? The Red Sox lineup is dangerous. I think the Sox will be underestimated in terms of their hitting, bringing back big bats such as Bogaerts, Devers, Martinez, and Moreland. Like the other teams of the AL East, the Sox are a relatively young team. I only see one team in the division with a better lineup… and it’s not even close.

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