Comparing the Orioles infield to the rest of the AL East

Spring training games are underway and the Orioles have had their first looks at the core that will line their infield for the 2025 season. The AL East will not be an easy race to win this year but the infield will play a large role in the O's offense this season. With a group of young players, some of whom are among the best in the league at their position, the Orioles look to topple the power balance in the American League.

1. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles infield is one of the best in the league and tops a division with many of the league's best. The Orioles infield, while young, is talented at every spot, between the likes of the game's best and the young players looking to break out. Gunnar Henderson was ranked by MLB Network as the best shortstop in the game. Adley Rutschman slotted in as the second-best in the game.

The Orioles will look to fill out the remainder of their infield with Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, and Ramon Urías between second and third. Holliday struggled during his debut last season but improved in the second half. Holliday is coming into camp to earn the role beside Henderson in the middle infield. Westburg is coming off of an All Star campaign and may find himself watching the hot corner this season. Urías provides depth and versatility to the Orioles' infield, being able to play many positions around the horn.

The Orioles will likely platoon first base between Ryan O'Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle. Despite the rising batting average, Mountcastle has lost some of his power since his rookie year, when he hit 33 home runs. O'Hearn came up with the Royals and since joining the Orioles has been a solid bat in the lineup.

2. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox jumped the next team on this list because of the recent signing of Alex Bregman, who was signed just before the start of spring training. Bregman is likely to play second base for the Red Sox with the news of Rafael Devers refusing to move from third. While Devers continues to cede the position to Bregman, tensions could rise within the Red Sox clubhouse hindering the club's performance on the field.

In addition to Bregman and Devers, the Red Sox will start Triston Casas at first and expect to have a healthy Trevor Story at shortstop to start the year. Ceddanne Rafaela is another versatile player on the roster. Rafaela is currently slotted to start in center field but he played quite a bit of shortstop in 2024 and could do the same in 2025 depending on injuries.

Connor Wong will be catching most of the games for the Red Sox this season and has been a steady presence behind the plate for the last two years, accumulating 3.8 bWAR over that span. Backing him up will either be Carlos Narvaez or Blake Sabol, both of who are new to the clubhouse. Sabol has spent two seasons with the Giants, while Narvaez is coming from the Yankees. The Sox group is strong and could make an argument to be the best in the division by season's end.

3. New York Yankees

While this may feel low for the Yankees, as their only hole is at third base, this is a division that is stacked top to bottom in talent. The Yankees added an aging Paul Goldschmidt to replace Anthony Rizzo at first base. Goldschmidt was the National League MVP with the Cardinals in 2022. Since then, the first baseman has dipped in production but has remained a valuable asset at first base.

Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm will be double-play partners following the departure of Gleyber Torres. The move allows Chisholm to move back to second base. Volpe is a former top prospect and is expected to be the future of the position in the Bronx.

Austin Wells will be catching for the Yankees this year following his breakout campaign, earning the starting job over Jose Trevino who subsequently departed for Cincinnati this offseason. The Yankees' hole at third is likely to be filled by DJ LeMahieu or Oswaldo Cabrera. There are options on the market for the Yankees but with the 2025 season rapidly approaching it feels unlikely that they'll make any more additions.

4. Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays field a consistent and strong infield including former All Stars Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe. The latter has been consistent piece of the Rays infield since 2019, despite injuries in recent years. Diaz was an All Star in 2023 and while he had a small dip in production in 2024 he is still one of the most consistent pieces of the Rays offense.

Ha-Seong Kim and Junior Caminero will play beside each other on the left side of the infield. Kim signed as a free agent this winter after spending the first four years of his MLB career with the Padres. Caminero has been with the Rays for parts of two seasons and looks to break camp as the starting third baseman.

Danny Jansen will be behind the plate and has spent his entire Major League career in the AL East. Jansen has been struggling at the plate for the past few seasons but will look to turn it around as a member of the Rays.

5. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have the weakest infield in the division, although they still have a strong core pair in Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette. Guerrero is going to enter free agency unless an agreement is reached for an extension soon. He's coming off four consecutive All Star appearances and is among the league's best first basemen. Bichette took a step back in 2024 mostly because of nagging injuries throughout the season.

Alejandro Kirk is one of the league's best catchers and looks to regain his All Star form in 2025. Kirk has been steady at the plate over the course of his career, posting a lifetime .264 batting average for the Blue Jays. Kirk is a steady hand behind the plate and will be a key contributor to the Blue Jays in 2025.

Bringing Toronto down in the rankings is their uncertainty at second base and third base. Andres Gimenez is coming from Cleveland where he has been the AL Gold Glove winner at second base for three seasons. His value is in his defense but if he can regain his bat from his lone All Star season of 2022, the pickup becomes more valuable than initially perceived. Ernie Clement seems to be the incumbent third baseman and will look to break onto the scene as one of the Blue Jays' most consistent bats.

The AL East is one of the league's toughest divisions and it will take production from all positions to topple those at the top. The infield groups are strong and contain some of the league's best at their position. The Orioles currently hold the top spot due to the star power and breakout capability of their youngsters.