It’s already been a busy offseason for three of the Yankees’ American League East rivals.
Although the Winter Meetings in Orlando don’t start until next week, the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles each made meaningful moves that should help establish the market.
That trio is off to a fast start in what’s expected to be an AL East arms race, with the Yankees linked to Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, Tatsuya Imai and other big-name free agents.
The Yankees could answer soon, considering the Winter Meetings are typically the site of deal-making. Last year, the Mets signed Juan Soto, the Yankees signed Max Fried and the Red Sox traded for Garrett Crochet during the four-day gathering between teams and agents.
Here’s what’s happened in the AL East so far.
RED SOX
It was no secret the Red Sox sought a frontline arm to slot behind Crochet in their rotation.
They seemed to accomplish that last week when they acquired veteran right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Gray, 36, fizzled during his first stint in the AL East — a two-year tenure with the Yankees in which he pitched to a 4.51 ERA from 2017-18.
But Gray has largely excelled since then, including a second-place finish in 2023 AL Cy Young Award voting as a member of the Minnesota Twins.
Boston’s lack of consistent pitching depth behind Crochet doomed them in the Wild Card round against the Yankees, who won Games 2 and 3 in the best-of-three playoff series.
And while Gray pitched to a 4.28 ERA and suffered a dip in velocity last season, he still recorded 201 strikeouts in 180.2 innings.
Adding Gray behind Crochet allows the Red Sox to deploy Brayan Bello as their No. 3 starter. The rest of their rotation remains unsettled, though rookie left-hander Connelly Early headlines a list of promising young arms in the organization.
Boston surely isn’t done yet as it attempts to build on last season’s 89-73 record.
Third baseman Alex Bregman opted out of his contract, leaving a void in the heart of the Red Sox lineup. A reunion with Bregman is possible, as is a pursuit of longtime Mets slugger Pete Alonso, whose right-handed power bat is an obvious fit for Fenway Park’s shallow left field.
BLUE JAYS
Toronto certainly doesn’t seem content after coming up just short in the World Series.
The Blue Jays agreed to a seven-year, $210 million mega-deal with right-hander Dylan Cease in the first major free-agent domino to fall.
Cease, 30, went just 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA with the San Diego Padres last season, but his 215 strikeouts in 168 innings suggest there are better days ahead.
He is only a year removed from a fourth-place finish in National League Cy Young Award voting, and he was the AL Cy Young runner-up in 2022 as a member of the Chicago White Sox.
Cease now headlines a staff that is bringing back Kevin Gausman, rookie Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber — who picked up a $16 million player option — from their playoff rotation.
Toronto can now turn its attention to its lineup, which needs to be addressed because star shortstop Bo Bichette is among this offseason’s most coveted free agents.
A reunion makes sense for the Blue Jays and Bichette, who batted .348 in the World Series and hit a three-run home run in Toronto’s Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the Jays are also linked to the outfielder Tucker, who could fetch upwards of $400 million as the market’s top free agent.
Either would be a boon for the Blue Jays, who finished with the same 94-68 record as the Yankees last season but won the division via head-to-head tiebreaker.
ORIOLES
And then there’s the Orioles, who spiraled to a surprising 75-87 record and a last-place finish in 2025 after back-to-back playoff appearances.
Baltimore has been active in free agency and on the trade market as it attempts to bounce back, including coming to terms over the weekend with flame-throwing reliever Ryan Helsley.
Helsley, 31, struggled mightily after a midseason trade to the Mets, pitching to a 7.20 ERA and blowing four saves in 22 appearances.
But Helsley was one of the NL’s elite relievers before that trade, as evidenced by his 2.67 ERA and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings over parts of seven seasons with St. Louis from 2019-25.
Teams expressed interest in signing Helsley as a starter, but the veteran opted instead for a two-year, $28 million contract with an opt-out to be Baltimore’s closer.
Helsley is set to fill the ninth-inning role vacated by O’s closer Felix Bautista, who is expected to miss most or all of next season as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
Earlier in the offseason, Baltimore acquired power-hitting outfielder Taylor Ward from the Los Angeles Angels for promising but oft-injured right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.
The O’s also hired Craig Albernaz as manager and re-acquired veteran reliever Andrew Kittredge, whom they had traded to the Chicago Cubs in July. Their signing of veteran Leodys Taveras provided outfield depth.
But Baltimore’s offseason won’t be complete until it adds to its rotation, which has question marks behind lefty Trevor Rogers, who dazzled with a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts, and righty Kyle Bradish, who returned in August from Tommy John surgery.
“I’ve been pretty clear and direct,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said this offseason. “We’re trying to find — whether it’s top or front or top half of the rotation, all of those buckets. We’re trying, and there are guys out there, and we are in pursuit of every one of them.”
