AL East: Grading each team's 2022 season

The American League East finished the 2022 season with three playoff teams, a team whose rise to contention came seemingly out of nowhere... and the Red Sox.

The New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays made the postseason, with the Yankees winning the division and the latter two making the wild-card round of the playoffs.

Here is a breakdown of each of the five AL East clubs and a grade for each:

New York Yankees (1st | 99-63) Grade: A

The Yankees hit the most home runs (254, thank you Aaron Judge) in the majors, 11 more than the Braves. Their 764 RBI were second, behind only the Dodgers. The 3.30 ERA by the staff was third, behind only the Dodgers and World Series champion Astros. 

There is little to complain about for Yankees fans aside from the fact that their team's playoff run didn't go deeper. While advancing all the way to the ALCS can be seen as a major win for many, this team could have -- and perhaps should have -- taken down the Astros and faced the Phillies in the World Series.

MORE: AL: East | West | Central | NL: East | West | Central

Baltimore Orioles (4th | 83-79) Grade: A

 As strange as giving a fourth-place team an "A" feels, the Orioles deserve it. Brandon Hyde, the club's skipper, is far and away the most deserving of this year's AL Manager of the Year Award, even more than World Series manager Dusty Baker.

Widely expected to play sub-.500 ball and finish last, the Orioles rode an improbable hot streak to a surprising record thanks to huge performances from rookie catcher Adley Rutschmann (5.2 bWAR, 13 HR) and a surprisingly sharp pitching staff.

Toronto Blue Jays: (2nd | 92-70) Grade: B+

Toronto made a valiant effort to catch the first-place Yankees, but it was not meant to be. Instead, the club was swept in the wild-card series against the Seattle Mariners in heartbreaking fashion. Despite the early playoff exit, the Jays were statistically the best hitting team in the American League, leading in hits, batting average and on-base percentage.

So much went right for the Blue Jays in 2022, but the lack of moves at the trade deadline led to the A-minus. 

Alek Manoah (16-7, 2.24 ERA), Ross Stripling (10-4, 3.01 ERA) and Kevin Gausman (12-10, 3.35 ERA) were one of the best starting pitching trios in the game. Behind them, however, José Berríos (12-7, 5.23 ERA) Yusei Kikuchi (6-7, 5.19 ERA) and Mitch White (0-5, 7.74 ERA with Jays) struggled mightily. It's interesting to wonder what might have been had the Jays brought aboard at least one more starter at the trade deadline.

Tampa Bay Rays: (3rd | 86-76) Grade: B-

The Rays made it to the wild-card round before being swept in two games by the Cleveland Guardians. Regularly a contender despite being overshadowed by the Yankees, the Rays had one of the best pitching staffs in the game. However, the offense failed to deliver and ultimately was responsible for the team's early dismissal from the postseason.

Second baseman Brandon Lowe (1.0 bWAR, .221 BA), 1B Ji-Man Choi (1.2 bWAR, .233 BA) and OF Jose Siri (0.7 bWAR, .241 BA) must do better in 2023 if the club wants to keep hanging with the big guns atop the division.

Boston Red Sox (5th | 78-84) Grade: D

With the offensive firepower of  infielder Trevor Story (2.5 bWAR, 16 HR), 3B Rafael Devers (4.4 bWAR, 27 HR), OF Alex Verdugo (1.2 bWAR, 11 HR) and SS Xander Bogaerts (5.8 bWAR, 15 HR), there is no excuse for finishing last in the division. 

Now that Devers and Bogaerts are free agents, next year is not looking much brighter. Re-signing that duo and ugrading the bench, which is projected to be Connor Wong (-0.1 bWAR, 1 HR), Bobby Dalbec (-0.7 bWAR, 12 HR), Yu Chang (0.0 bWAR, 0 HR) and Franchy Cordero (-0.2 bWAR, 8 HR) would be a great place to start to boost the offense.

Hitting prospects Wong, Jeter Downs, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas and pitching prospects Connor Sebaold and Bryan Mata are nearing everyday big-league action.