AL East Power Rankings with Aaron Judge back in the picture

1) AL East Power Rankings: New York Yankees

The cream of the crop in the division, the New York Yankees reuniting with Aaron Judge after only about a month of being apart makes them the clear favorite within the division. There are areas of need. They have a surplus of infielders. There are pitching questions to answer along the way.

Judge was a necessity for New York this offseason. Remove him, you remove the heart and soul of the franchise. He was irreplaceable. It’s going to take a lot of work from the other four teams in the division to get close.

Boston would need to bring back Bogaerts and load up with at least one major outfielder. The Rays don’t have a chance to get to first in the AL East Power Rankings before the season begins. They are results-driven. They make sneaky moves. The Orioles would need to land Carlos Rodon and at least one other very good starting pitcher. As for Toronto, an upgrade to the lineup and a major pitching addition to the rotation or bullpen might be what it takes.

Nobody in the division will probably make a transaction as big as the Judge signing. Nobody in baseball might be able to pull off something else on this same scale. The Yankees want to be number one. It’s where they sit after the Judge signing.