One month into the 2024 season, the Orioles and New York Yankees have separated themselves as the early leaders atop the American League East.
That’s not necessarily a reflection of the standings, which mean little in April. It’s because the Orioles (17-10) have built off the foundation of young talent they’ve established the past two seasons while the Yankees (19-10) have returned to displaying the type of dominance that helped them reach the playoffs six straight years before 2023. Both teams entered the season with high expectations, and they’ve largely lived up to them in the early going.
After the Orioles and Yankees made arguably the biggest trades of the offseason — Baltimore acquired right-hander Corbin Burnes and New York acquired outfielder Juan Soto — the integrity of their strong starts will be put to the test Monday when Baltimore hosts the first of 13 games against their division rival this season.
“I think everybody in our division is going into this year trying to get to the postseason,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said in spring training. “The Yankees made moves this offseason to try to improve their club, adding Juan Soto to the top third of their order is definitely going to help. But, yeah, we can’t control what other teams do around us. We’re going to focus on our guys. I think all of the teams in our division got better.”
The Orioles have played a respectable schedule so far; their opponents have combined for a .529 winning percentage, the sixth-highest in baseball. However, they have played just one series against an AL East opponent: a three-game sweep over the Red Sox (15-13) in Boston. New York has split six games with the Toronto Blue Jays (14-15) and taken two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays (13-16). Their opponents’ .471 winning percentage is the seventh-lowest.
The four-game set with New York is a measuring stick opportunity for both sides. For the Orioles, who were swept out of the playoffs in the fall, it gives them their first look at how this year’s version of that roster fares in a series in which every win could wind up being the difference in the AL East standings at the end of the season. For the Yankees, they get to see if their offseason moves closed the gap between them and the defending division champions.
Neither team has seen the full iteration of what their playoff roster might look like. Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole has been absent for the Yankees with elbow nerve inflammation. Fourth-place finisher Kyle Bradish has yet to pitch for the Orioles but could make his season debut in Thursday’s series finale. A slow start from Aaron Judge (.777 OPS) and a disappointing beginning to his professional career for Jackson Holliday (2-for-36) have left some room for improvement offensively even with the two teams ranking first and second in homers.
Nobody is crowning the AL East title in late April, but with fewer divisional games, every contest matters that much more. Baltimore’s success against the division last season was a significant factor that led to its first AL East title in nine years. The Orioles went 32-20 against the AL East last season, including 7-6 against the Yankees.
In this division, with five teams having postseason aspirations, the margin for error is thin.
“The market size is what adds to the intensity of this division, or at least seems as if that is a pretty large driving factor,” Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel, who spent three seasons with the Red Sox, said recently. “There’s a lot of money involved in the East, a lot of expectations, a lot of hype. So, if you have a lot of that crammed into one division, there’s only so many teams that can make playoffs and the American League East, pretty much everybody has an opportunity to make it.”
What’s to come?
After the Orioles close out April and begin May with its series against the Yankees, they will head out to the Midwest for a three-game slate with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds (15-13) have yet to hit their stride but have the best run differential in the National League Central at plus-21. Shortstop Elly De La Cruz has shown his electric 2023 rookie season was no fluke, leading the league with 18 stolen bases and posting a .968 OPS.
What was good?
Even with an 0-for-5 performance Sunday, shortstop Gunnar Henderson still had an outstanding week with three home runs, seven RBIs, a triple, a double and two stolen bases. His wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs, of 2.0 leads the AL just ahead of Soto, who sits at 1.9. Henderson has been the complete package for Baltimore so far and should be among the favorites to start at shortstop for the AL All-Star team this summer.
What wasn’t?
Kimbrel, off to a superb start to the season over his first 11 appearances, melted down in two save situations this weekend against the Oakland Athletics. He allowed the game-tying run in an eventual extra-inning loss Friday and served up a go-ahead, two-run home run Sunday before leaving the game with upper-back tightness. It was a stark reminder that without closer Félix Bautista, who has never blown back-to-back save opportunities in his career, the back end of the Orioles’ bullpen remains a significant question mark.
On the farm
Orioles catching prospect Samuel Basallo shook off his slow start to the 2024 campaign with a two-homer game Sunday for Double-A Bowie. Basallo, who rocketed through the Orioles’ farm system last year, got off to a delayed start to spring training because of a stress fracture in his elbow. The 19-year-old’s ability to adjust to pitching in the upper levels of the minors will be one of the most critical assignments for the Orioles’ player development staff in 2024.
Yankees at Orioles
Monday, 6:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM