Well everyone, we finally made it: Spring training has arrived, and in a matter of days we’ll have real, actual baseball games to talk about. Sure, there’s still a good amount of Hot Stove business to be wrapped up, but it’s time to get our first look at how all 30 teams are shaping up ahead of the 2024 season. With that in mind, we’ll be going division-by-division to give you one key player to watch on every roster — starting with the AL East.
Most important players to watch during spring training: AL East
Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Holliday, SS
Under-the-radar choice: Jordan Westburg, 2B
Kyle Bradish’s elbow troubles have thrown the rotation into some disarray, but if there’s a question mark on this Orioles squad, it’s the middle infield spots — Baltimore got below-average offensive production at both shortstop and second base last season, the clear weak links in an otherwise rock-solid lineup. Holliday is the obvious headliner here, the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball who just might play himself into an Opening Day job despite having just turned 20 and having a grand total of 18 games of experience above Double-A. Almost as intriguing, however, is Westburg, a ballyhooed prospect in his own right who got off to a slow start in his first taste of the Majors in 2023 but started to look more comfortable as the season wore on. With Holliday, it’s more a matter of when — not if — he’ll blossom into a star. Westburg, however, could raise this team’s ceiling considerably if he improves from year one to year two.
Boston Red Sox: Vaughn Grissom, 2B
Under-the-radar choice: Tyler O’Neill, OF
The Red Sox’ offseason left a lot to be desired — really, feel free to throw the bag at Jordan Montgomery any day now guys — but a couple of trade acquisitions could pay big dividends if they pan out the way Boston is hoping. After a season spent cycling through replacement-level options, Craig Breslow targeted Grissom in the Chris Sale trade to be his second baseman of the future. But whether he can actually hold up defensive at second, and do enough damage at the plate, are open questions, but Grissom’s upside is obvious if it all clicks — and could give the Sox a young building block at a position of need.
Grissom is the most important player in camp for Boston, but O’Neill is the one I’m most intrigued by. We know what the former top prospect can do when he’s healthy and right: Just look at his 2021 season, when he slashed .286/.352/.560 with 34 homers and 15 steals in 138 games while finishing in the top 10 in AL MVP voting. Of course, that’s also the only time he’s appeared in even 100 games at the Major League level. Boston’s outfield picture is crowded right now, but O’Neill’s ceiling is higher than anyone, and a shift to Fenway Park could be exactly what he needs to unlock it.
New York Yankees: Carlos Rodon, LHP
Under-the-radar choice: Anthony Rizzo, 1B
This is, to put it lightly, a make-or-break year for the Yankees, with Juan Soto set to hit free agency and Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge not getting any younger. But with due respect to Soto and Judge and Cole, the player most responsible for determining whether New York will get back to the postseason is Rodon. The decision to hand Rodon a six-year megadeal last winter was a huge one, with huge opportunity cost — it’s likely the reason the team didn’t outbid the Dodgers for the services of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Yankees need the lefty to pitch like he did in 2021-22, when he posted a 2.67 ERA and a 12.2 K/9. If that guy shows up, New York will have among the best one-two punches atop its rotation in the game. If he battles through injuries and ineffectiveness once again, the Yankees will spend another year scrambling.
Offensively, New York feels a bit sturdier, although health questions still abound. I’m done waiting for a Giancarlo Stanton revival, but Anthony Rizzo was in the midst of a great year before post-concussion symptoms derailed things. Getting April/May Rizzo back would lengthen this lineup considerably.
Tampa Bay Rays: Junior Caminero, 3B
Under-the-radar choice: Ryan Pepiot, RHP
The uncertainty surrounding Wander Franco’s future leaves a gaping hole in Tampa’s infield, relying on an underwhelming combination of Taylor Walls, Amed Rosario, Jose Caballero and former top prospect Curtis Mead. But it just so happens that the Rays have one of the most tantalizing young infielders in the Minors in Caminero, who skipped right over Triple-A to make his MLB debut late last season. Caminero is likely to start this season back at Triple-A to get some much-needed reps under his belt, but the 157-pounder does a shocking amount of damage when he makes contact, and he could help Tampa defy expectations yet again in 2024. (We’ve started just assuming that the Rays will churn out quality pitchers regardless of who is actually on the roster, but exchanging Tyler Glasnow for Pepiot over the winter is an interesting one — the righty flashed big upside and improved command last year with the Dodgers and could be ready for a star turn now that his rotation spot is secured.)
Toronto Blue Jays: Alek Manoah, RHP
Under-the-radar choice: Davis Schneider, 2B
What the heck happened to Manoah? The big righty went from third place in AL Cy Young voting in 2022 to getting sent back to the Blue Jays’ Florida complex to rework his mechanics in 2023. Both player and team have said all the right things so far about Manoah’s work ethic, the way he’s revamped his body and gotten himself ready to reclaim his status as one of the league’s brightest young arms. But there’s no way to know until we actually see it on the field, starting in spring. If the old Manoah does show up, it could be just what Toronto needs to get it out of the rut it’s been stuck in the past couple of years.
Another storyline to watch: How the Jays rebuild an infield that lost two starters in Matt Chapman and Whit Merrifield. Toronto brought in Justin Turner earlier this month, but at this stage Turner is an infielder in case of emergency only — there are still holes to fill at both second and third base. Could Schneider be a long-term answer at the keystone? He got off to a blistering start to his MLB career last summer but cooled off down the stretch. Still, his patience and pop could make him a keeper, and answer one of the Jays’ most pressing preseason questions.
