YBB American League preview: Seattle Mariners

By: Gavin Ewbank | Lead Writer

You probably started to really hate the Seattle Mariners over the offseason, and for good reason. Back in December, they went where no other team would.

The Mariners, in a state of desperation, gave a Robinson Cano a 10-year, $240 million contract.

The Yankees were only willing to offer a Cano worth seven-years, $175 million-ish. They were smart in not giving Cano the type of money that he ended up getting for, but while the money will be a total loss for the M's, his presence in the lineup will be a massive gain.

The only real start on this team before Cano's arrival was Felix Hernandez. For years, Seattle had been without a true star in their lineup, because there was nothing that could convince players of coming there.

They found that with Cano and the large sum of cash they offered him.

Realistically, Cano does not make the Mariners a much better team because you still need to put other pieces around him, and that didn't happen.

Seattle added a couple of bats besides Cano in Corey Hart and Logan Morrison. Hart is more of a gamble because he is still working back from knee surgery, but if he can stay healthy and round back into form, he can actually be a decent piece in the Mariners' lineup.

Other than that, there isn't much to drool over in Seattle. Cano made some comments to the media a couple of weeks ago that he wanted the Mariners to add another bat to help him out, they didn't, and they're going to regret it.

Offense was a major concern for the Mariners last season, as they only hit .237, the worst average in the American League. Their 624 runs scored ranked them 12th in the AL. I really don;t see those numbers improving very much this season, even with Cano in the lineup.

On the other side of the ball, the Mariners could not pitch last season. With an ERA of 4.31, they were one of three teams to give up more than 700 runs (703).

The Mariners didn't add an starting pitchers over the offseason because they thought that they would be set with a starting rotation of King Felix, Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker, but injuries to both Iwakuma and Walker that could keep them out until early in the season will be a big blow to their pitching staff.

Yes, the Mariners added Robinson, the best second baseman in the league. But no, the Mariners will not be a better team than the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels in 2014. Those teams are far more complete than Seattle.

The early focus will be on you-know-who, when once things start to play out, we'll all be looking at the AL West standings and see who the Seattle Marines really are.

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YBB American League preview: Minnesota Twins

By: Gavin Ewbank | Lead Writer

It seems like the Minnesota Twins have not been good since moving to their new, big ballpark, moving from the indoor Metrodome, to the beautiful work of outside baseball.

After making the playoffs in both 2009 and 2010, the Twins have lost at least 96 games three consecutive years in-a-row.

With a record of 66-96, the Twins were not very good this year, so they set out to improve on that during the offseason.

Several key pitching additions should help this pitching challenged team very much. Ricky Nolasco was their biggest signing of the winter, and Phil Hughes could also turn out to be a big signing if he's able to turn things around after ending his Yankee career in a very low note.

The Twins reportedly made string runs after Ervin Santana and Bronson Arroyo, too, but came up short on both pitchers.

Offensively, Joe Mauer has been left as the only real start in the lineup, and will probably be the only position to represent his hometown team during the All-Star Game this summer at Target Field.

The Twins moved Mauer over to first bas from behind the plate during the offseason, and that should prove to be a very smart move that not only benefits Mauer, but also the Twins, who gave him a big long-term contract a few years ago.

Justin Morneau's tenure in Minnesota came to an end over the winter when he signed as a free-agent with the Colorado Rockies.

With Mauer moving over to first base, this move won't be too bad for the Twins, especially since Morneau has not been an all-star first baseman since suffering a concussion a few years ago.

Top prospect Byron Buxton will start the year in the minors. He's the top ranked prospect in baseball by a lot of top sites, and his future arrival to the big league club will be a good addition if he pans out.

The Yankees and Twins will only have a pair of meeting this season; the first coming in late-May when Minnesota comes to the Bronx for a three-game set, and they won't meet against until July when the Yankees stop at Target Field for four games on July 3-6.

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YBB American League preview: Chicago White Sox

By: Gavin Ewbank | Lead Writer

A year after just barely missing out on the playoffs, the Chicago White Sox were not very good in 2013, finishing with the second worst record in the American League, just in front of the Houston Astros.

It took a lot for Chicago to fall as far as they did last season. Everyone had a down year, and there were very few positives to take away.

Paul Konerko had a very rough year, hitting .244 with just 12 homeruns. His days as one of the league's top first baseman are far from over, and he's now enter what could be his final season.

Adam Dunn struck out a lot, as did Alejandro De Aza. But on the bright side, both provided the power to make up for it. De Aza has been drawing some interest from teams and the White Sox could decide to move him if the price is right.

Looking at Chicago's depth chart, I can't call this a team that is better than the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, but it's hard to say that there isn't talent.

The White Sox signed Cuban slugger Jose Abreu during the winter and that kid is going to be very good.

Alexi Ramirez and Gordon Beckham are a decent double play combo up the middle, and both could find themselves in a different infield if traded. I know that the White Sox have been watching Francisco Cervelli, and they have infield depth they could send to the Yankees.

Bringing in Adam Eaton from the Arizona Diamondbacks was a nice addition to their outfield. He's not an all-star outfielder, but can bring some useful skills to that lineup.

Their starting rotation is probably the weakest part of their roster. Chris Sale is the leader of that pitching staff, but since trading away Jake Peavy at the deadline last summer, he is essentially the only big arm they have in the rotation.

Ronald Belisario could be a good add to the bullpen, but he is pretty unpredictable, so it's hard to guess how his signing will workout.

Yankees fans won't get a chance to watch the White Sox play until the Bombers head to Chicago for a four-game series in late-May. By then, they might already be eliminated from playoff contention.

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YBB American League preview: Houston Astros

By: Gavin Ewbank | Lead Writer

This is the first of a 14-part feature series here at Yanks Beat Blog in which we take a quick look at the 14 other American League teams that the Yankees will be competing against this season.

It's been quite some time since the Houston Astros have been a relevant team in Major League Baseball. For the last handful of years, they've been in the cellar in both the National and American League, in which they enter their second year as a member of.

The Astros will head into this season with the top overall pick in the June draft after finishing with the worst record in the league for the third straight year.

But those top draft picks have been used on nothing. Houston has been stockpiling young talent for years, a lot like the Chicago Cubs have been doing with the crop of young talent that should be ready to take over the next 2-3 years.

The Astros, however, won't be seeing this talent for at least a few more seasons, so for now, they'll be staying at the bottom of the very tough AL West.

Houston surprised a lot of people this past offseason by spending money on free-agents, something they usually don't do.

The Astros brought in Jesse Crain to a one-year deal, adding him to a bullpen that has vastly improved over the group that ranked last in the majors with a 4.92 ERA, and their 29 blown saves tied for the most.

Crain will be joined in the bullpen by other new comers this offseason, including Chad Qualls, Matt Albers, Anthony Bass, Darin Downs and Raul Valdes.

Scott Feldman, who put together a solid first half with the Cubs before being traded to the Orioles prior to the trading deadline last season, was signed on a four-year pact. His experience will help provide some veteran leadership to an otherwise young group of starting pitchers.

The trade for Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler kind of flew under-the-radar. Fowler is a guy that's going to get on-base and drew a lot of walks for you at the top of the lineup. He's going to bring speed, and will give you range in center field.

These additions might not end up meaning a lot for the Astros because, like I said, they're building the future around the development of their prospects, and won't be ready to compete until 2016, at the earliest.

It won't take long for you to get a chance to watch the Astros play, as the Yankees will leave from Florida and head to Minute Maid Park to face Houston on Opening Day.

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