A New Year’s Resolution for every American League Team
Did somebody say 2025? Rather than making some New Year’s resolutions for myself, out of the kindness of my heart I have instead decided to bring back this mini-series I did last year and come up with one for every MLB team so that they can all have the best 2025 possible. In order of record from worst to first, kicking off our New Year’s resolutions is the Chicago White Sox:
Chicago White Sox - Keep loading the farm
It’s no secret that the White Sox are in the deepest pit of despair at the moment. They just came off of a record-breaking 121 loss season, which followed a 101 loss season. This was all after it appeared the Southsiders were well on their way to a successful stretch of seasons following their playoff berth in 2021. However, that quickly crumbled. The only significant names remaining from that 2021 team are Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn. With the recent off-loading of guys like Garret Crochet, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech, the Sox have been able to boost their farm system in a big way, and I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t continue to do so with Robert Jr. and Vaughn. Their farm is currently ranked 11th by MLB, and with more moves for some near-MLB ready talent, not only can the White Sox boost that ranking more, but they can give a lot of opportunities to players they consider a part of the future.
Los Angeles Angels - Focus on direction
Does anyone know what direction the Angels are headed? I’m not sure the Angels even know what direction they’re headed. This team currently holds the longest postseason drought in the league and hasn’t finished above .500 since 2015. I respect their desire to add in what seems like every offseason, but it doesn’t seem like there is much of a process behind their moves, and it doesn’t seem like there is much of a desire to build for the future. Their farm ranked 29th as of this past August ahead of just the Astros, and that was before Houston acquired Cubs 2024 first rounder Cam Smith in the Kyle Tucker trade. I would love to see Mike Trout play a full 162 in 2025 and lead the Angels to a successful season, but that is such a long shot at this point and I’m not sure they understand that.
Athletics - Finish .500
Despite having finished as the 3rd worst team in the American League, it feels like the A’s are on a much different trajectory than the White Sox and the Angels. After a 112 loss season in 2023, manager Mark Kotsay came out and said that the goal for the A’s in 2024 was to finish .500. And while no one took him seriously, I saw the vision. Was I going to project them to win 81 games? Absolutely not. But I also didn't think they were going to be as bad as they were in 2023, and that prediction paid off for me as they surprised some folks with a solid start and nearly logged 70 wins on the season. It’s easy to say their New Year’s resolution should be to find a new home stadium, but I also think the focus should be, and is, to build a successful organization for wherever they may end up, and they might be one year ahead in doing so. Finishing .500 is a lot more reasonable in 2025.
Toronto Blue Jays - Extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr
The Blue Jays have been met with some pretty bad luck the last two offseasons after striking out on both Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto. But the encouraging thing for Jays fans is that ownership is willing to put up that type of money to bring in a superstar. The current era of Blue Jays baseball that was supposed to run the AL East for the past couple of years may very well be on its way out, but I think it would be stupid for the Jays to let Vladdy leave with it. Vlad just came off of his best season since his MVP caliber 2021 and is still only 25 years old. With the free agent market as inflated as it is at the moment, you have got to imagine he is looking forward to entering free agency following the 2025 season. The Blue Jays can go ahead and allocate that money they’ve been looking to spend on their own homegrown star. If they don’t get it done before opening day, I really would start to wonder if the Jays are headed towards a rebuild.
Texas Rangers - Take the west back
Everyone is talking about how wide open the AL East is in 2025, but I’m sort of feeling the same way about the AL West - that is at least for the Rangers, Astros, and Mariners. The Astros’ dynasty looks like it might be coming to an end with the departures of Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, and the Mariners seem to be uninterested in adding the offense they desperately need. One year removed from a championship with a lot of core pieces still around, it feels like the Rangers can quickly right the ship and get back into contention. The starting rotation feels thin, but a healthy Jacob DeGrom can completely change the outlook of that group, while the offense just got even better after adding Joc Pederson. After all, it was the bats that brought Arlington their trophy home in 2023. With a few more additions to shore up the pitching staff, the Rangers feel like they can be favorites to take the west in 2025.
Tampa Bay Rays - Find bats
Surprisingly, the A’s aren’t the only team that should have a new stadium on their new year’s goals. Isn’t it wild that two MLB teams are playing in a minor league ballpark for the foreseeable future? Sure, but what’s even more wild is the fact that the Rays regressed from one of the best offenses in 2023 to one of the worst in 2024. Granted, injuries weren’t kind to them but they still managed a bottom five finish in homeruns, AVG, SLG, ISO, and wOBA. Despite being basement dwellers offensively, this team nearly pulled out a .500 season, finishing 80-82, their first sub-.500 season since 2017. Solid performances from both the starting rotation and the bullpen were the one constant for the Rays in 2024, and with Shane Mclanahan returning to the staff in 2025, the Rays have to put some bats together to support this pitching staff that projects to be one of the best in the game once again.
Boston Red Sox - Win the AL East
As I have said already, the AL East is wide open in 2025. Despite the Yankees adding in light of Juan Soto’s departure, that team still just doesn’t feel the same, the Orioles seem to be allergic to making the big moves they need to make, the Rays are a question mark heading into 2025, and the Blue Jays might be on the brink of a rebuild. The Red Sox have consistently been mediocre since their playoff run in 2021. However, with some of the recent additions they have made, it feels like the stars could align for Boston in 2025. They’ve added a frontline starter in Garret Crochet, along with Walker Buehler who I still feel has one of the higher ceilings among starting pitchers despite some recent struggles. Pair that with hopefully a fully healthy season from Triston Casas and some help from up and coming prospects such as Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, there’s no reason the Red Sox shouldn’t view 2025 as a “division champs or bust” type of year.
Minnesota Twins - Say no to 2nd half woes
Two of the last three seasons have seen fairly sizeable 2nd half collapses in the Twin Cities. The 2022 Twins comfortably sat at 49-41 and in first place in the AL Central at the All-Star break before finishing 78-84 in third place. 2024 was a similar story. At this year’s All-Star break, the Twins were in 2nd place in the Central with a 53-40 record and held a 2.5 game lead over the Royals, a 4.5 game lead over the Astros, and an 8 game lead over the Tigers in the wild card. All three of those teams would surpass the Twins, earning a playoff spot as the Twins finished 4th in the Central with an 82-80 record. There’s not much more to say here than to be better in the 2nd half. Twins, your 2025 starts in July.
Seattle Mariners - Don’t hold on to your pitching so tightly
The Mariners have the same type of issue the Rays have - simply not enough offense to support a very good pitching staff. The Mariners have arguably the best 1-2-3 punch in the league with Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby. And that’s not even mentioning Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller who both had sub-3 ERA campaigns in 2024. The pitching is what makes this team go and it’s not a problem if that’s always what makes this team go. The issue is the willingness to go all in to get the bats they need. There was speculation on whether or not Alex Bregman would sign with the Mariners and those rumors seem to have lost steam. The same could be said of trade rumors for Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm. On top of that, there were reports of an actual trade offer from the Red Sox, one that would send both Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida to Seattle for Luis Castillo. I have a hard time seeing any other GM in the league turning that down, but the M’s seem to be very committed to the current staff. Given their ability to develop pitching, it’s time they consider parting ways with some of it to boost the offense.
Detroit Tigers - Win the American League
My resolution for the Tigers in 2024 was to make the ALCS. And while I might’ve been a year or two early with my expectations for Detroit, I saw the vision given the weak AL Central. However, the AL Central was all but weak in 2024, sending three teams to the postseason. It was really the American League as a whole that was weak, and having missed the ALCS by just one game, I don’t see why the goal shouldn’t be to make a World Series appearance in 2025. They are another team that has struggled offensively behind a solid pitching staff, but I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt since they play in the worst hitter’s park in baseball. They also seem to be committed to improving the offense for 2025 with Alex Bregman who seemingly will be a Tiger very soon. I would also expect them to get even more production from guys like Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, and Kerry Carpenter. 2025 could very well be the year of the Tiger.
Kansas City Royals - Hit the weight room
I gave this same resolution to the Cleveland Guardians last year and figured this will be an annual resolution given to one team every year. This year it’s the Royals. The Royals obviously surprised a lot of baseball fans, improving their 2023 win total by 30 games. Although they’re a year or two ahead in their development, the Royals have to be looking to build on their 2024 success. One area they need to be looking to improve is in the power department. It’s no secret that the long ball plays a crucial part in winning in the postseason. The two representatives in the World Series owned the highest rate of home runs in the playoffs. The Dodgers hit 27 home runs over 16 games while the Yankees hit 22 over their 14 games. In Kansas City’s six playoff games, they managed only two. During the regular season, the only playoff team that hit less home runs were the Tigers while the Royals finished 20th overall with 170 home runs. If the Royals want to establish some sustainable success, it’s time to hit the weight room.
Houston Astros - Remain relevant
After a disappointing end to 2024, some are wondering if the era of Houston Astros baseball that has ran baseball for the last seven years is coming to an end. I wouldn’t be so quick to say that because we are talking about one of the best front offices in the league. While losing Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman isn’t ideal, Houston is one of the few organizations I would trust to do a good job of replacing them. However, they are faced with a glaring issue in that their farm system ranks last in all of baseball. Does that mean they will be big time sellers at the deadline? I think that definitely hinges on their playoff hopes at the end of July, and given their track record of success, they may very well be in the race. Regardless, I’m still taking the field over the Astros to win the AL West.
Baltimore Orioles - Make a splash
After a quick turnaround for the Orioles in 2022 and then an AL East division crown in 2023, most baseball fans thought the Orioles would be big players in the free agency and trade market. So far, that hasn’t quite been the case. The trade to acquire Corbin Burnes prior to 2024 was a good start, but they haven’t built on that at all. They only got one year out of Burnes and struck out in re-signing him and haven’t done much to replace him. As it stands now, their current starting rotation is not a playoff rotation. Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are solid options at the front end of the rotation, but wouldn’t be my first two choices to lead my team into a postseason series. The rest of the rotation is a question mark. With the pitching market dwindling at this point in the offseason, Orioles fans have the right to question where the intentions of the organization lie. That can change if the O’s go out and make a significant move.
Cleveland Guardians - Stop letting the Yankees bully you
Simply put, I’m sick and tired of watching the Guardians lie down and letting the Yankees rub their bellies every postseason, and I would imagine Guardians fans are sick and tired of it too. Since 2017, the Guardians have made it to five postseasons. In four of them they were eliminated by the Yankees. If they have aspirations of winning a pennant in 2025, there’s a good chance the Yankees will once again stand in their way. Stand up for yourself Cleveland.
New York Yankees - Re-create Soto in the aggregate
You didn’t really think I would make it through this entire article without making THE reference, did you? And no better team to use it on than the Moneyball-Yankees. Jokes aside, the Bronx Bombers have done a great job of rebounding after failing to retain Juan Soto in free agency. The additions of Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, and Paul Goldschmidt address pressing issues, but I would love to see the Yankees get creative with their roster construction to replace the value that Juan Soto brought to their lineup. The answer could be right at home with Jasson Dominguez looking to log his first full big league season and Spencer Jones coming up right behind him in the pipeline. Both still have a lot to prove before you can say they’re Soto’s replacement, but they’re about as good of an option that the Yankees have at their disposal at the moment.
