Bench

1. Red Sox
2. Rays
3. Blue Jays
4. Yankees
5. Orioles

Led by super-utility man Brock Holt and lefty-masher Chris Young, the Red Sox have plenty of bench options at their disposal. The Rays have a rather young and versatile bench that includes 27-year-old Tim Beckham and 26-year-old Nick Franklin. The Blue Jays aren’t half bad, either, after plucking jack-of-all-trades Steve Pearce from the Orioles to join defensive-minded reserves such as infielder Ryan Goins.

The Yankees didn’t get much production out of their bench last season, although this year they’ve added slugger Chris Carter as a potential late-inning pinch-hitter. Then there are the Orioles, whose bench in recent years has been so unimpressive that Buck Showalter seems loath to use it. His projected bench this year includes few legitimate pinch-hitting options, and backup catcher Caleb Joseph — in case you hadn’t heard — had zero RBIs last year.

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