Can Toronto win the AL East again?
Following a trip to the ALCS last season will the Toronto Blue Jays make a push for a championship again in 2016?
The opening list of wins for the MLB teams had the Blue Jays listed with 87 wins, which is tied for the fifth-most of any team in MLB. The Giants have the highest total of 90.
The Blue Jays are coming off a 93-69 record in 2015. Toronto won the AL East by six games and then defeated the Texas Rangers in five games in the ALDS. The ALCS saw Toronto face the eventual World Series champs in Kansas City, losing the series in six games.
The Blue Jays were able to make a strong run at the end of last season by trading for David Price, who left for Boston in the offseason. Price was great during his short stint with the Jays, but struggled in the postseason. With Price leaving, Toronto added J.A. Happ in free agency. Happ was 11-8 last season with a 3.61 ERA while pitching for the Mariners and the Pirates. The Jays have plenty of pop in their lineup as they return three hitters with over 100 RBI last season in Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Bautista is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, so he should continue to put up big numbers. The three men combined for 120 home runs in 2015 and give Toronto plenty of power if either of the three gets injured.
Toronto certainly should contend in the AL East, but expect the Red Sox to improve a great deal from its 78-84 record in 2015. However, the Yankees, Orioles and Rays can’t be heavily counted on for a big surge. Toronto has the talent to make the postseason again. The pitching staff is certainly a bigger question than the lineup, but that should only become an issue in the postseason. Look for Toronto to shoot for around 90 wins again this year.
2016 MLB WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: TORONTO BLUE JAYS OVER 87 WINS
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