Looking at how Orioles’ lineup stacks up against the AL East

In just 22 days last fall, the Orioles added two power-hitting right-handed hitters, Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward, transforming their lineup. Let’s take a look at who could be in the Opening Day lineup and how it compares with the other teams in the American League East, including the defending champion Blue Jays.

Let’s put Jackson Holliday at second base leading off, followed by Ward in left field, Gunnar Henderson at short, Alonso at first, Jordan Westburg at third, Adley Rutschman at catcher, Colton Cowser in center, Dylan Beavers in right and Samuel Basallo as the designated hitter.

However manager Craig Albernaz aligns his lineup, it looks formidable. A bench with Coby Mayo or Ryan Mountcastle, Jeremiah Jackson, Tyler O’Neill and Leody Taveras isn’t bad.

The Toronto Blue Jays could use this batting order that Roster Resource has listed:

George Springer-DH

Addison Barger-RF

Vladimir Guerrero-1B

Anthony Santander-LF

Alejandro Kirk-C

Daulton Varsho-CF

Kazuma Okamoto-3B

Ernie Clement-2B

Andres Giménez-SS

Their bench: Tyler Heineman, Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw.

Let’s look at the New York Yankees:

Trent Grisham-LF

Aaron Judge-RF

Cody Bellinger-CF

Ben Rice-1B

Giancarlo Stanton-DH

Jazz Chisholm-2B

Ryan McMahon-3B

José Caballero-SS

Austin Wells-C

Their bench: J.C. Escarra, Oswaldo Cabrera, Amed Rosario and Jasson Domínguez.

Let’s look at the Boston Red Sox:

Roman Anthony-LF

Trevor Story-SS

Jarren Duran-DH

Willson Contreras-1B

Wilyer Abreu-RF

Carlos Narváez-C

Marcelo Mayer-3B

Romy Gonzalez-2B

Ceddanne Rafaela-CF

Their bench: Connor Wong, Nick Sogard, Nate Eaton and Masataka Yoshida.

Let’s look at the Tampa Bay Rays:

Gavin Lux-2B

Yandy Diaz-DH

Jonathan Aranda-1B

Junior Caminero-3B

Cedric Mullins-CF

Jake Fraley-2B

Taylor Walls-SS

Chandler Simpson-LF

Nick Fortes-C

Their bench: Hunter Feduccia, Ryan Vilade, Jonny DeLuca and Justyn Henry-Malloy.

Last week, I neglected to include the Rays’ starting rotation with the other AL East teams. It has Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane McLanahan, Steven Matz and Joe Boyle.

It seems that the rotations of the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox are deeper than the Orioles’, but after looking at the other lineups, fans might feel better.

Last season, Alonso hit 38 home runs and Ward 36. If Henderson’s shoulder injury was the principal reason his home run number dropped from 37 to 17, those three players should easily exceed 100 home runs.

Westburg hit 17 homers in just 85 games. A healthy Westburg could approach 30 home runs in a full season.

A stronger season from Jackson Holliday and bounce-back years from Cowser and Rutschman could make the lineup much more potent. Cowser hit 24 home runs in 2024 and Rutschman 20 in 2023.

It will be interesting to see how Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers perform in their first full major league seasons. Basallo hit 23 homers in just 76 games at Triple-A Norfolk while Beavers hit 18 in 94 games with the Tides.

With no player hitting more than 17 home runs last year, the Orioles still managed to hit 191. They should far exceed that number, and could challenge the club record of 257 in 1996.

In ’96, the Orioles had seven players who hit more than 20 home runs, led by Brady Anderson’s 50. Rafael Palmeiro (39), Bobby Bonilla (28), Cal Ripken Jr. (26), Chris Hoiles (25), Roberto Alomar (22) and B.J. Surhoff (21).

It’s going to take a lot more than home runs for the team to be successful, but it’s not unrealistic to think that six or seven Orioles could exceed 20 home runs.

The Orioles’ starting rotation doesn’t measure up to Boston’s, New York’s or Toronto’s, and if they’re able to make a major addition in the coming days, that could make fans more optimistic about the team.

While the rotation may be challenged, the potential of the lineup is strong, and should make for an entertaining 2026 season.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.