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As the offseason trades, signings and re-signings get underway, it behooves us to take a step back and lay out where each MLB team stands right now, what its current big-picture objective is. So here's the current landscape, division by division and team by team: AL East Baltimore Orioles: Working to repeat as AL East champs. The Orioles made it all the way to the American League Championship Series and should have an even better team in 2015. Re-signing Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz or acquiring similar players will be key to defending their division title. Boston Red Sox: Retooling to contend again in 2015. After going from first to last in the division this season, the Red Sox hope to reverse that in '15, and they have the bullpen, defense and lineup to do it. However, they must completely rebuild their starting rotation to be a legitimate threat again. New York Yankees: Aspirations of contending, but currently a middle-of-division team. The Yanks have a lot of question marks in their rotation, especially healthwise. They'll need guys like Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia to bounce back, and will also need rebound years from Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann to have any hope of making a playoff run. Tampa Bay Rays: New leadership trying to maintain contender status. The previous regime left the Rays in a good spot to contend, including a strong young rotation. But the team will need to hire a new manager who hits the ground running. Tampa Bay's long-term success will be dependent on an improved draft performance in June after a few years of below-average drafts. Toronto Blue Jays: Trying to win now while still developing prospects. They have a strong core of veterans (and just added one in Russell Martin) and were wise not to trade any of their talented young starting pitching at the trade deadline. They'll fill a few key positions with prospects -- Dalton Pompey will start in center field and newly acquired Devon Travis will take over second base by at least midseason -- but likely will look to spend more this offseason.
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