AL East

When the Boston Red Sox traded Yoenis Cespedes for Rick Porcello last December, they signaled that they were willing to roll the dice on the hurler's big 2014 breakout.

Now they're really rolling the dice on that breakout, suddenly putting an $82.5 million wager on it.

You get the feeling this is what is going to have to happen fairly often.

A pure offensive onslaught.

You had to be a dummy not to realize the Boston Red Sox had built one hell of an attack over the offseason, tossing in Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval with an already-formidable group of David Ortiz, Mike Napoli and Dustin Pedroia. Them scoring was never in doubt.

The Boston Red Sox wasted little time locking up Rick Porcello, who would have been a free agent after this season.

If the New York Yankees want to return to the postseason in 2015, they're going to need Masahiro Tanaka to be the ace he was in 2014.

The Boston Red Sox's outfield crunch was billed as one of the spring's hottest storylines. In the end, it wound up less an epic battle and more a peacefully negotiated ceasefire.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced today that rookies Dalton Pompey and Devon Travis will both be part of the team’s Opening Day roster, per Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.

Pompey is set to open the 2015 season as Toronto’s starting centre fielder, while Travis will start at second base.

The Toronto Blue Jays made a depth move Sunday, claiming first baseman Andy Wilkins on waivers from the Chicago White Sox, per Mike Wilner of Sportsnet (via Twitter).

With Opening Day rapidly approaching, the New York Yankees find themselves looking to win their 28th World Series—by far the most of any MLB franchise.

How realistic a goal is that? Well, that's what I'm here to help you figure out.

Spring training declarations are a difficult beast to tackle. Putting too much weight in March statistics would be misguided, as Jake Fox and his 10 Grapefruit League home runs in 2011 remind us. "Jake Who?" you ask? Precisely. 

At the same time, this is the first extended look at the 30 MLB clubs, and in some cases managers are determining roster spots based on performance. So these games aren't entirely meaningless; they just have to be viewed through the proper lens. 

Not long ago, second base for the New York Yankees was as stable, consistent and productive as any position on any team in Major League Baseball. These days, it's anything but.