AL East

When the Baltimore Orioles traded Danny Valencia to the Kansas City Royals for David Lough this offseason, they were hoping they were acquiring a high-energy player who could help fill the void in left field created by Nate McLouth's departure. 

So far this spring, it appears they got exactly what they hoped for. 

When the New York Yankees take the field in Panama for an exhibition series in Mariano Rivera's native country, the shadow of their former closer will hang over a bullpen that's expected to replace him during the 2014 MLB season.

When the Toronto Blue Jays opened their spring training schedule, Ricky Romero was just an afterthought.

Yes, he was at major league training camp along with the rest of the team, but that was due to his contract and past accomplishments—not because he was expected to be on the Opening Day roster for the 2014 season.

Before we go any further, let me state for the record, on March 8, that I am not declaring that I think the New York Yankees will be world champions in 2014. Not yet, anyway. But it's never too early to start examining the possibilities.

The Toronto Blue Jays made the biggest trade of the winter last season, acquiring Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle in a mega-deal with the Miami Marlins.

The Toronto Blue Jays might still be in the mix for free-agent pitcher Ervin Santana, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal via Twitter.

Rosenthal reports that Santana has abruptly changed his free-agency strategy following a split with agent Bean Stringfellow of Performance Sports and is now interested in signing a one-year “pillow contract” as soon as possible.

There was no television or radio coverage, but we know for certain that New York Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda made his 2014 debut on Friday night against the Detroit Tigers.

We also know this: It went well.

Like, really well.

As if the New York Yankees' middle infield situation wasn't difficult enough to figure out, Yangervis Solarte has plans to make it even harder.

The New York Yankees entered the 2014 spring training schedule with several important tasks.

First, they needed to introduce several new players to the Yankees culture.

Helping injured players return to form and shake off some rust would also be important.

But what is of the utmost importance is seeing which players can win the remaining position battles and which young players can earn a spot on the Opening Day roster while turning heads.

Anything can happen between now and when the New York Yankees break from spring training at the end of March, but barring injuries, it doesn't appear as if the 25-man roster will be too difficult to project.