AL East

Things have been better for the Boston Red Sox.

Boston dropped to 0-3 on the 2021 season with an 11-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on Sunday. According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), it was the first time since 1948 that Boston started with an 0-3 record at Fenway Park.

It was also just the second time in franchise history it fell to 0-3 at Fenway Park.

If it's any consolation for the Red Sox, they bounced back and finished the 1948 campaign with a 96-59 record.

Still, this is a team that went 24-36 during the shortened 2020 campaign and also missed the playoffs in 2019 after winning the World Series in 2018. Many of the key players from that championship team, including Mookie Betts, David Price and Craig Kimbrel, are no longer on the roster.

Expectations are not exactly high for Boston in the daunting American League East.

The New York Yankees figure to be championship contenders, and the Tampa Bay Rays are coming off a World Series appearance. The Toronto Blue Jays also made the playoffs during the 2020 season.

Dropping three straight games to the Orioles, who are coming off four straight losing seasons, is not exactly the ideal way to start the 2021 campaign for a Boston squad looking to bounce back from last year's efforts.

The biggest issue Sunday was an inability to slow down the top of Baltimore's lineup.

Cedric Mullins, Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander went a combined 10-for-16 with six runs and four RBI.

The New York Yankees let a winnable game slip through their grasp after falling to the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Opening Day. 

It was a particularly tough day for right fielder Aaron Judge, who spoke with reporters about missed opportunities postgame, particularly at the plate.

Aaron Judge talks about a tough Opening Day at the plate:

"A lot of missed opportunity on my part" pic.twitter.com/qh8dLrSy8q

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 1, 2021

"I let the team down twice there and even the ball over my head," Judge said. "That's another opportunity we could've at least held them or at least caught that or cut the guy off to keep him from scoring. Lot of missed opportunities from my part."

With the Yanks and Jays tied two, Judge grounded out into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the seventh. 

We get by with a little Phelps from our friends 🤗 pic.twitter.com/bouMJnaOCb

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 1, 2021

The power hitter then found himself with another chance to be the hero in the ninth with Brett Gardner on second and two out, but he struck out to end the frame.

In the 10th, Jays outfielder Randall Grichuk lined a Nick Nelson pitch deep into right field. Judge had a chance at the ball, but it sailed over his glove. Jonathan Davis scored the winning run from third.

Grich in the CLUTCH 🔥

👏 @RGrich15 👏 pic.twitter.com/QvHBJWTzA2

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 1, 2021

Judge and the Bronx Bombers will look to bounce back on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET versus Toronto.

Major League Baseball's hopes to have all 30 teams play on Opening Day has been dashed because of inclement weather in Boston.

The Boston Red Sox announced that Thursday's opener against the Baltimore Orioles has been postponed to Friday because of rain in the area:

Today’s #OpeningDay game & pregame ceremonies are rescheduled for tomorrow, Friday, April 2, at 2:10 p.m. pic.twitter.com/wx7wvLwqAJ

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 1, 2021

The Red Sox were set to host the Orioles at Fenway Park on Thursday, with first pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET.

Per Weather.com, the forecast in Boston calls for rain in the morning followed by cloudy conditions and wind gusts up to 22 mph. Friday's forecast has a high of 46 degrees and 15 mph winds with mostly sunny skies.

The Orioles and Red Sox are hoping to start this season off on a strong note after struggling in 2020. Baltimore finished fourth in the American League East with a 25-35 record, one game ahead of Boston.

Boston rehired Alex Cora in November after the sides agreed to part ways in January 2020 amid MLB's sign-stealing investigation.

The Orioles are expected to send John Means to the mound for his first Opening Day start. Nathan Eovaldi will be on the mound for the Red Sox.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer will begin the regular season in the injured list. 

Manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters on Wednesday that Springer will be placed on the injured list with a Grade 2 strain of his left oblique. 

Springer hasn't played in a game since March 21 and only appeared in 10 games throughout spring training. 

Montoyo told reporters last week that Springer had progressed to hitting off of a tee, but they were still taking a day-to-day approach with him before making a final determination about his status for the season opener. 

The 31-year-old Springer is a key part of the Toronto lineup, as the three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger award winner signed a six-year contract with the Blue Jays during the offseason.

Springer spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Houston Astros, and he was a big factor again last season, hitting .265 with 14 home runs and 32 RBI during the COVID-shortened campaign.

Entering last season, Springer hit 29 or more home runs in three of the previous four seasons. The 2019 season was unquestionably Springer's best as an MLB player, as he hit .292 with a career-high 39 homers and 96 RBI. Springer also scored 96 runs, marking the fourth consecutive season in which he scored at least that many.

The Blue Jays are stacked with young offensive talent, but they needed a veteran with championship experience to tie it all together, and Springer undoubtedly fits the profile, as he was the 2017 World Series MVP.

With Springer in the fold, the Blue Jays' young stars now have an example to strive toward on a daily basis.

For as long as Springer is out, the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and others must step up and anchor the Toronto offense.

In terms of who will replace Springer, veteran Randal Grichuk could see additional time in center field, while Jonathan Davis may find himself in the lineup more often as well.

The Blue Jays will play the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the 2021 season opener on Thursday afternoon. 

The New York Yankees are worth an estimated $6.75 billion, making them MLB's most valuable franchise by a considerable margin based on the Sportico rankings heading into the 2021 season.

Here's a look at the top 10 in total value on the list released Friday, which combines the organization's baseline valuation with its team-related businesses and real estate:

• 1. New York Yankees: $6.75 billion
• 2. Boston Red Sox: $4.8 billion
• 3. Los Angeles Dodgers: $4.62 billion
• 4. Chicago Cubs: $4.14 billion
• 5. San Francisco Giants: $3.49 billion
• 6. New York Mets: $2.48 billion
• 7. Los Angeles Angels: $2.46 billion
• 8. Atlanta Braves: $2.38 billion
• 9. St. Louis Cardinals: $2.36 billion
• 10. Philadelphia Phillies: $2.28 billion

The Miami Marlins are at the bottom of the 30-team list with a value of $1.12 billion.

While MLB has faced questions about the future of a slow-paced sport in an era of limited attention spans, Kurt Badenhausen and Peter J. Schwartz of Sportico noted the league is ahead of the curve with its regional TV deals, streaming rights and readiness for in-game betting.

In turn, the average MLB club is still worth a staggering $2.2 billion, and the Sportico report noted there are "no COVID discounts" for the "savvy investors" looking to get into baseball ownership before a possible boom.

"I think there is a better chance of the New York Yankees being here in 50 years than Apple being around in 50 years," a sports financing insider told Badenhausen and Schwartz.

The 2021 MLB season, which will return to a standard 162-game schedule after the 2020 slate was reduced to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, gets underway Thursday.  

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit will begin the 2021 season on the injured list, paving the way for veteran Jay Bruce to make the roster.

ESPN's Marly Rivera first reported that Bruce would be part of the Major League squad and later reported that manager Aaron Boone said Voit must go three weeks without any baseball activity because of a partial meniscus tear in his knee.

Per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Boone added that Voit will be back "considerably sooner than" June, meaning his absence isn't expected to stretch beyond two months.

The 30-year-old Voit is coming off a career year, as he was one of the few Yankees position players who did not spend time on the IL last season.

Voit was the driving force behind the Yanks' offensive success along with DJ LeMahieu, hitting .277 with an MLB-high 22 home runs and 52 RBI, which ranked fourth in MLB. Voit sat out only four games during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.

With that performance, Voit proved that the 2019 campaign in which he hit .263 with 21 homers and 62 RBI in 118 games wasn't a fluke.

Before 2019, Voit's MLB experience was limited. He played 62 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017 and then another eight games for the Cards the following season before getting traded to New York.

In 39 games for the Bronx Bombers in 2018, Voit hit .333 with 14 home runs and 33 RBI, and then he nailed down the starting first base job in 2019.

His loss creates a huge opportunity for the soon-to-be-34-year-old Bruce.

He is set to enter his 14th MLB season and will play for his sixth team after previously enjoying stints with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Cleveland, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies.

He is a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger award winner who owns a .245 career batting average to go along with 318 home runs and 948 RBI.

Bruce has clubbed 30 or more home runs in a season five times and driven in 100 or more runs in a campaign on two occasions.

He hit just .198 with six home runs and 14 RBI with the Phillies last season and hasn't put up great numbers since 2017 when he hit .254 with 36 homers and 101 RBI for the Mets and Cleveland.

The Yanks made Bruce a low-risk signing during the offseason, and that decision already appears to be paying dividends, as he will be able to fill in at first base, especially against right-handed pitching.

For as good and powerful as the Yankees lineup is, most of their hitters are righties, so adding a power lefty like Bruce could provide a bit more balance.

That, coupled with the fact that the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez are all healthy entering the 2021 season, means New York should get by without Voit for a little while.

The Yankees could run into trouble if injuries pile up like they have in recent years, but for now, they are in a good position to start the season off hot and cement themselves as the favorites in the American League.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced Friday that starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez has been scratched from his Opening Day start because of a "dead arm." 

Following the decision, Cora said he told Rodriguez: "The way you're throwing, at some point in your career, you're going to be an Opening Day starter—maybe more than once."

Nathan Eovaldi will instead take the ball when the Red Sox open their 2021 season Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.

Rodriguez missed the entire 2020 campaign after testing positive for COVID-19 in early July and then being diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart wall that can be a long-term complication found in people who've had the coronavirus.

The 27-year-old Venezuela native returned to the club for the start of spring training last month.

"At the beginning of COVID, I just wanted a chance to get past through that," Rodriguez told reporters. "Thank God I have a chance to survive that part and be available to get back to baseball and get cleared. ... I did everything that I can to get back to 100 percent, and now I'm here. I'm ready to go."

Cora confirmed Rodriguez's current situation is not linked to COVID-19 or myocarditis, and the Red Sox are hopeful he's able to make a quick recovery.

"Next step is to throw a bullpen," Cora said. "So when he throws a bullpen, then we address the situation again."

Rodriguez finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019 when he posted a 3.81 ERA with 213 strikeouts in 203.1 innings across 34 starts for Boston.

Meanwhile, Eovaldi has flashed occasional brilliance thanks to a fastball that sits comfortably in the upper-90s, but he's lacked consistency during his 10-year MLB career.

The 31-year-old right-hander showed signs of progress last year with a 3.72 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 52 strikeouts in 48.1 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.4) was the best mark of his career, albeit in an abbreviated campaign where he made just nine starts.

Boston is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2020 season where it finished with a 24-36 record, one game behind the Orioles from last place in the AL East.

Any type of extended absence for Rodriguez would be a major blow to those bounce-back efforts.

Boston Red Sox star J.D. Martinez is ready to return to the diamond and move on from a 2020 season that fell well short of expectations.

Martinez explained to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he was particularly frustrated since criticism toward his contributions was based on a 54-game sample.

"Obviously I'm excited," the three-time All-Star said about the year ahead. "I just want (expletive) to go back to normal, honestly. I just want it to be a normal season. I'm kind of tired of being judged on two months."

Martinez went on to say that doing his usual work outside of games was tricky amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which then impacted his performance:

"I'm just finding out the source of where everything ... I created bad habits, I'm not going to lie. Last year, me not being able to look. Me not being able to break down my swing throughout the year I created some really bad habits and the whole thing is trying to break them now. It's different in the cage when you're getting a flip or BP or when you're getting 98 (mph) at you. It's hard to think about mechanics when you're having a 95-96 mph ball come at you."

The 33-year-old was a disaster at the plate. His slugging percentage fell from .557 in 2019 to .389, while he finished with more strikeouts (59) than hits (45). Among 142 qualified hitters, he finished 129th in weighted on-base average (.290), per FanGraphs.

In general, it's somewhat foolish to make any concrete judgments—positive or negative—about a player while relying on last year's production considering a bad week or two could have an outsized impact on the final numbers. And that's to say nothing of how the pandemic altered preseason preparations.

Experienced veterans on the wrong side of 30 such as Martinez might have been impacted the most since they likely have had established plans for how they get ready for Opening Day. Spring training 2.0 didn't represent a like-for-like substitute.

Luckily for Martinez, he doesn't have to wait much longer to silence his skeptics. The Red Sox get their regular season underway April 1 at home against the Baltimore Orioles.        

You, yes you, can live like New York Yankees royalty for the low, low price of $12.75 million.

According to Anthony Zurita of NorthJersey.com, the estate known as Tiedemann Castle in Greenwood Lake, New York, that belonged to Derek Jeter is on sale for that price. It is notably lower than the $14.75 million mark it was previously listed for during its time on the market since 2018.

The 115-year-old "castle" features stone walls that are six feet tall, a pool house, a boathouse, an infinity pool, a lagoon, two conference rooms, 12 bathrooms and five kitchens, one of which is outdoors.

That Jeter had such a home in New York isn't exactly surprising. After all, the Hall of Famer put together one of the all-time Yankee careers with a Rookie of the Year, five World Series titles, five Gold Gloves, five Silver Sluggers, 14 All-Star selections and a World Series MVP.

That will help someone afford a castle.

Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz delivered a public service announcement encouraging fans to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

"The only way to get back to doing the things we love, is to get the COVID vaccine.” – Big Papi

Trust the facts, get the vax: https://t.co/lfEr7yhqAr pic.twitter.com/zBB08md1Ht

— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 18, 2021

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined how the COVID-19 vaccine helps your body's immune system fight the virus, thus avoiding the most significant health effects.

The CDC also issued new recommendations for those who have received the vaccine, such as relaxing social distancing and masking when gathering with other vaccinated people indoors. ESPN's Baxter Holmes reported the NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed to allow vaccinated players and staffers more freedom throughout the season.

A level of skepticism remains about the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly among people of color. NPR's Laura Santhanam explained how historical inequality and unethical programs launched by the U.S. government, such as the Tuskegee Study, have built a level of mistrust toward any government-led health initiative.

"Several public health officials—and this is operating state by state right now—have suggested there would be a real public health benefit to getting some very high-profile African Americans vaccinated to demonstrate to the larger community that it is safe and effective," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in January.