Yankees voted as most improved team in the American League

The Atheltic recently polled 30 MLB managers, coaches, scouts and executives, concluding that the Yankees are the AL’s most improved team by a wide margin.

It’s not every day that a club that wins 100 games in a season is deemed as the most improved team in their league due to the moves they made the following winter. But that’s precisely what those in baseball feel the Yankees have done.

According to a recent report conducted by The Atheltic, of the 30 MLB insiders polled, 27 believe the Yanks are far and away the “most improved” American League team from where they left off in 2018.

Other clubs that received votes to a list of enhanced AL teams were the Twins and Rays with 10 mentions — and White Sox and Angels with four.

The Atheltic’s poll also named left-handed pitcher James Paxton as the best acquisition by an AL team this offseason — and D.J. LeMahieu as AL’s best free agent acquisition of a position player. LeMahieu surprises me a bit, as he’s currently slated to be a $12 million utility player.

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Nonetheless, with LeMahieu’s ability to hit for a high average and superior defensive skills, I understand why the Yankees signed him to solidify their infield depth.

Then there’s BetOnline, an online sportsbook that currently has the Yankees as 6/1 odds-on-favorite to win the World Series. Both the reigning champion Red Sox and AL West favorite Astros are 7/1.

Over in the National League, the 2018 NL champion Dodgers are 9/1, while the Phillies and their recent acquisition of All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto come in at 10/1.

Naturally, should any of the projected division winners or Wild Card hopefuls pull off signing Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimbrel, odds to win the Fall Classic will likely change.

However, even if the Padres (currently 66/1), Giants (66/1) or White Sox (33/1) interject with a big-name acquisition, don’t expect much upheaval at the top of the charts.