Here's a look at the American League East..
- Jon Lester knows that after a down year in 2012, teams will likely try to buy low on him, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes. The Red Sox left-hander is entering the final guaranteed season of his five-year, $30MM deal and Boston holds a $13MM option for 2014. So far, the two sides have yet to engage in extension talks.
- In his address to reporters in Tampa, Florida, Yankees co-owner Hal Steinbrenner explained that the club's much talked about plan to get under $189MM by 2014 isn't set in stone, writes Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. “Everybody keeps talking about the $189MM…Is that our goal next year? Yes, to be at that number, that’s our goal. But as I’ve said from the beginning, that depends on some of our young players stepping up and getting the job done. That has to happen. Or it’s going to be difficult," Steinbrenner said.
- Andrew Bailey is happy to have Joel Hanrahan in the mix, but he says that he eventually wants to return to being a closer and he wants to make it happen with the Red Sox, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.
