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How does the deal affect the balance of power in the AL East?

Massively.

That balance is currently under assessment from every media market in the division. And you can bet the respective GMs are doing the same math right now.

Essentially, the Jays shocked all of baseball.

Up until Tuesday, the AL East was not the picture of stability and power that has been its hallmark for the past dozen years.

The Yankees are too old at key positions and the Red Sox need help in several areas.

How does the trade affect the Yankees?

Twitter lit up amongst Yankee fans after the deal; many saying that if the Jays could pry three major leaguers from the Marlins, the Yanks should go after catcher Giancarlo Stanton.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman would no doubt be thrilled to deal an aging and declining Alex Rodriguez, who some believe would be a good fit for the Marlins. But with five years and $115 million (all figures U.S.) remaining on his contract, that doesn’t appear to be a deal the rebuilding Marlins, or any other team, would make.

How will free agency be affected by the trade?

The Jays trade puts pressure on the Red Sox and Yankees — and to a lesser degree, the Orioles — to land a big name free agent.

Both the Red Sox the Orioles are now strongly mentioned as potential destinations for Josh Hamilton, the biggest name on the market.

It would be interesting to see how Boston affords both Hamilton — who is said to be seeking seven years, $175 million — and LaRoche, who is obviously looking north of $10 million a season.

Boston could also be in the market for Greinke and Kuroda.

How did the trade affect the odds in Las Vegas?

The Jays improved from 35-1 to win the World Series to 14-1 after the trade, according to Bodog. The over-under on the Jays’ regular-season wins in 2013 came in at 87.5. They won 73 in 2012.

David Cone, who pitched for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees and now a broadcaster for the YES Network, took a look at the 12-player blockbuster deal between the Blue Jays and the Florida Marlins that sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle to Toronto and formed a very definite opinion: "I would think they've got to be the favorite (in the AL East) right now.''

Cone shared his comments at Yankee Stadium this morning, where he, Joe Girardi and a bunch of Yankees employees took part in an event to assemble "comfort packs'' of food and supplies to U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan during the holiday season.

"I think the Blue Jays see a golden opportunity,'' said Cone, who went 13-9 with a 3.14 ERA in two stints as a Blue Jay, in 1992 and 1995. "They see the AL East is ripe for the taking. You've got to admire them for making a move and taking a shot.''

Asked if he thought the deal shifted the balance of power in the division, Cone said, "I think it does absolutely. Especially considering Toronto is going to get the roster that they had back healthy again. They'll get Brendan Morrow back. That rotation is going to be something. The pitching is going to be good. Put Jose Reyes in there, and if (Jose) Bautista is healthy again, I would think they've got to be the favorite right now.''

polo007 wrote:http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/47239/cone-blue-jays-the-team-to-beat

David Cone, who pitched for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees and now a broadcaster for the YES Network, took a look at the 12-player blockbuster deal between the Blue Jays and the Florida Marlins that sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle to Toronto and formed a very definite opinion: "I would think they've got to be the favorite (in the AL East) right now.''

Cone shared his comments at Yankee Stadium this morning, where he, Joe Girardi and a bunch of Yankees employees took part in an event to assemble "comfort packs'' of food and supplies to U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan during the holiday season.

"I think the Blue Jays see a golden opportunity,'' said Cone, who went 13-9 with a 3.14 ERA in two stints as a Blue Jay, in 1992 and 1995. "They see the AL East is ripe for the taking. You've got to admire them for making a move and taking a shot.''

Asked if he thought the deal shifted the balance of power in the division, Cone said, "I think it does absolutely. Especially considering Toronto is going to get the roster that they had back healthy again. They'll get Brendan Morrow back. That rotation is going to be something. The pitching is going to be good. Put Jose Reyes in there, and if (Jose) Bautista is healthy again, I would think they've got to be the favorite right now.''

How does the trade affect the Yankees?

Twitter lit up amongst Yankee fans after the deal; many saying that if the Jays could pry three major leaguers from the Marlins, the Yanks should go after catcher Giancarlo Stanton.

MGD24 wrote:

How does the trade affect the Yankees?

Twitter lit up amongst Yankee fans after the deal; many saying that if the Jays could pry three major leaguers from the Marlins, the Yanks should go after catcher Giancarlo Stanton.

huh...catcher?

BigLeagueChew wrote:The globe and mail should be more worried about learning players actual names and what postions they play than the ripple effect in the AL East.

Mattd97 wrote:

BigLeagueChew wrote:The globe and mail should be more worried about learning players actual names and what postions they play than the ripple effect in the AL East.

BigLeagueChew should be more worried about learning Canada's actual newspapers and their websites than the globe and mails baseball acumen.