The Angels lost Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez and Garret Anderson. Still, they have the best starting rotation in the division. They still have a great bullpen. They must find a way to score runs, with the aging Vladimir Guerrero still their top threat. The starting staff is led by John Lackey, who has a chance to win at least 12 games for the sixth consecutive year, and Ervin Santana, who at 26 is the youngest big leaguer with at least 50 wins. Both, however, are dealing with elbow injuries.

Stop if you've heard this before, but the Rangers will go as far as their pitching takes them. If Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla play as they're capable, it will take the pressure off the back end of a young staff. The Rangers have no peers offensively in the division. Josh Hamilton, who had 32 homers and 130 RBIs last year, said he's stronger than ever entering the season.

The Athletics managed to be competitive in 2008 despite being offensively challenged. They addressed the offensive needs in the off-season by trading for Matt Holliday and signing Jason Giambi. The starting staff is too young to compete for the playoffs. Justin Duchscherer's elbow injury means the projected opening day rotation accounted for 21 victories in 2008. Holliday faces an adjustment coming from hitter-friendly Colorado's to Oakland's spacious ballpark.

The Mariners have an ace in Felix Hernandez (3.45 ERA, 175 strikeouts last year) but plenty of other question marks in the rotation and the bullpen. Starter Erik Bedard needs to be healthy after a disappointing 2008 season. Offensively, the Mariners have just two threats in Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Beltre. Signing Ken Griffey Jr. doesn't change that.

The White Sox won the division last year despite playing without MVP candidate Carlos Quentin down the stretch. The core group returns, but Chicago needs former first-round pick Josh Fields to contribute at third and rookie Chris Getz to step in at second. Look out for shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who would have been the AL's top rookie last year if not for Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria.

The Indians addressed big needs at closer and third base by getting Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa. But can a team that's relying on Carl Pavano (nine wins since 2005) to be an effective starter win a division? At least the Tribe has a potentially dominant 1-2 pitching punch with Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and the talented Fausto Carmona.

There's a lot to like about the Twins, who have solid pitching and a standout bullpen. If Francisco Liriano returns to top form, a staff with no starter older than 27 could be dominant. But even with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, the offense has questions. If Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young can hit, the Twins could challenge for the postseason.

It turns out that all the moves the Tigers made in the last off-season didn't make them better, just older. The offensive parts are still in place with Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez. A concern is the shaky bullpen, where Brandon Lyon is the new closer. Catcher Gerald Laird wanted to play every day with the Rangers, and now he'll have his shot after his trade to Detroit.

The Royals made offensive upgrades, trading for Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp. But they need former top pick Alex Gordon to finally have a breakout season. The back end of the rotation is a mess, especially with former Fort Worth Cat Luke Hochevar starting the season in the minors.

The Red Sox were surprised by Tampa Bay last year. That won't happen again. The lineup is the same as last year, but David Ortiz is healthy. If the fliers on pitchers Brad Penny, John Smoltz and Takashi Saito work, a championship is within reach. Left fielder Jason Bay, a key trade-deadline acquisition last year, combined for 31 homers and 101 RBIs for Pittsburgh and Boston.

The Yankees spent big bucks on CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira. But the injury to Alex Rodriguez puts a big hole in the middle of the lineup. Teixeira is good, but he tends to get off to slow starts and is not enough to offset a long-term loss of Rodriguez. Sabathia and Burnett are the division's best 1-2 pitching combo.

Hardly anyone expected the Rays to do what they did in 2008. The World Series runners-up are going to find out it's a lot tougher to win when everyone's after you. Signing Pat Burrell helps the offense, but the Rays still need another consistent big bat.

The Blue Jays have some talent but also some concerns. Arlington Bowie-ex Vernon Wells missed time in the spring. Third baseman Scott Rolen missed 50 games last season, and closer B.J. Ryan pulled out of the World Baseball Classic as he dealt with problems with his mechanics. Ace pitcher Roy Halladay is a stud, but the rest of the staff is untested.

Center fielder Adam Jones and catching prospect Matt Wieters give Orioles fans hope. Unfortunately, the rotation for this year could be frightening, and aging players Melvin Mora and Fort Worth Brewer-ex Aubrey Huff can't keep producing forever. Look out for Wieters, who hit 27 homers between two minor league stops in 2008.