AL East Roundup: Aceves, Cano, Carp

The American League East has been one of the most competitive divisions in baseball over the past decade, with this upcoming season being no different. Let's take a look at what these teams have been up to as of late.

Aceves not long for Boston?

After a reported run-in with manager John Farrell, Alfredo Aceves might be on his way out of Boston. The team says that if they can not get the reliever on the same page as everyone else, that a trade might be in the cards. This comes as no surprise, as Aceves conflicted with manager Bobby Valentine last season. I find this news troublesome in regard to Aceves, for the news appears to show that he might not be a good presence in the clubhouse.

Over the Monster looks at his potential trade value, which is not particularly high. A lot of what the article mentions is similar to what I said above: the character concerns kill the value he may have as a pitcher. It is a shame as Aceves is actually quite the effective pitcher.

Yanks hesitant to extend Cano?

While many assume it to be a foregone conclusion that the Yankees will resign star second baseman Robinson Cano, there are reports that it might not be set in stone as previously assumed. Cano is past the age of 30 now, and the Yankees should know the risks of giving a long-term deal to a player past that age. The team has spent more responsibly this offseason, so this probably should not come as a surprise.

It will be interesting to see what Cano would get on the open market, if he makes it there. He is a true superstar, but at his age a long-term deal might not be the best idea for many teams.

Red Sox going fishing for Carp?

The Red Sox opened up a large hole at first base last season when they traded Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers, which the team has been struggling to replace since then. the team did not retain James Loney, and currently is trying players out at the position such as Daniel Nava. They are reportedly in on discussions for Mariners' first baseman Mike Carp, who the team DFA'd recently.

I'm not sure if Carp would be the biggest upgrade for the Red Sox, but he has a chance to be better than what they currently are trotting out there. That will be an interesting situation to monitor, as the team has guys like Mike Napoli who could slide over and play at that spot.

Around SB Nation

Steve Slowinski at DRaysBay looks at Sean Rodriguez and where his power went. The Rays' usage of Rodriguez should be interesting to watch in 2013, as the team could either use him at second as Yunel Escobar's double-play mate, or use the versatile Ben Zobrist as well as many other internal options. I think Rodriguez is best-used as a role player, but Steve goes in-depth on the topic and I recommend reading it.

William Juliano of Pinstriped Bible looks at what direction the Yankees could go in at shortstop after Derek Jeter leaves. He looks at some teams with logjams at the position, and speculates whether the Yankeees could acquire any of them. I think Elvis Andrus could be interesting for them if he hits free agency, but that is a mighty-big if.