/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/28165469/20131007_jla_usa_042.0.jpg)
On Wednesday, Michael Clair took a look at a couple of post-hype sleepers who could surprise people in 2014. It was only a year ago that Blue Jays looked like a lock to take the AL East and the Angels were ready to shake off a rough 2012 and make a run at the AL West, but it feels like those pontifications took place much further in the past, in a world that was more innocent and naive than the one we currently live in, or at least a world in which the Blue Jays and Angels didn't seem like lousy teams.
We are approaching a new season and there are new teams getting the hype. The Yankees have bought the entire free agent market like a Bond villain purchasing the world's chocolate supply before Valentine's Day.
The Mariners have signed Robinson Cano forever and ever and the Rangers added a power hitter in Prince Fielder and a guy who can get on base ahead of him in Shin-Soo Choo.
All of this has to make these teams can't-miss playoff contenders, right? After all, the Blue Jays and the Angels... oh, wait. You know what? Nevermind.
Who is your sleeper team for the 2014 season?
Breakfast Links 2/6
- Dodgers, Orioles, and Diamondbacks among finalists for Arroyo -- The 36-year-old veteran has a few suitors but only the Dodgers are interested in him for multiple years. C'mon people, this is Bronson Arroyo here!
- Dodgers sign Justin Turner to minor league contract -- The former Met will compete for a spot on the Dodgers bench, where he can try to bum meals off a collection of the richest players in the game. Now, that is an incentive-laden deal.
- Indians sign Bryan LaHair to minor league contract -- Remember when LaHair broke out with .286/.364/.519 batting line and 14 homers in the first half of the 2012 season? No? Me either.
- Major League Baseball Regional High School: Two worlds collide -- Chris Cotillo tells us why the MLB rumor mill is just like high school, but the big story here is that Tim might finally be getting some traction from Bri on a potential relationship.
- Freddie Freeman extension: FREDDIE VS. JASON -- They will both murder you with a baseball bat, but one has suffered a gruesome injury to the face.