By Peter Sblendorio

Although the MLB season opener is more than a month away, pitchers and catchers have already reported to Arizona and Florida for Spring Training.

 While the position players are several weeks away from reporting, a number of storylines highlight the start to Spring Training. Star players on new teams are a major theme in this year’s Spring Training, especially in the American League East and West divisions.

The Yankees and Red Sox were extremely active once again this offseason, each acquiring new players and saying goodbye to former stalwarts. New York acquired its center fielder for the next five plus years in Curtis Granderson, and also added pitcher Javier Vazquez and DH Nick Johnson. In doing this they were forced to say goodbye to World Series heroes Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui

The Red Sox also saw a significant roster shift, allowing All-Star left fielder Jason Bay to walk while adding ace John Lackey, third baseman Adrian Beltre, and center fielder Mike Cameron. With both teams retooling, the race to win the AL East should once again come down to the wire.

In the AL West, the Mariners made several major acquisitions, such as pitcher Cliff Lee, third baseman Chone Figgins, and DH Milton Bradley, to push themselves back into contention for a playoff spot. The Angels lost DH Vladimir Guerrero to the division rival Rangers, and lost Lackey and Figgins too. To replace these stars, Los Angeles added Matsui and pitcher Joel Piniero for 2010.

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