*Photo from Bleacher Report*
Continuing the team preview series, let's look at the AL West and how the teams in this division figure to stack up.
*Photo from Athletics Nation*
Oakland Athletics
2020 record: 36-24
After a largely successful 2020 season, the A's mostly stood pat in free agency, although they did bring back Yusmeiro Petit, and added Mitch Moreland and Trevor Rosenthal through free agency, and offloaded Khris Davis to Texas in return for Elvis Andrus, who will be the replacement for Marcus Semien at shortstop. Oakland still looks good, arguably better then last year, and will once again challenge for the AL West crown.
*Photo from Halos Heaven*
Los Angeles Angels
2020 record: 26-34
In 2020, the downfall for the Angels was once again the pitching. They at least made some moves to try and fix it. Raisel Iglesias will likely slot in as the new closer in the bullpen, and Alex Claudio is a good high leverage reliever as well. For the rotation, Alex Cobb and Jose Quintana were added. Both players can be good, but have had sketchy track records, especially recently. Dexter Fowler was added to the hitting side of things. The Angels can challenge for the playoffs if the pitching performs really well, but I'm not sure they can.
*Photo from Climbing Tal's Hill*
Houston Astros
2020 record: 29-31
The Astros just barely squeaked into the playoffs in 2020, and they lost franchise face George Springer in free agency. They did add some bullpen help, with Ryne Stanek and Pedro Baez being the big additions there. They brought back Michael Brantley for the outfield picture, and Jason Castro was brought back as a backup catcher. They also signed Jake Odorizzi to give their rotation a big three in Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers, and Odorizzi. Expect the Astros to still be contending this year, and they'll challenge the A's for the AL West title.
*Photo from ESPN Seattle*
Seattle Mariners
2020 record: 27-33
The Mariners are in the middle of a rebuild, so there's not a ton to be excited about, but Kyle Lewis is worthy of the hype, as he won rookie of the year for the AL in 2020. Plus, another top outfield prospect, Jarred Kelenic, is on the doorstep to the majors. Even better, Mitch Haniger is returning from injury. In the offseason, they traded for Rafael Montero to compete for the closing job, signed a currently injured Ken Giles, and also brought back James Paxton for another tenure with the Mariners. Yeah they'll still be in the basement this year, but things do look bright in the farm system.
*Photo from the Fort Worth Star Telegram*
Texas Rangers
2020 record: 22-38
2020 was not a good year for the Rangers, as they went into tank mode and have the second overall pick in this years draft. They traded away Rafael Montero and traded Lance Lynn way too late, and sent Elvis Andrus to Oakland for a struggling Khris Davis. They added some buy low candidates in David Dahl and Mike Foltynewicz, and went to Japan to sign Kohei Arihara for a rotation spot. The Rangers won't win a lot of games this year, but they should be better then last year
Division assessment:
This division is an interesting one to look at. Oakland and Houston are the two favorites for the division, but the Angels could sneak into the conversation if everything goes right. The Mariners and Rangers are pretty much out of contention, but pay attention to the other 3 teams in the AL West.
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