Here we have one really good team (Mariners), one pretty good team (Rangers), a team on the decline (Astros) and a team on the rise (A’s).
Oh, yes, and the Angels.
Athletics
Key departures: JJ Bleday, Osvaldo Bido, Mitch Spence, Max Schuemann
Key arrivals: Joey Meneses, Geoff Hartlieb, Wander Suero, Mark Leiter Jr., Jeff McNeil, Andy Ibañez
So last year I decided I was going to follow the San Francisco Chronicle’s format and call this team “Sacramento Athletics.”
I’m giving in to MLB this year. Just gonna call
them “Athletics” like MLB insists. Baseball-reference.com is doing it, so… I’m good with it.
Anyway, in 2025 the A’s, after a bad start, had a pretty good end to their season. From July 1 to season’s end they were 41-34. Among AL teams, the only ones who did better over that span were six postseason teams and the Royals.
The A’s have a tremendously good young player in Nick Kurtz, the AL Rookie of the Year who hit 36 home runs in only 117 games — and he’s only 23 (turns 23 a week from now). Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers also provide power. The A’s were seventh in home runs last year with 219 and 12th in runs scored, which is pretty good.
The pitching, though… a lot of that is the ballpark. Sutter Health Park in Sacramento is a hitter’s paradise. Look no farther than Luis Severino, who had a 3.02 ERA in 14 starts on the road, but 6.01 in 15 starts at home. So the A’s will have to slug their way to victory this year.
At Wrigley Field: June 2-3-4
SB Nation A’s site: Athletics Nation
Houston Astros
Key departures: Victor Caratini, Framber Valdez, Chas McCormick, Mauricio Dubon, Jacob Melton, Jesus Sanchez, Kaleb Ort
Key arrivals: Mike Burrows, Roddery Muñoz, Cavan Biggio, Tom Cosgrove, Carlos Perez
The Astros’ eight-year playoff run ended last year when they finished second in the division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
The “key” above really is the replacement of Valdez, who they declined to re-sign as a free agent, with Burrows. Burrows has shown flashes of good pitching with the Pirates, but he’s no Valdez.
They will have Yordan Alvarez back from an injury which limited him to 48 games last year, but some of their other players (Jose Altuve, Christian Walker) are getting older. They still don’t really know where to play Isaac Paredes.
I think they’re missing the postseason again. A member of the Biggio family is here now, so that could be fun.
At Wrigley Field: May 22-23-24
SB Nation Astros site: The Crawfish Boxes
Los Angeles Angels
Key departures: Kyle Hendricks, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Chafin, Luis Rengifo, Kenley Jansen, Cavan Biggio, Jose Ureña, Brandon Drury, Taylor Ward, Brock Burke
Key arrivals: Drew Pomeranz, Jordan Romano, Angel Perdomo, Alek Manoah, Vaughn Grissom, Kirby Yates, Nick Madrigal, Trey Mancini, Jeimer Candelario, Jose Siri, Adam Frazier
I will never understand this team. Look at those arrivals! They seem to constantly be trying to re-constitute an All-Star team from like six years ago.
For a better understanding of how bad this team is, Sam Blum, a writer for The Athletic who’s been covering the Angels for the last few years, has left that beat. He wrote this article on his departure, and check all of this out:
My coverage of the Angels, I said, would be to answer one question: “On paper, the Angels should win. So why do they always lose?”
Little did I know at the time just how much of my career would revolve around that question. I’d like to think that five years later, I’ve done all I can to answer it.
From poor minor league living conditions to a lack of Spanish broadcasters, and a lack of air conditioning. There were the unnecessarily late start times, delusional lack of trades, weird call-ups, unjustifiable frugality, flippant firings, and overall lack of accountability for their failures. The team has a damaged relationship with the city, bungled the sport’s all-time greatest superstar and just generally treat people poorly.
That ought to sum things up. The Angels haven’t made the postseason since 2014 and haven’t had a winning season since 2015. Mike Trout’s entire postseason career consists of three losses. He deserves better. So do Angels fans.
At Wrigley Field: March 30-31-April 1 (that ought to be fun for guys whose home field is in California)
SB Nation doesn’t have an Angels site. Please check out Crashing The Pearly Gates.
Seattle Mariners
Key departures: Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, Collin Snider, Luke Jackson, Eugenio Suárez, Jackson Kowar, Ben Williamson
Key arrivals: Randy Dobnak, Andrew Knizner, Rob Refsnyder, Yosver Zulueta, Dane Dunning, Cooper Criswell, Brendan Donovan
The M’s had one of their most successful seasons ever, and still fell one win short of going to the World Series, where they’ve never been.
They’re pretty much running all their key players back from last year, with the exceptions of Polanco and Suárez. One of the biggest acquisitions they made at the deadline was Josh Naylor, a pending free agent who they decided to keep. Donovan, arriving from St. Louis, will solidify their infield.
Of course, the incomparable Cal Raleigh returns. He’d have received my MVP vote last year if I had one. He dismantled the Cubs in a three-game series at Wrigley, going 6-for-12 with four home runs.
The rotation remains the same and Andres Muñoz was one of the better closers in the league last year. Seattle should win the division again.
At Seattle: Aug. 21-22-23
SB Nation Mariners site: Lookout Landing
Texas Rangers
Key departures: Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim, Jacob Webb, Marcus Semien,
Key arrivals: Jonah Bride, Tyler Alexander, Brandon Nimmo, Danny Jansen, Alexis Diaz, Chris Martin, Jakob Junis, MacKenzie Gore, Austin Gomber, Cal Quantrill, Ryan Brasier, Jordan Montgomery, Mark Canha
After the Rangers won the World Series in 2023, they expected to continue to contend. It didn’t happen, as they plummeted to an 84-loss season in 2024 and finished at .500 last year.
Injuries had a lot to do with that. So, apparently, was some friction between Semien and Corey Seager, resulting in the trade that brought Nimmo to Texas.
The Rangers have tried to improve their rotation by adding Gore and Montgomery. The latter has been injured much of the last two years, but pitched well down the stretch for Texas in 2023 and in that year’s postseason. The Rangers led MLB in fewest runs allowed last year (605) and scored 684 runs, so they underperformed their projected record of 90-72 based on runs scored and allowed. Teams that underperform by that much tend to do better the following year, so… maybe this is the Rangers’ year to return to the postseason.
At Texas: May 8-9-10
SB Nation Rangers site: Lone Star Ball
