Two question marks, by club: West LA

Just days before the start of the regular season, it’s time to start doing the division previews. While we’re clear that there are certainly some moves to be made, at this point we have a pretty good idea of ​​what each team will look like.

Today: American League West Division

Every team wants to make it to the postseason, but the AL West may well have the ninths most desperate for it. The Astros are trying to transition into a new era while continuing to compete. The Rangers are trying to spice up their new stadium by signing big-name free agents. The A’s…okay, maybe the A’s are taking some kind of break. But mostly, it’s about the Mariners and Angels. The Mariners, as you know, have the longest postseason drought in American professional sports — the last time they made the playoffs was in Albert Pujols’ rookie season — and the Angels have perhaps the best player in the game. baseball of the past 20 years, one who has yet to win a postseason game in his career.

There are many stories to follow in this division, but none are bigger than those two.

Los Angeles Angels

1. You’re not going to believe this, but … are there any questions about his pitching staff?

The acquisition of Noah Syndergaard was his biggest-name move, but you have to wonder how many innings Syndergaard, coming off Tommy John surgery, can give the Angels. The most reliable starter on this staff is… Shohei Ohtani? The lineup looks healthy and fearsome, but everything indicates that they will be short of pitching again. Again.

2. Mike Trout is completely healthy, right?

Trout has appeared in 223 games in the past three years, a deeply depressing total: That’s just 40 more games than Yusmeiro Petit. He appears to be ready this year, but it’s normal to have second thoughts: Since he played 159 games in 2016, he hasn’t gone a single season without missing time due to injuries. And it’s not the only question mark in the health department, either: Anthony Rendon played just 58 games in 2021, and as incredible as Ohtani is, you always worry that an injury will take him away from us in the blink of an eye. . That Trout/Ohtani/Rendon/Jared Walsh quartet that the Angels can hit every day is impressive. But first they have to be healthy so they can do it.

1. Is young pitching the new strength of this team?

The Astros have always been armed with young hitters, but their rotation has often been made up of veterans and the odd bet. Now, with Justin Verlander back, it looks like the Astros are going to lean on their starting pitching to win the division. With the Dominican Framber Valdez, the Venezuelan Luis Garcia, the Mexican José Urquidy and the Dominican Cristian Javier, four effective and proven pitchers still in their 20s (and there is also Jake Odorizzi), the Astros seem very strong in a department that does not it always looked like this. Pitching won’t be the reason they break a sweat this year.

2. Can Alex Bregman be a star again?

This should be the peak of Alex Bregman’s career: He’ll be 28 before the season starts, just when he’s supposed to hit more than ever. And it’s not like Bregman has been a bad hitter the past two seasons. But there is no doubt that he has regressed. He finished fifth in the MVP voting in 2018 and second in 2019, but hasn’t received a single vote since, and last year he slugged .422, worse than Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers. With Carlos Correa now in Minnesota, Bregman is this team’s offensive/defensive superstar, or at least he’s supposed to be. Bregman can add more in both departments. He had wrist surgery in November, so in Houston they hope that injury is in the past.

1. What is the next move?

The trades of Matt Chapman (to Toronto) and Matt Olson (to Atlanta) were exactly what A’s fans feared: another rebuild. That’s not necessarily the worst thing in the long run, but it can certainly be quite unpleasant in the moment. And most likely they are not finished. With Sean Manaea and Fracelis “Frankie” Montas surely on the market — and so many teams desperate for starting pitching — the A’s could get worse before they get better. They have a lot going for them to trade, though: Any team would want one of those two pitchers. They better get as much as they can in return, because after the two of them, they don’t have much left.

2. Will they be able to do a quick spin once again?

Oakland fans are certainly used to these ups and downs: the A’s tend to shake things up and start over every so often, so this happening isn’t a surprise. The difference between the A’s and many other franchises, though, is that slumps don’t tend to be as deep as other teams, and they don’t last as long. Can the A’s show enough this year to make their fans feel like the club’s next turnaround will be sooner than others think? Because right now there are a lot of older players in this lineup, with potentially six names who are 30 or older. That doesn’t exactly say “future”.

1. Will the new pieces provide enough offense?

The Mariners’ trade for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez almost made more headlines for what the move said about the Reds than it did about the Mariners, but it still made it clear that the Mariners are serious this year. : After winning 90 games last season, the team didn’t want to sit idly by. Still, there are certainly questions surrounding both names, considering Winker’s well-known struggles against lefties and Suarez’s terrible production at the bat last year. The team is counting a lot on Jarred Kelenic continuing to improve after what was shown at the end of last season, on Ty France and Mitch Haniger repeating what they did in 2021 and probably on the Dominican Julio Rodríguez making a difference from day one. That could be enough. But there are also many questions.

2. Do they have to end their drought this year?

The Mariners are building a roster to compete for several years. Many of their young players will not reach their peak for several seasons. Add that to the fact that much of the reason for his improvement in 2021 came from veterans who probably won’t be part of, say, the 2025 Mariners. So where does this year’s team fit? It seems to be a year of transition, an opportunity for Kelenic, Rodríguez and company to establish themselves in the Major Leagues. But the Mariners also signed the reigning AL Cy Young winner and have all those years without playing in October. Should they bet everything to win in 2022? It’s hard to tell any Mariners fan tired of hearing about “the future” otherwise. Surely the time seems to be now.

1. Is moderate improvement enough?

The Rangers took some big swings this winter, and hit the ball with two of them: There isn’t a team that wouldn’t want to have Corey Seager or Marcus Semien, let alone both at the same time. But the concern is that that’s basically all the Rangers have on their team. Mitch Garver was a fitting addition, but the rest of this lineup, particularly with Cuban Adolis Garcia slipping in the final months of 2021, looks too weak. (Is Brad Miller really going to be your everyday left fielder?) Seager and Semien filled two big holes in this lineup. But there are many more.

2. Can they keep the boat afloat until the next litter arrives?

The Rangers have a solid farm system that should produce real results for years to come, though losing Josh Jung all season to a shoulder injury is definitely painful. But they have yet to get to this point, with a new stadium that still looks like it hasn’t really been christened. Seager and Semien are obviously terrific signings, but this still looks like a losing team, this year and probably next, at least. Will Rangers fans stay patient? Will Seager and Semien do it?

Astros: 91-71
Mariners: 87-75
Angels: 86-76
Rangers: 75-87
Athletics: 65-97

I’m not convinced the Mariners have enough hitting, and the Angels have enough pitching, to catch the Astros or grab one of the Wild Card spots. Which is still very cruel to those fans, really. But hey: there will always be a next year!