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\u2019s).<\/p>\n
Key departures: JJ Bleday, Osvaldo Bido, Mitch Spence, Max Schuemann<\/p>\n
Key arrivals: Joey Meneses, Geoff Hartlieb, Wander Suero, Mark Leiter Jr., Jeff McNeil, Andy Iba\u00f1ez<\/p>\n
So last year I decided I was going to follow the San Francisco Chronicle\u2019s format<\/a> and call this team \u201cSacramento Athletics.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m giving in to MLB this year. Just gonna call them \u201cAthletics\u201d like MLB insists. Baseball-reference.com is doing it<\/a>, so\u2026 I\u2019m good with it.<\/p>\n Anyway, in 2025 the A\u2019s, after a bad start, had a pretty good end to their season. From July 1 to season\u2019s end they were 41-34. Among AL teams, the only ones who did better over that span were six postseason teams and the Royals.<\/p>\n The A\u2019s have a tremendously good young player in Nick Kurtz, the AL Rookie of the Year who hit 36 home runs in only 117 games \u2014 and he\u2019s only 23 (turns 23 a week from now). Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers also provide power. The A\u2019s were seventh in home runs last year with 219 and 12th in runs scored, which is pretty good.<\/p>\n The pitching, though\u2026 a lot of that is the ballpark. Sutter Health Park in Sacramento is a hitter\u2019s 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\u2019s will have to slug their way to victory this year.<\/p>\n At Wrigley Field: June 2-3-4<\/p>\n SB Nation A\u2019s site: Athletics Nation<\/a><\/p>\n Key departures: Victor Caratini, Framber Valdez, Chas McCormick, Mauricio Dubon, Jacob Melton, Jesus Sanchez, Kaleb Ort<\/p>\n Key arrivals: Mike Burrows, Roddery Mu\u00f1oz, Cavan Biggio, Tom Cosgrove, Carlos Perez<\/p>\n The Astros\u2019 eight-year playoff run ended last year when they finished second in the division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.<\/p>\n The \u201ckey\u201d 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\u2019s no Valdez.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t really know where to play Isaac Paredes.<\/p>\n I think they\u2019re missing the postseason again. A member of the Biggio family is here now, so that could be fun.<\/p>\n At Wrigley Field: May 22-23-24<\/p>\n SB Nation Astros site: The Crawfish Boxes<\/a><\/p>\n Key departures: Kyle Hendricks, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Chafin, Luis Rengifo, Kenley Jansen, Cavan Biggio, Jose Ure\u00f1a, Brandon Drury, Taylor Ward, Brock Burke<\/p>\n Key arrivals: Drew Pomeranz, Jordan Romano, Angel Perdomo, Alek Manoah, Vaughn Grissom, Kirby Yates, Nick Madrigal, Trey Mancini, Jeimer Candelario, Jose Siri, Adam Frazier<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n For a better understanding of how bad this team is, Sam Blum, a writer for The Athletic who\u2019s been covering the Angels for the last few years, has left that beat. He wrote this article on his departure<\/a>, and check all of this out:<\/p>\n My coverage of the Angels, I said, would be to answer one question: \u201cOn paper, the Angels should win. So why do they always lose?\u201d<\/p>\n Little did I know at the time just how much of my career would revolve around that question. I\u2019d like to think that five years later, I\u2019ve done all I can to answer it.<\/p>\n From poor minor league living conditions<\/a> to a lack of Spanish broadcasters<\/a>, and a lack of air conditioning<\/a>. There were the unnecessarily late<\/a> start times, delusional lack of trades<\/a>, weird call-ups<\/a>, unjustifiable frugality<\/a>, flippant firings<\/a>, and overall lack of accountability<\/a> for their failures. The team has a damaged relationship<\/a> with the city, bungled the sport\u2019s all-time greatest superstar<\/a> and just generally treat<\/a> people poorly<\/a>.<\/p>\n That ought to sum things up. The Angels haven\u2019t made the postseason since 2014 and haven\u2019t had a winning season since 2015. Mike Trout\u2019s entire postseason career consists of three losses. He deserves better. So do Angels fans.<\/p>\n At Wrigley Field: March 30-31-April 1 (that ought to be fun for guys whose home field is in California)<\/p>\n SB Nation doesn\u2019t have an Angels site. Please check out Crashing The Pearly Gates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Key departures: Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, Collin Snider, Luke Jackson, Eugenio Su\u00e1rez, Jackson Kowar, Ben Williamson<\/p>\n Key arrivals: Randy Dobnak, Andrew Knizner, Rob Refsnyder, Yosver Zulueta, Dane Dunning, Cooper Criswell, Brendan Donovan<\/p>\n The M\u2019s had one of their most successful seasons ever, and still fell one win short of going to the World Series, where they\u2019ve never been.<\/p>\n They\u2019re pretty much running all their key players back from last year, with the exceptions of Polanco and Su\u00e1rez. 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.<\/p>\n Of course, the incomparable Cal Raleigh returns. He\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n The rotation remains the same and Andres Mu\u00f1oz was one of the better closers in the league last year. Seattle should win the division again.<\/p>\n At Seattle: Aug. 21-22-23<\/p>\n