AL West Preview: The Astros will look different, and that could mean a new division champ this year

The Houston Astros will certainly look different when trying to continue their impressive run of AL West titles, after letting two of their best hitters go and with Jose Altuve likely moving to left field.

This could be the season that another team finally overtakes the Astros as division champs.

Seattle has dynamic young center fielder Julio Rodríguez while seeking five consecutive winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. The Athletics are no longer in Oakland and suddenly did some offseason spending, while the Los Angeles Angels are coming off a franchise-record 99 losses with Mike Trout finally healthy again but surrounded by a lot of young players.

And the Texas Rangers hope to renew a unique pattern for four-time World Series champion manager Bruce Bochy after missing the playoffs last season.

Texas became World Series champs in 2023, as a wild card, after Bochy was hired. For his three titles with San Francisco from 2010-14, the Giants missed the playoffs after each of the first two, then rebounded to win another the following year.

The Astros last year failed to make it to the AL Championship Series for the first time in eight seasons, a stretch when they were World Series champs twice and the only time they didn’t win the West was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

How they project

1. Texas Rangers: The top of the starting rotation is in good shape after Nathan Eovaldi re-signed, and two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle both made late-season debuts last year after recovering from elbow surgery. There were spring setbacks with right-hander Jon Gray (fractured right wrist) and lefty Cody Bradford (elbow soreness) to start the season on the injured list. There is no defined closer after All-Star Kirby Yates left in free agency, but veteran Chris Martin joins his hometown team for a prominent role in a restructured bullpen. First baseman Jake Burger and two-time World Series champ Joc Pederson add pop to an offense that last year hit 57 fewer homers and scored a run less per game than in 2023.

2. Seattle Mariners: Even with four consecutive winning seasons, the Mariners made the playoffs only once in that span, and got swept by Houston in the 2022 AL Division Series after ending a 20-season postseason drought. The 24-year-old Rodríguez, the AL Rookie of the Year three seasons ago, could be set for a breakout year. Seattle has to hit better after a .224 average — only the 121-loss Chicago White Sox were worse. While right-hander George Kirby (13-10) opens the season on the IL with shoulder inflammation, the Mariners still have right-handers Luis Castillo (11-12), Logan Gilbert (9-12, 220 strikeouts in major league-high 208 2/3 IP), Bryce Miller (12-8) and Bryan Woo (9-3).

3. Houston Astros: The Astros traded outfielder Kyle Tucker and longtime third baseman Alex Bregman left in free agency. They then made a major upgrade at first base with the addition of Christian Walker, but he dealt with an oblique issue in spring training. Yordan Alvarez, the DH who is still 27, has had four consecutive 30-homer seasons. Framber Valdez returns after a 15-win season to lead a rotation that will open with several young arms but that could get a boost in the summer with the expected returns of Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia from Tommy John surgery.

4. Athletics: After an emotional 57th and final season in Oakland, when the A’s showed progress with a 19-win improvement, their home for at least three seasons is a Triple-A stadium in Sacramento. They hope to start 2028 in Las Vegas, where their new stadium still has to be built. They still likely lack the depth needed to compete for a playoff spot after having MLB’s lowest payroll for three straight seasons, but tripled the total number of $60 million deals in franchise history with three this offseason: for young outfielder Lawrence Butler ($65.5 million over seven years), slugger Brent Rooker ($60 million over five years) and free agent right-hander Luis Severino with a team-record $67 million, three-year deal.

5. Los Angeles Angels: The Angels are hoping to start their climb after hitting rock-bottom last year, when they lost a club-record 99 games and extended the majors’ longest streaks to nine consecutive losing seasons and 10 straight non-playoff seasons. On paper, there’s not much indication they’ll take a major step forward, but they’re hoping for another year of growth from their young core. Trout is moving to right field to preserve his health after four straight injury-plagued seasons. Anthony Rendon needs hip surgery, and the $245 million third baseman won’t be back this season.

Altuve moving out

After only playing second base his first 14 big league seasons, nine-time All-Star Altuve is expected to move into the outfield this year.

The Astros stuck with that plan even after Bregman signed with Boston at the start of spring training. Had the third baseman stayed, Isaac Paredes would have switched to second after being acquired in the Tucker deal. But Paredes stayed at third, Altuve remained in the outfield and utilityman Mauricio Dubón got some consistent reps at second this spring.

Wilson in charge

Dan Wilson, beloved as a catcher in Seattle for more a decade, is now going into his first full season managing the Mariners after replacing Scott Servais last August.

Seattle was 64-64 when Wilson took over, then went 21-13 the rest of the reason.

Wilson is the third first-time manager in the AL West, joining second-year Astros skipper Joe Espada and fourth-year A’s leader Mark Kotsay. The division’s other managers are the oldest in baseball: 72-year-old Ron Washington with the Angels, and 69-year-old Bruce Bochy in Texas — and both have birthdays in April.

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AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley and Sports Writers Greg Beacham and Josh Dubow contributed to this report.