The season’s less than a away and the key free agents have found new homes, so it’s time to start taking a look at the key questions in each division.
Up now: The AL West.
MORE QUESTIONS: NL East | AL East | NL Central | AL Central
Will the Mariners end their postseason drought?
There are lots of little questions about this team, but they all connect to the larger one: Will the Mariners get back to the postseason? It seems especially pressing with the additional playoff team in the AL this year. Seattle won 90 games last year, which is often enough to get a team into the postseason as a wild card. Last year, though, it was the seventh-best record in the AL. That follows their bad-timing pattern — the Mariners haven’t made MLB’s postseason since 2001, though they have won at least 88 games five times in that stretch.
Playoff spots won’t come cheap this year. The AL East could easily again produce four 90-plus win teams, and the reigning AL West champion Astros are going to be good again in 2022, despite losing Carlos Correa. It might take 93 or more wins to qualify for October. Yikes.
The thing is, Seattle can get there. The Mariners added 2021 AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to the top of the rotation, Adam Frazier to play second base, Eugenio Suarez to play third base and Jesse Winker to play left field. Those are significant additions. Plus, would-be rookie phenom Jarred Kelenic had an offseason to digest his rough initial foray into the world of MLB pitchers — .181 average and 14 homers in 93 games — and prepare adjustments. And if the offense needs a boost at some point, 21-year-old phenom Julio Rodriguez — MLB.com’s No. 3 overall prospect in baseball — should be ready to join the big club this year.
Will the Angels end their postseason drought?
The Angels’ playoff absence (seven seasons) hasn’t lasted nearly as long as the Mariners’ playoff absence, but in some ways it seems even more significant. Why? Because the Angels have had some of the most significant players (hi, Mike Trout!) and most significant offseason moves (hi, Shohei Ohtani, Joe Maddon and Anthony Rendon!) in all of baseball but that’s yet to translate into any sort of regular-season success. Heck, the club hasn’t even been over .500 the past six seasons.
So will that end this year?
A lot would have to go right, to be honest. Ohtani would need to be every bit as good as he was last year. Trout and Rendon have to stay healthy at least most of the year (they played a total of 94 games in 2021). Young outfielders Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh have to prove they’re ready to be everyday MLB impact hitters.
MORE: Why Shohei Ohtani should win MVP again this season
Mostly, though, the pitching — long the biggest issue — has to be much, much better. And that’s possible. They have Noah Syndergaard next to Ohtani atop the rotation, and young lefty Reid Detmers has top-of-the-rotation potential. They brought back closer Raisel Iglesias and added established bullpen pieces Ryan Tepera and Archie Bradley.
For real, what will Ohtani do in 2022?
Don’t worry about that. Just enjoy!
How many starts with Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas make for the A’s?
Will they even be around for Opening Day? The A’s have already traded starter Chris Bassitt and the Matts — Olson and Chapman — and it’s just a matter of time before they deal Montas and Manaea. At this point, maybe they wait a bit and see whether a team meets their asking price early in the season, after the inevitable injuries happen. Of course, that would mean the A’s are betting on neither Manaea or Montas landing on the IL, too.
Either way, it stinks for A’s fans.
Will the Seager-Semien duo get the Rangers into contention?
Texas lost 102 games last year but spent like a contender in the offseason, signing both Corey Seager and Marcus Semien and adding Jon Gray to the rotation. Just huge impact signings, all three. But to quote Tim Roth’s character in “Four Rooms” — how’s that for a random reference? — the 2021 Rangers had problems, plural. Are those three enough to lift the Rangers into contention in 2022? It seems unlikely, especially with how tough it will be to make the postseason in the AL in 2022.
More realistic for Texas this year is contending for a record above .500.
