LOOKING BACK
How they finished in 2 0 2 0 W-L 23-35 Place in division Fifth Run differential -69
How they ranked in 2 0 2 0 Batting average Runs Home runs ERA Opp. batting avg.
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After a season spent playing in empty stadiums, the Houston Astros know the return of fans this year could mean a hostile reception on the road from people still angry about their sign-stealing scam.
But after dealing with the fallout from the cheating scandal for more than a year, these Astros aren’t worried about what awaits them this season. They are simply focused on chasing another title.
“Right now, there’s not many things that can phase us,” said shortstop Carlos Correa, one of only a handful of players left from the 2017 and 2018 teams that were found to have cheated. “We have a great team and we’re going to compete. The most important thing is to win games, especially on the road. We want to go out there and beat everybody.”
The Astros finished the pandemic-shortened regular season with a losing record but heated up in October and came within a win of reaching the World Series for the third time in four years.
They return a team largely intact from last season and are favorites to win the AL West for the fourth time in five years behind a lineup featuring Correa, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley.
“Offensively we’re going to be really, really good,” Bregman said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
And their rotation should be solid again despite the absence of ace Justin Verlander, who will miss the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Veteran Zack Greinke will start on opening day and the Astros are expecting a strong season from Lance McCullers Jr., who has looked sharp so far this spring.
Dusty Baker is back as manager after being thrown into the job last season right before spring training following the firing of AJ Hinch. The 71-yearold Baker said navigating through the pandemic made last season the most difficult of his career, but that it taught him some important lessons.
“It just gives you a greater appreciation of life,” he said. “Every day is important. I wouldn’t be bothered by a lot of things in the past, but I’m even less bothered now because a lot of this that you realize is out of your control.”
NEW LOOK
Houston’s biggest loss this offseason was center fielder George Springer, who signed a six-year, $150 million contract with Toronto. He’ll be replaced in center field by Myles Straw, who has played 98 games over three seasons for the Astros.
His defensive skills are good, but his prowess at the plate is not comparable to the slugging Springer. Straw has just one home run in 224 career plate appearances while Springer, the 2017 World Series
MVP, left Houston with 174 homers in seven seasons.
The Astros made their biggest acquisition of the year this month when they added right-hander Jake Odorizzi to boost their rotation. Houston needed another starter after Framber Valdez fractured a finger this spring.
An All-Star with Minnesota in 2019, Odorizzi was limited to four starts last season because of injuries. He was 0-1 with a 6.59 ERA for the Twins during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
YORDAN’S RETURN
Designated hitter Yordan Alvarez made his spring debut on Sunday and expects to be ready to start on opening day. Alvarez, the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year, played in just two games last season after being slowed by a COVID-19 diagnosis before having arthroscopic surgery on both knees in August.
“I feel really good,” Alvarez said in Spanish through a translator. “I’m not thinking about my injury, it’s in the past, and it’s something I don’t even have to worry about now because I feel really good, and I’ve put in the work and recuperated fully.”
If Alvarez can return to his rookie form, it will be a big boost to the lineup in the wake of Springer’s departure. Alvarez hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in just 87 games in 2019.
BREGMAN’S HEALTH
Bregman got a slow start to spring training and didn’t appear in his first game until Tuesday because of a sore left hamstring. Baker said Bregman’s health isn’t a long-term concern and that they expect him to be ready for opening day.
Bregman is looking to bounce back this season after a down year in 2020 where he hit .242 with just six homers and 22 RBIs. That performance came after his stellar 2019 campaign where he finished second in MVP voting after hitting .296 with 41 homers and 112 RBIs, which were all career highs.
ROOKIE TO WATCH
The only rookie with a chance to crack Houston’s opening day roster is outfielder Chas McCormick. The 25-year-old made the team’s playoff rosters for the AL Wild Card and ALDS last season but did not appear in a game. He could be valuable as the team’s fourth outfielder because he has played all three outfield positions in the minors.
MINUTE MAID PARK CROWD
The Astros announced in January that they would allow about 10,000 fans a game at Minute Maid Park this season. But they could increase that number before opening day in the wake of the Texas Rangers’ decision to allow 100% capacity at their ballpark this season after Gov. Greg Abbott lifted coronavirus restrictions in the state.
Matt Chapman watched from the sidelines as the Oakland Athletics won the AL West and finally ended their playoff futility last fall with a postseason series victory for the first time in 14 years.
Oakland desperately missed its slick-fielding third baseman, who went down with a hip injury that required surgery in September. He played in only 37 games during the coronavirus-shortened 60-game schedule.
Now, Chapman is back making plays at third with ease, without thinking — and that’s a great feeling after a lengthy rehab.
“I feel ready to play third base every day now,” the 27-year-old Chapman said. “I know that what I say doesn’t really mean much to them. They’re going to take it slow. There’s no reason to rush . ... I’ve played enough now to know that my body feels good and I feel like I’m ready to play third base every day.”
By beating the White Sox in the wild-card round, Oakland stopped a nine-game losing streak in winnertake-all postseason games — a major league record that dated to the 1973 World Series. The A’s had lost six straight playoff series since sweeping Minnesota in the 2006 Division Series, starting when Detroit swept Oakland in that year’s Championship Series.
With the departures of shortstop Marcus Semien in free agency to Toronto and closer Liam Hendriks joining the White Sox, Oakland took some criticism for being slow to act during the offseason.
Then, general manager David Forst pulled off the acquisition of Elvis Andrus in a trade with Texas that sent slugger Khris Davis to the Rangers. The A’s added experienced closer Trevor Rosenthal on an $11 million, oneyear contract and landed first baseman and designated hitter Mitch Moreland for $2.25 million and one year.
FAMILIAR FACE
Hey, that’s Jed Lowrie back for more — as in a third stint with the A’s with his 37th birthday coming up April 17. His versatility and familiarity is a huge plus, even if Lowrie has been limited by injuries in recent years.
“I haven’t been that excited on a baseball field in a while. Just happy I didn’t pass out, quite frankly,” Lowrie said following his first spring game March 9.
FIERS RETURNS
Right-hander Mike Fiers, whose six wins led the club in 2020, re-signed on a $3.5 million, one-year contract.
The 35-year-old Fiers, slowed by a back issue this spring, brings a veteran presence to Oakland’s young pitching staff that also includes left-hander Sean Manaea as a key starter.
Fiers was acquired by the A’s in August 2018 and a year later became the whistleblower in the sign-stealing scandal involving his former Houston
Astros club when he provided details to The Athletic.
EXPERIENCED ’PEN
Forst made upgrading the bullpen a priority and joining Rosenthal are fellow veterans Yusmeiro Petit and Sergio Romo, both with proven track records.
Manager Bob Melvin has options with a variety of looks and personalities.
“Certainly the teams that have gone far in the playoffs the last few years have proven that if you can give your opponent a number of different looks out of the bullpen that it has a chance to be really valuable,” Forst said.
NEW LOOK
The A’s acquired Andrus and catcher Aramis Garcia last month along with $13.5 million in exchange for designated hitter Davis, catcher Jonah Heim and right-hander Dane Acker.
Andrus batted just .194 last season while limited to 29 games because of lingering lower back issues, and said he isn’t sure people realized how difficult it was to play through that.
Moreland is the likely candidate to be regular DH. The veteran utilityman batted .265 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in 42 games between Boston and San Diego last season.
ROOKIES TO WATCH
Lefty prospect A.J. Puk missed last season because of a lingering shoulder injury that eventually required surgery.
Puk worked out with fellow southpaw Jesus Luzardo, who opened his south Florida home to Puk so they could train together over the winter.
“Probably about halfway through my rehab and playing catch progression this offseason I just completely forgot that I had shoulder surgery,” Puk said. “I just come to the field every day, play catch like nothing ever happened. That’s what I was looking forward to because previously the past year and a half I was a little hesitant coming in knowing it would take a while for it to feel good.”
The 25-year-old Puk, the sixth overall pick in the 2016 draft out of Florida, has yet to make a major league start. He went 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA over 10 outings and 11 ⅓ innings in August and September of 2019.
Right-hander Daulton Jefferies, Oakland’s first-round pick in 2016 selected 37th overall out of California, could be called upon at some point to make a contribution.
Mike Trout and Joe Maddon both think the Los Angeles Angels’ playoff breakthrough would have already happened if the 2020 season had been a normal length. With a long, beautiful summer stretching out in front of the Angels this year, it’s time to find out whether the three-time AL MVP and his indefatigable manager are right about this long-struggling team’s potential to pop.
“At the end of last year we had, I think, a great month,” Trout said. “I think we had one of the best records in baseball, but the season was shortened. Obviously, we needed to come out hotter at the start, but the last few weeks of the season, man, we played good baseball. And now, we’ve added a few guys, so I think we can build off that.”
The Angels did appear to be a team on the verge of something good last season during that 17-9 surge down the stretch. Their high-priced lineup was clicking around Trout and Anthony Rendon, while Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney and Mike Mayers led a long-miserable pitching staff to competence.
Nearly everybody who contributed to that successful stretch last season is back, while many players who struggled are gone. The Angels then added complementary veterans at several positions, and they hope the result is a team that will end their six-year postseason drought — tied for the third-longest in the majors.
“These guys are totally absolutely invested in the team and in their future,” said Maddon, the bench coach for the Angels’ only World Series championship team in 2002. “I was part of the first group that won it all for the Angels, and we want to do it again.”
The Angels’ biggest offseason change was in the front office, where first-time general manager Perry Minasian took over for first-time GM Billy Eppler and attempted to fix the problems that have kept the Angels far from the championship race for Trout’s entire career.
Minasian’s plan included a severe limitation of the Angels’ financial obligations beyond 2021 while acquiring veterans who can patch the obvious holes in LA’s pitching staff. With Albert Pujols’ albatross of a contract also finally coming off the books this year, the Halos are in position to make big moves next winter — but Minasian also believes this team can win now.
NEW LOOK
Minasian’s additions include two starting position players — shortstop Jose Iglesias and right fielder Dexter Fowler — and veteran hurlers Jose Quintana and Alex Cobb. Angels fans were hoping for bigger names, particularly on the mound, but Minasian avoided long-term commitments to mid-career veterans — a favorite vice of Angels owner Arte Moreno. The Halos also added closer Raisel Iglesias to lead a bullpen that got a significant overhaul.
ROOKIES TO WATCH
Eppler’s reconstruction of the Angels’ once-miserable farm system is finally producing results without him. Jo Adell struggled when he was rushed to the majors last year, but the Halos remain committed to developing his ample potential either in Anaheim or Triple-A Salt Lake. Jared Walsh is likely to be the primary starter at first base as he looks to build on his remarkable September. Top prospect Brandon
Marsh could make an impact in the outfield this season, while left-handed starter Reid Detmers looks like he could reach the majors this year.
ALBERT’S FAREWELL?
The 41-year-old Pujols is the oldest player in the majors as he begins his 21st big league season and wraps up the 10-year, $240 million contract that has hamstrung this franchise. Pujols says he won’t decide whether to retire until after the season, but he’s no longer an everyday starter at first base, and he had a minus-0.7 WAR over the past four seasons while making $110 million. The Angels hope Pujols can hit enough homers as a part-time first baseman and designated hitter to put a graceful cap on a slam-dunk Hall of Fame career, despite its disappointing second decade in Anaheim.
TWO-WAY SHOHEI
Shohei Ohtani had a miserable 2020 on the mound and at the plate, but the early results this spring are promising. The two-way star batted .579 with four homers in his first seven spring training games, while his velocity and control both look encouraging during his mound work. He will be the Angels’ designated hitter between his once-a-week mound starts, and Maddon is growing increasingly confident the Angels will get Ohtani’s 2018 form.