WHO’LL MESS WITH TEXAS?
WHEN THE RANGERS won their first World Series in franchise history last November, they also turned the AL West into a true Texas two-step. The path to the Fall Classic likely runs through the Lone Star State this year, as the Rangers and Astros have split the past two MLB titles. Houston has, quite impressively, appeared in each of the last seven AL Championship Series—including, of course, its defeat at the hands of the Rangers in last year’s seven-game classic. Houston will attempt to avenge that loss behind new manager Joe Espada, who was promoted from bench coach to replace Dusty Baker after he retired at the age of 74. Also vying for the division crown will be the Mariners, who have notched at least 88 wins for three straight years but have just one postseason appearance to show for it. (They were swept by Houston in the 2022 division series.) Seattle will lean on one of the best starting rotations in the game, led by budding ace George Kirby and three-time All-star Luis Castillo.
That trio of squads should deliver one of the most exciting division races of ’24, as they did last year. As for the Angels and Athletics? The competition between those two is to see whose situation is bleaker. The A’s, set to leave Oakland after this year, have lost more than 100 games in each of the past two seasons and will likely run that streak to three. The Angels, meanwhile, will try to make the best of life without Shohei Ohtani, who is now with the Dodgers, after having squandered his six years in Anaheim. The club has resisted a full-blown rebuild during Mike Trout’s tenure, an approach that has led to a nine-year playoff drought. So once again Los Angeles will try to contend with an aging roster, in a division led by three teams with championship aspirations—and, crucially, sound strategies to support such lofty goals.