{"id":555855,"date":"2026-03-23T18:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/555855\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T18:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:49:11","slug":"poll-who-will-win-the-al-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/555855\/","title":{"rendered":"Poll: Who Will Win The AL West?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB\u2019s 30 clubs and teams. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East<\/a>, while our readers overwhelmingly (58%) voted for the Tigers in our poll on the AL Central<\/a>. Today, we\u2019ll be moving on to the AL West. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:<\/p>\n

Seattle Mariners (90-72)<\/p>\n

Powered by an MVP-caliber season from star catcher Cal Raleigh<\/a>, the Mariners surged ahead of the pack in the AL West last year and fell just one game short of reaching the World Series. Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a> and Jorge Polanco<\/a> departed via free agency, but the rest of that team is more or less intact. A rotation led by Logan Gilbert<\/a> and Bryan Woo<\/a> figures to once again be among the very best in baseball, and they\u2019ll be backed up by a bullpen that added lefty Jose Ferrer<\/a> to pair with Andres Munoz<\/a> and Matt Brash<\/a> in high-leverage situations. The big addition to the offense is utilityman Brendan Donovan<\/a>, who\u2019ll primarily play third base and help lengthen a lineup featuring Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez<\/a>, Josh Naylor<\/a>, Randy Arozarena<\/a>\u00a0and breakout slugger Dominic Canzone. The offense could improve even more if young second baseman Cole Young<\/a> and\/or top prospect Colt Emerson<\/a> prove they can be impact players in 2026, but it\u2019s easy to make the argument that Seattle remains the most well-rounded team in the division even without those improvements.<\/p>\n

Houston Astros (87-75)<\/p>\n

The Astros missed the postseason for the first time since 2016 last year, and the team was not as aggressive as one might have expected this winter. That\u2019s not to say the Astros were inactive. They replaced Framber Valdez<\/a> at the top of the rotation with Tatsuya Imai<\/a> and brought in Mike Burrows<\/a> from the Pirates to add further depth to a rotation that was often held together by duct tape and bubblegum last year. Houston will bring back a nearly identical offense, only swapping Mauricio Dubon<\/a> for Nick Allen<\/a> and Jesus Sanchez<\/a> for Joey Loperfido<\/a> while going to internal backup Cesar Salazar<\/a> as a replacement for Victor Caratini<\/a>. The Astros explored trades of infielder Isaac Paredes<\/a> and tried to get another left-handed bat, but they\u2019ve come up empty to date. The uncertain health of closer Josh Hader<\/a> only adds to the question marks facing Houston as they look to return to the top of this division.<\/p>\n

Texas Rangers (81-81)<\/p>\n

After a second consecutive disappointing season, the Rangers moved on from second baseman Marcus Semien<\/a>, outfielder Adolis Garcia<\/a>, and catcher Jonah Heim<\/a>. Semien was traded to the Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo<\/a>, who will take over right field following Garcia\u2019s non-tender. Heim, also non-tendered, will be replaced by catcher Danny Jansen<\/a>. Nimmo and Jansen should be upgrades over Heim and Garcia, though the team lost some positional depth by forcing Josh Smith<\/a> into the everyday role at second base. The addition of MacKenzie Gore<\/a> to an already talented rotation should allow the Rangers\u2019 starters to once again be among the best in baseball, but they\u2019ll need better health from Corey Seager<\/a> and more production from Joc Pederson<\/a> and Josh Jung<\/a> if they\u2019re going to compete for the division title this year.<\/p>\n

The Athletics (76-86)<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s been a busy and exciting offseason for fans of the A\u2019s, that excitement has mostly been focused on extensions. Long-term deals for Tyler Soderstrom<\/a> and Jacob Wilson<\/a> are encouraging for the long-term health of the franchise but don\u2019t move the needle in 2026. The A\u2019s added Jeff McNeil<\/a> to help the offense at second base, and a full season of Nick Kurtz<\/a> in the majors won\u2019t hurt. Strong as the offense looks, the club\u2019s lack of pitching additions for a roster that struggled to prevent runs even before losing Mason Miller<\/a> at the trade deadline creates plenty of concern. They\u2019ll need a lot to break right, particularly in the bullpen.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Angels (72-90)<\/p>\n

As is often the case with the Angels, it\u2019s not impossible to squint and see the bones of a solid team. Mike Trout<\/a> was healthier last season than he\u2019s been in a very long time. Jo Adell<\/a> slugged 40 homers in 2025. Jorge Soler<\/a> remains a potential middle-of-the-order force when healthy. Josh Lowe<\/a> was a high-upside addition, and it\u2019s not impossible to imagine any of Nolan Schanuel<\/a>, Reid Detmers<\/a>, and Christian Moore<\/a> following in the footsteps of Zach Neto<\/a> to become high quality regulars. Unfortunately, fans in Anaheim know that the club has been in this situation virtually every year for the past decade. They\u2019ve seen far too many potential-laden teams undercut by a lack of depth before finishing the season underwater and failing to reach the playoffs. Perhaps this year will be different, but Angels fans have earned their skepticism, especially following an offseason where Lowe, Kirby Yates<\/a>, and Grayson Rodriguez<\/a> (the latter of whom is already injured) were the club\u2019s biggest additions.<\/p>\n

How do MLBTR readers think the AL West will shake out this year? Will the Mariners continue to reign supreme? Will the Astros find a way to reestablish themselves as the class of the AL? Was the Rangers\u2019 roster shakeup enough to get them back to the playoffs? Or could the A\u2019s or Angels surprise with a big season? Have your say in the poll below:<\/p>\n

\t\t\tWho will win the AL West in 2026?<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTotal votes: 490\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Thank you for voting!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB\u2019s 30 clubs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-555855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}