SAN DIEGO — The Rangers hired a manager, Bruce Bochy, with three World Series titles and a burning desire for more. Then they signed All-World pitcher Jacob deGrom. The Angels have been steadily adding pieces this offseason in an attempt to build a team worthy of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani
Oh, and those pesky Houston Astros, coming off 106 wins (plus the four that counted in the World Series) aren’t going anywhere, even if they won’t have Cy Young winner Justin Verlander next year. They’ve already signed 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu and are sure to make more impact acquisitions.
Welcome to the AL West, the rugged terrain in which the Mariners are trying to reach the summit. It will be harder than ever, despite the fact that the Mariners finally reasserted themselves last season as a team to be reckoned with in the division, finishing (a distant) second and ending a 21-year playoff drought.
