A team-by-team look at the American League West entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:
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Houston Astros
Manager: A.J. Hinch (fourth season).
2017: 101-61, first place, won World Series.
Training Town: West Palm Beach, Florida.
Park: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
First Workout: Feb. 14/19.
He’s Here: RHP Gerrit Cole, RHP Joe Smith, RHP Hector Rondon.
He’s Outta Here: DH Carlos Beltran, RHP Luke Gregerson, RHP Joe Musgrove, RHP Mike Fiers, RHP Michael Feliz, INF Colin Moran.
Going campin’: This team is basically set after retaining almost every key player from last season’s championship squad. The two strongest areas are the middle infield, where shortstop Carlos Correa and second baseman Jose Altuve, last year’s AL MVP, return to anchor the middle of the order. Correa hit .315 with 24 homers - both career highs - and Altuve had his finest season, hitting a career-best and major league-leading .346 with 24 homers and 81 RBIs to become the first Astros player to win an MVP award since Jeff Bagwell took the NL prize in 1994. The only issue with the rotation is a logjam of good arms. Along with Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander and Cole, the Astros have young star Lance McCullers, Brad Peacock, who is coming off his best season, Charlie Morton and Collin McHugh. The surplus of starters might force one of the pitchers at the back end to move into a long-relief role. Houston brought in some setup help for the bullpen, where closer Ken Giles looks to rebound from a rough postseason. There shouldn’t be many surprises this spring, but seeing how the rotation shakes out and what Hinch decides to do in left field will be things to watch for while the Astros are in Florida.
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Los Angeles Angels
Manager: Mike Scioscia (19th season).
2017: 80-82, second place.
Training Town: Tempe, Arizona.
Park: Tempe Diablo Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 14/19.
He’s Here: RHP-DH Shohei Ohtani, 3B Zack Cozart, 2B Ian Kinsler, C Rene Rivera, OF Michael Hermosillo.
He’s Outta Here: RHP Ricky Nolasco, RHP Huston Street, RHP Andrew Bailey, RHP Jesse Chavez, 3B Yunel Escobar, RHP Bud Norris, INF Cliff Pennington, RHP Yusmeiro Petit, 2B Brandon Phillips, OF Ben Revere.
Going campin’: The Angels have reached the postseason once in the last eight years, but the arrival of Ohtani to pair with perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout makes them one of the most compelling teams in baseball. Ohtani chose to sign in December after five brilliant seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, where his 42-15 record with a 2.52 ERA and .286 batting average earned him the moniker “the Japanese Babe Ruth.” While he has the potential to become the kind of two-way star the sport has not seen in decades, the Angels’ initial focus is on using Ohtani to shore up their pitching, which tied for 27th in quality starts last season. The Angels could use a six-man rotation after injuries decimated the team each of the last two seasons. Signing Cozart to a three-year contract and trading for Kinsler will add much-needed power in the infield for a lineup that ranked in the bottom six in home runs, slugging percentage and extra-base hits.
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Seattle Mariners
Manager: Scott Servais (third season).
2017: 78-84, tied for third place.
Training Town: Peoria, Arizona.
Park: Peoria Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 15/20.
He’s Here: CF Dee Gordon, 1B Ryon Healy, RHP Juan Nicasio, RHP Mike Morin, INF-OF Andrew Romine.
He’s Outta Here: OF Jarrod Dyson, LHP Drew Smyly, 1B Danny Valencia, 1B Yonder Alonso, C Carlos Ruiz, RHP Yovani Gallardo, RHP Emilio Pagan.
Going campin’: The Mariners are in a strange position. They’re probably not going to be able to catch the Astros in the AL West, but they might have enough talent to contend for a wild card. It will all depend on the pitching staff and what happens in a rotation filled with question marks. Can James Paxton stay healthy? Can Mike Leake replicate what he showed last season after being traded from St. Louis? What kind of Felix Hernandez shows up for spring training? Seattle used a major league-record 40 pitchers last year and would like to avoid a repeat performance. If the Mariners can find stability on the pitching staff, the everyday lineup should be solid thanks to the additions of Gordon and Healy to go with Jean Segura, Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano. Cruz is entering the final year of a contract he’s outperformed to date. Gordon’s transition to center field will be closely watched in the spring.
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Texas Rangers
Manager: Jeff Banister (fourth season).
2017: 78-84, tied for third place.
Training Town: Surprise, Arizona.
Park: Surprise Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 15/20.
He’s Here: LHP Mike Minor, LHP Matt Moore, RHP Doug Fister, RHP Bartolo Colon, INF Darwin Barney, LHP Jon Niese.
He’s Outta Here: 1B-DH Mike Napoli, CF Carlos Gomez, RHP Andrew Cashner, RHP Jason Grilli, RHP A.J. Griffin.
Going campin’: AL West champs in each of Banister’s first two seasons, the Rangers are coming off their second losing season in nine years. Instead of spending big money in free agency to reunite with ace Yu Darvish, Texas signed Fister and Minor, and got Moore in a trade from the Giants. The 44-year-old Colon was added late on a minor league deal. With returners Cole Hamels and Martin Perez already penciled in, there could be a very left-leaning rotation. The bullpen was unreliable last year with 21 blown saves and a 4.76 ERA. Young lefty Alex Claudio had 11 saves after the All-Star break, but Texas will also look at other closer options, including a healthy Jake Diekman. Third baseman Adrian Beltre, now a member of the 3,000-hit club, is back for his 21st major league season, and 29-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus goes into his 10th. Joey Gallo hit 41 homers while playing three positions, but could now become the primary first baseman. Delino DeShields gets another chance in center field, and prospect Willie Calhoun is among the left field options after coming over from the Dodgers in the Darvish deal last year.
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Oakland Athletics
Manager: Bob Melvin (eighth season).
2017: 75-87, fifth place.
Training Town: Mesa, Arizona.
Park: Hohokam Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 14/19.
He’s Here: OF Stephen Piscotty, OF Dustin Fowler, RHP Emilio Pagan, RHP Yusmeiro Petit, LHP Ryan Buchter, DH Brandon Moss.
He’s Outta Here: INF Ryon Healy, RHP Jesse Hahn, OF Jaycob Brugman.
Going campin’: The A’s showed some signs of progress last year despite a third straight last-place finish. Oakland won 17 of 24 to end the season, improving the win total from 2016 by six games. The bullpen got upgraded this offseason with the additions of Pagan, Petit and Buchter. The rotation is a major question mark but the lineup has plenty of power led by Khris Davis, whose 85 homers the past two seasons are second in the majors to Giancarlo Stanton’s 86. The most intriguing player this spring could be Fowler, who played one inning in the majors for the Yankees before blowing out his knee and then getting traded to Oakland for Sonny Gray. Fowler is expected to be healthy when games start later this month. The biggest question facing the franchise is finding a long-term stadium plan to replace the outdated Coliseum.
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