The AL West looks to be just as competitive in 2015 as it was this season. Some teams have only needed to add a few pieces as they look to win a division title, while other teams have decided to clean house. Let’s take a look at the trades and acquisitions made by AL West teams thus far.
Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s have been very active this offseason. Billy Butler was brought in on a three-year, $30 million deal, and Ike Davis was also acquired. Not only has Beane signed new players to the green and gold, he’s gotten rid of a few big names as well.
Josh Donaldson was traded to the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, and Franklin Barreto. A few weeks later another All Star, Brandon Moss, was dealt to the Cleveland Indians for Joey Wendle. Shortly after that, Beane was at it again sending yet another All Star in Jeff Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox for Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley, and Rangel Ravelo; Michael Ynoa was also sent to Chicago with Samardzija.
In a surprising flurry of moves, Beane has managed to deal away some of the A’s top producers for several prospects. The A’s have reached the postseason three years in a row, but instead of hanging on to the best contributors, they have been traded away to restock the A’s farm system and work toward the future.
Now, Beane loves dealing players at their highest value, which is undoubtedly this offseason. That being said, the A’s now have several holes to fill while playing catchup in the West. Spring training will pose quite a bit of competition as some of these new acquisitions will look to make the roster, but the majority will find themselves in the minors.
A team that has built off their 2014 success is the Seattle Mariners. Although they missed out on the postseason, they made strides and showed that they have what it takes to be a force in this division.
Behind a solid pitching staff led by King Felix Hernandez, the only thing missing was a strong presence in the lineup. To help fix this problem, the M’s signed free agent Nelson Cruz to a four-year $57 million deal.
By doing so, they now have a power bat to accompany Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager, two guys who had big seasons in 2014.
The M’s still have some needs and can bring in another offensive power bat, but they’ve already improved their team with the addition of Cruz as they look to contend for the division next year.
The Houston Astros finished in fourth place of the West this season, but showed some improvement throughout the duration of the year. They’ve brought in a few players this offseason, most recently Jed Lowrie. Lowrie agreed to a three-year $23 million contract Monday. The infielder spent the last two seasons with the A’s and provides versatility on the infield.
Houston also recently signed Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek. The relief pitchers will look to boost the Astros bullpen, while helping this team move in the right direction. The Astros struggled on the pitching front this past season and will look to improve in 2015.
Offensively, they had their ups and downs, but have some young talented hitters on their club. Lowrie is also an improvement and can help drive in some runs.
When it comes to the AL West, it has the potential to be of the most competitive divisions in the league. The Angels are always a threat, the Mariners are on the rise, despite some questionable moves by the A’s, you can’t count them out, and the Astros and Rangers will look to have a comeback season. The offseason is still young, and these GM’s could make quite a few more moves before spring training.