The Mariners will try to turn their Game 7 heartbreak into championship fuel. The Astros are hungry to get back into postseason contention after missing the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
The Rangers desperately need their once-powerful offense to find success again while their All-Star starting pitchers are still dealing. The Athletics have a West Sacramento problem. And the Angels, once again, are facing significant challenges to build a winning club under a short timeline.
After assessing the National League Central, our series continues with the American League West. Here are the biggest needs for a division that could feature cutthroat races between at least three legitimate contenders:
Teams are listed in order of their records, best to worst, in the 2025 season.
SEATTLE MARINERS
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Biggest need: 3/4 of the infield
The only infielder left over from Seattle’s hard-fought postseason run is shortstop J.P. Crawford. Everyone else, including Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, and Jorge Polanco, entered free agency. But the Mariners came one win away from their first World Series appearance in franchise history, and they’d like to run it back. Now, they’re essentially at the same place they were during July’s trade deadline, before the front office added Naylor and Suarez to play first and third base, respectively.
Re-signing Naylor should be their top priority. He was a seamless fit in Seattle, posting a 138 OPS+ in 54 games while adding the pesky attitude and competitive energy that the team lacked before the trade. Naylor, set to enter his age-29 season, is at the top of the first-base market alongside Pete Alonso, and he’s expected to receive plenty of calls from contending teams. So running it back won’t be easy for the M’s. But they should have the financial flexibility to have a splashy offseason — with Alex Bregman being another solid fit for their opening at third.
HOUSTON ASTROS
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Biggest need: Starting pitching
Sure, the Astros would like to re-sign free agent Framber Valdez, but I’m not convinced they’ll remain in the mix for their long-time ace when his price inevitably gets too steep. Valdez is the top left-handed free-agent starting pitcher on the market this winter. The highly-coveted 32-year-old would significantly improve the chances of any World Series contender. Recent history shows the Astros are comfortable backing out of a bidding war even when their high-profile players hit free agency, like they did with George Springer, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker.
So if Houston moves on from Valdez, they’ll be on the lookout for a quality starting pitcher to take his place. I’m still expecting the Astros to pivot to top-tier arms, with someone like Ranger Suarez, Michael King, or Zac Gallen potentially being good fits. When healthy, Houston still has the pieces to be a threat in the division. This year they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Astros should be plenty hungry to get back into contention.
TEXAS RANGERS
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Biggest need: Pitching depth
The Rangers were among the top 10 teams in terms of payroll, and it helped them record the best team ERA in the majors this year. They’ve since lost several of those effective arms to free agency (Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin, Merrill Kelly, Shawn Armstrong and more). Now the Rangers must work to revamp the pitching staff and recreate the team’s strength for 2026. A rotation of Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, Cody Bradford and Jacob Latz only works if their veteran starters stay healthy. And pinning their hopes on 38-year-old deGrom and 36-year-old Eovaldi combining for 50–60 starts again is a lofty, if unwise, expectation.
It would help to add another back-end starter and bullpen arms to safeguard against injuries and bolster a strong pitching staff. But, as terrific as those arms were in 2025, the Rangers ultimately didn’t qualify for the playoffs due to a lack of offense. Their 92 wRC+ ranked 25th in MLB, pointing to a second-straight down year for a lineup that won the World Series in 2023. Marcus Semien and Joc Pederson are owed a combined $43 million in 2026, and they have to start pulling their weight. Ditto for Adolis Garcia, who has hit below-league average for the past two seasons. The Rangers can stock up on excellent pitching all they want, but they’ll need their lineup to bounce back to contend again.
ATHLETICS
(Photo by Justine Willard/Athletics/Getty Images)
Biggest need: Starting pitching
The A’s were actually in a better spot at this time last year, because they were able to land an established starter like Luis Severino to pitch in West Sacramento. But, after seeing his results in the hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, it will be extremely challenging to persuade any quality starter to pitch there. Severino went 2-9 with a 6.01 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 15 home games, compared to his 6-2 record with a 3.02 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 14 road games this year.
Career numbers will take a hit and future contract value will depreciate for any pitcher willing to take the mound for the A’s while they continue to play in West Sacramento. That’s not a great combination when the club needs an established veteran arm or two to lead what was otherwise an encouraging offensive performance from the young A’s lineup in the second half of the season. The A’s ranked 27th in team ERA this year, and it’s difficult to see that position improving in 2026.
LOS ANGELES ANGLES
(Photo by Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Biggest need: Starting pitching
New Angels manager Kurt Suzuki and GM Perry Minasian are on one-year deals … and the team is not a contender as the roster currently stands. Coming off a 90-loss season, Los Angeles needs starting-pitching help to even consider vying for a wild-card spot, but they might have to trade one of their offensive assets to get there. And if they want to improve via free agency, shopping in the mid- to low-tier market range for starters isn’t going to be a significant enough upgrade to the rotation to make a difference in this division. So, barring some shocking and splashy moves, the Angels appear headed toward extending the longest active postseason drought in MLB. Los Angeles has missed October baseball since 2014. But hey, at least they have Mike Trout.
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
