American League West preview

Texas Rangers

2016: 95-67, first place, lost to Toronto in ALDS.

Outlook: Texas won an A.L.-high 95 games last year and has taken the division title in both seasons under Jeff Banister. But over the course of 162 games, the Rangers outscored their opponents by only eight runs in 2016. They lost the big bats of Ian Desmond, Mitch Moreland and Carlos Beltran in the offseason. The return of Mike Napoli should help. Since going to the World Series with Texas in 2011, he’s been back with two other teams. Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez were big acquisitions late last season. Adrian Beltre goes into his 20th major league season 58 hits shy of 3,000, and Elvis Andrus is coming off his best offensive year. With a healthy Ryan Darvish and Cole Hamels, the Rangers are set at the top of the rotation, and Martin Perez started 33 games last season. If Tyson Ross and/or Andrew Cashner can contribute, the rotation will get a boost. Sam Dyson excelled as the closer last year, while Matt Bush and Tony Barnette established themselves with strong performances as 30-something rookies.

Seattle Mariners

2016: 86-76, second place.

Outlook: The Mariners completed the second phase of their remodel this past offseason. GM Jerry Dipoto wanted a lineup that was less reliant on the long ball and better defensively in the outfield. Jean Segura and Jarrod Dyson legitimize the top of the order and can be speedy table-setters for Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. The keys to scoring more will be Danny Valencia and Mitch Haniger. Their production will determine whether Seattle lengthened its lineup or it essentially ends at No. 5. Felix Hernandez appears determined to rebound from last year’s average performance, and Drew Smyly was a critical winter acquisition. Seattle has the look of a team that could improve by a few wins, which might be enough to end baseball’s longest playoff drought.

Houston Astros

2016: 84-78, third place.

Outlook: The Astros appear to have all the pieces necessary to make a deep postseason run and possibly even contend for a championship after narrowly missing the playoffs last season following a 7-17 start. The already-powerful lineup led by last year’s A.L. batting champ (Jose Altuve) and 2015 Rookie of the Year (Carlos Correa) got a boost with the addition of slugging veterans Carlos Beltran and Josh Reddick. A key for Houston will be for Dallas Keuchel, the 2015 A.L. Cy Young Award winner, to rebound from a disappointing and injury-shortened 2016 season to lead the rotation. The Astros will also look for more from Lance McCullers after he was slowed by injuries as well. They’ll need Collin McHugh and Charlie Morton to shore up the back of the rotation if they hope to beat out Texas and Seattle for the A.L. West crown.

Los Angeles Angels

2016: 74-88, fourth place.

Outlook: The Angels come off the worst season of Mike Scioscia’s long tenure with hopes for a quick turnaround. Mike Trout is the center of everything after winning his second MVP award, and he intends to steal more bases. Despite salary constraints caused by owner Arte Moreno’s free-spending past, GM Billy Eppler plugged two holes by putting the athletic Cameron Maybin in left field, with Ben Revere backing him up, and Danny Espinosa at second base. The lineup appears to be improved, and if the starting rotation stays healthy and pitches reasonably well, a return to playoff contention might not be completely out of the question.

Oakland Athletics

2016: 69-93, fifth place.

Outlook: The A’s are coming off a second straight last-place finish and the worst two-year run for the franchise since 1978-79, before Billy Ball, the Bash Brothers or Moneyball. After moving top players like Josh Reddick, Rich Hill and Coco Crisp last season before losing them in free agency, this doesn’t appear to be the year the A’s will vault back into contention. The offense does have some power led by Rajai Davis and Marcus Semien, and the bullpen is pretty deep with several former closers available to set up Ryan Madson. But the rotation is mostly built on young promise behind the banged-up Sonny Gray.