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Alden Gonzalez
The biggest contract handed out in the American League West occurred on Nov. 17, a mere two weeks into the offseason. It wasn’t from the Houston Astros, who claimed seven division titles and two World Series championships from 2017 to 2024. It wasn’t from the Texas Rangers, who splurged half a billion dollars on a middle infield to catapult them to a title in 2023.
It was from the Seattle Mariners, a franchise often decried for its frugality, and still the only one to never reach the final round.
The Mariners authored one of their greatest seasons in 2025, winning 90 games and claiming the AL West for the first time in 24 years before a gut-wrenching loss in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series. Their $92.5 million deal to bring back first baseman Josh Naylor nearly matched what the rest of the AL West has spent on free agents so far this winter ($94.4 million), a clear sign of their intentions to maintain their standing atop the division. But time remains. Big free agents are still available. Budgets, in theory, can shift.
With spring training roughly a month away, we’re taking a look at each team’s offseason activity and what might come next, continuing with the AL West. Additionally, we’ve assigned each team an urgency rating — from one to five, based on how much each still needs to accomplish before reporting to camp:
1 — Their work is (basically) done.
2 — They’re having a strong winter, but more would help.
3 — We’ll judge their winter on where it goes from here.
4 — We’re waaaaaiting …
5 — It has been a disaster. Can they turn it around?
Key additions
2B Jeff McNeil
RHP Mark Leiter Jr.
What they’ve accomplished so far: Second base was one of few areas of need for an emerging lineup that could soon be among the best in the American League, and the A’s filled it with McNeil, a veteran left-handed hitter who consistently puts the ball in play and fits nicely among an otherwise very young group of position players. Leiter, who has a 4.66 ERA the past two years but still gets plenty of swing-and-miss and limits hard contact, provides some much-needed reinforcement in the bullpen.
Luis Severino, who put up a 6.01 ERA in 15 home starts last season, and Jeffrey Springs, who saw his strikeout numbers drop in his first year with the A’s. Luis Morales and Jacob Lopez appear to have an inside track on the spots behind them, but general manager David Forst has been open about his desire to add another veteran arm to bridge the gap to their prospects.
Another extension or two would be nice, as well. This last calendar year saw the A’s lock up Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom to long-term contracts, ensuring they’d be fixtures in the lineup as they make their anticipated move to Las Vegas in 2028. Adding any one of Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson or Shea Langeliers to that list before spring training would be ideal.
Urgency Rating: 3
Key additions
RHP Tatsuya Imai
RHP Mike Burrows
RHP Ryan Weiss
What they’ve accomplished so far: The Astros went into the offseason having to essentially replace Framber Valdez in the rotation and did so with three arms. One of them, Imai, also allowed them to finally dip into the market for Japanese talent, a stated goal for the organization moving forward. Outside of budding ace Hunter Brown, there are still questions throughout the Astros’ rotation — from Imai’s transition to the States to Cristian Javier’s recent struggles to Lance McCullers Jr.’s prolonged injury history. But they feel much better about their depth than they did two months ago.
What they still need to do: As it stands, with Yordan Alvarez primed to absorb the majority of the time at designated hitter, there is no real pathway for Isaac Paredes to get consistent at-bats. One way to do that would be to trade Christian Walker, but he’s 34, owed another $40 million and coming off a season in which he OPS’d just .717. The market for him is almost nonexistent. Trading Paredes, who is still only 26 and controllable for two more seasons, is far easier and might also help the Astros address their outfield.
That is clearly not the preferred path, however. And so the Astros face something of a dilemma in the final month before spring training. A team like the Boston Red Sox would surely be interested in Paredes and his pull-happy approach, an ideal fit for the Green Monster. But can the Astros trade Paredes, unclog their infield, get some young talent back and not make themselves weaker for 2026?
Urgency Rating: 2
Key additions
OF Josh Lowe
RHP Grayson Rodriguez
RHP Alek Manoah
RHP Kirby Yates
RHP Jordan Romano
What they’ve accomplished so far: In the end, given what transpired thereafter, the Angels’ biggest move of the offseason might have been hiring the esteemed Mike Maddux as their pitching coach. The Angels have since gone on to give Maddux quite a few reclamation projects, including Rodriguez (out all of 2025), Manoah (most recently struggling to get outs in the minor leagues), Romano (7.83 ERA the past two years) and Yates (coming off a 5.23 ERA in his age-38 season). None of those aforementioned arms cost much, and it would be a boon if any one of them hits. But it’s hard to count on that.
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What they still need to do: The Angels needed a center fielder before executing a three-team trade last week. They still do. By using reliever Brock Burke and pitching prospect Chris Clark to land Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays, they added a much-needed left-handed hitter with three years of control. But Lowe is a corner outfielder. So are Jo Adell, Jorge Soler and, at this point, Mike Trout. Unless there’s another move coming, Adell and/or Trout could spend a lot of time in center field in 2026.
Even if the Angels maintain the status quo in their outfield, they still need a third baseman. And they could benefit from another starting pitcher. By trading Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles for Rodriguez, the Angels saved more than $11 million in salary commitments for 2026. By deferring the last year of Anthony Rendon’s contract, they saved an additional $30 million or so. And yet almost none of those savings have filtered their way back onto the roster.
Urgency Rating: 3
Key additions
1B Josh Naylor
OF/1B Rob Refsnyder
LHP Jose Ferrer
What they’ve accomplished so far: The Mariners made their big move a couple of weeks into the offseason, bringing back Naylor on a five-year contract. It was clear from the outset that the two were an ideal match. Getting that done took some of the pressure off the rest of the winter. The Mariners have followed by using backup catcher Harry Ford to land Ferrer, a left-hander who throws strikes and generates ground balls, and adding a lefty masher in Refsnyder, who can fill in at first base, the corner outfield or designated hitter.
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What they still need to do: The Mariners were in on Kazuma Okamoto before he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and were engaged with the Diamondbacks on star second baseman Ketel Marte before Arizona decided to stop listening to offers. Seattle is still believed to be in on St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan and would be open to yet another reunion with Eugenio Suarez, underscoring its remaining need for a second or third baseman.
The Mariners were one win from the first World Series appearance in franchise history last fall and will do what’s necessary to supplement the current group and finish the job. How much payroll flexibility they maintain is unknown. What is known, though, is that they boast one of the sport’s deepest farm systems and can use it to make another necessary addition to their lineup. The Mariners seem hesitant to pluck from their major league roster to address needs via trade, but they shouldn’t have to.
Urgency Rating: 2
Key additions
OF Brandon Nimmo
C Danny Jansen
RHP Alexis Diaz
What they’ve accomplished so far: The Rangers masterfully rebuilt almost their entire bullpen on the fly last offseason and are attempting to do so again, agreeing to terms with a litany of arms (Díaz, Chris Martin, Tyler Alexander, Zak Kent, etc.) in hopes of once again finding the right mix. But this offseason has been marked by stripping away key parts of the championship lineup from 2023. Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim were non-tendered. Marcus Semien was swapped for Nimmo. The Rangers’ offensive slump over these last two years has been one of the most confounding developments in the sport. Something clearly needed to change.
What they still need to do: Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young recently said his position-player group is basically set, with Jansen replacing Heim at catcher, Nimmo replacing García in right field and Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran poised to replace Semien at second base. Any improvements will come from Evan Carter, Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung taking the next steps in their respective developments, Corey Seager staying healthy, and Joc Pederson and Jake Burger bouncing back.
The Rangers still would like to add more pitching, however. At the moment, they once again don’t have a set closer, but, given what remains, they probably won’t get one. Still, more depth for the rotation and in the bullpen would help. Those moves will likely come on the fringes. The Rangers are no longer acting like big spenders.
Urgency Rating: 2
