Here's why Astros' AL West reign should continue

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart's Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This offseason has seen a big shopping spree around baseball, as teams have spent furiously to do something the Astros just did for the second time in six seasons: win the World Series.

Much of that money has been spent in the American League West, which the Astros have ruled since 2017. Houston has won five of the past six division titles, including all five in which a 162-game season was played. The Astros came in second to the A’s in the 60-game season of 2020, though they eliminated Oakland in the playoffs that year.

Since the start of the 2017 season, the Astros have 271 wins against AL West opponents, which is 60 more than the second-most victories in that span (Seattle has 211). Houston has won at least 50 games in the division three times through that stretch, including going 51-25 last year. In other words, the Astros have dominated the AL West for over half a decade now.

Coming off a 106-win season and a World Series championship, the club is still a heavy favorite to repeat as division champ in 2023, but the Mariners and Rangers are trying to close that gap. Houston’s offseason so far has been highlighted by the signing of free agent first baseman José Abreu, re-signing outfielder Michael Brantley and losing Justin Verlander to the Mets in free agency.

Here’s a look at what the rest of the division has done this offseason to try to catch the Astros, with Spring Training a little more than a month away:

Mariners: 90-72 in 2022, second place
Seattle will be Houston’s biggest challenger again this year. In addition to having a full season of Luis Castillo, who was acquired from the Reds in July, the Mariners traded for former Astros outfielder Teoscar Hernández from the Blue Jays and second baseman Kolten Wong from the Brewers. A two-time Gold Glove winner, Wong hit 15 homers and had a .769 OPS with Milwaukee last year.

Still, the gap between the Astros and Mariners is sizeable. Houston is 71-34 against Seattle since 2017 -- including 12-7 in '22 -- and finished 16 games ahead of the Mariners last season, before sweeping them in the AL Division Series. The chase continues for Seattle.

Angels: 73-89, third place
The Angels will be in a battle to finish in the top three in the division with the additions the Mariners and Rangers have made. They added depth by signing left-hander Tyler Anderson, reliever Carlos Estévez and utility man Brandon Drury, as well as adding infielder Gio Urshela and outfielder Hunter Renfroe in trades.

Those should be good pieces behind cornerstone players Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Taylor Ward and David Fletcher, but there are still too many question marks in the rotation after Ohtani.

Rangers: 68-94, fourth place
The Silver Boot -- the trophy awarded to the team that wins the Lone Star Series each year -- has pretty much been bolted down at Minute Maid Park since 2017. The Rangers, who finished 38 games behind Houston last season, are trying to change that. A year after acquiring Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to bolster its offense, Texas revamped its starting rotation for '23 by signing Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney to join All-Star lefty Martín Pérez and Jon Gray.

That’s a solid rotation, but the Astros are deeper and better than the Rangers across the board, with a better starter group, a longer lineup and an experienced bullpen, so don’t expect Texas to push Houston for the division crown … yet. The Rangers could battle for a playoff spot, though.

A’s: 60-102, fifth place
So far this offseason, Oakland has traded starting catcher Sean Murphy to the Braves and added some experience with the signings of Jace Peterson, Aledmys Díaz and reliever Trevor May. The rebuilding A’s finished eight games behind the fourth-place Rangers last year and should have a firm grip on last place again in 2023.