Seattle Mariners: The other four teams, a preview of the 2020 AL West
Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais.
The Seattle Mariners open the season on Friday, July 24. PNWS is counting down with a different article each day. Today, we preview the other four teams in the American League West Division.
Opening Day is a few days away. The Seattle Mariners are in Houston on Friday, July 24, to begin the 2020 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as Major League Baseball and it’s Players Association failing to agree on anything, the event has been almost four months in the making.
In preparation for a 60-game schedule, played over the next two months, Seattle has been working out at T-Mobile park for the past few weeks. After some initial “get back into the swing of things” days, the Mariners have been getting ready with intrasquad contests. Management, players, and fans are looking forward to games that count. Leading up to Opening Day, Pacific Northwest Sports will be running a series of countdown articles to get fans ready for action.
- Sun 7/19 – 6 questions about the 2020 season
- Mon 7/20 – 5 impact rookies to watch in 2020
- Tue 7/21 – 4 reasons why the Mariners will have a hard time rising in the A.L. West
- Wed 7/22 – 3 players who could be in their final Mariners season
- Thu 7/23 – 2 X-Factors for 2020
- Fri 7/24 – 1 big goal for 2020
A hard place to make up ground
To begin with, the American League West division is tough and underrated. Houston is one of the best teams in the game, appearing in two of the last three World Series. Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry DiPoto realized after the 2018 season that his team didn’t have enough talent to keep up. Consequently, Seattle has been in a rebuilding mode ever since.
The rest of the division has been playing catch-up over the last half-decade. As a result, everyone else has elevated their teams. That makes it hard for the still rebuilding M’s to climb out of the division cellar. This is PNWS’ look at the 2020 A.L. West. All betting odds are from Bovada and are for entertainment purposes only.