What Are Astros' AL West Rivals Predicted To Do Ahead of Trade Deadline?

Once again, the Houston Astros have put themselves in a position to compete for and win an AL West title, with them owning a five-game lead entering play on Friday.

It feels like there is another gear this team can reach, too, since they have been decimated by injuries throughout the season and haven't gotten close to expected contributions from Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker or Jose Altuve.

Because of that, it will be interesting to see what the Astros do ahead of the deadline this year.

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In the past, the position they are currently in would suggest that Houston will be buyers before July 31, but they could also easily wait it out to see if their upgrades come from internal production.

When it comes to what other teams around the AL West will do this season, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report had some interesting predictions regarding what Astros fans should expect to see out of their division rivals.

Seattle Mariners

Buy

"... they have the best farm system in MLB and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto needs to be treating his job like it's on the line, because it just well may be. He specifically needs bats, and fast. A reunion with Eugenio Suárez makes a lot of sense, as does a partnership with Josh Naylor. Both are free agents after this year, and thus not likely to be costly," wrote Rymer.

What's interesting about this statement is that everyone thought the Seattle Mariners would be aggressive this past offseason to upgrade their roster, something that didn't come to fruition.

Maybe this is the time they finally address their shortcomings.

Texas Rangers

Hold

That's not the approach many expected the Texas Rangers to take coming into the year, with many picking them as winners of the AL West with their star players returning to health and some free agency splashes made over the winter.

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However, they have been disappointing. And perhaps the hopeful mindset the Rangers' front office has prevents them from selling off assets even if they are out of the race when July 31 arrives.

Los Angeles Angels

Sell

This one seems pretty straight forward.

They once again find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to being true contenders, so it shouldn't be a surprise when they look to offload their impending free agents.

Athletics

Hold

The Athletics find themselves in an interesting spot where they don't have a ton of coveted assets for other teams around the league in regards to anyone they might put on the trade block.

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" There isn't much here in the way of intriguing rentals, and the time to sell high on Mason Miller has passed. The A's had their chance last year and didn't take it," wrote Rymer.

Standing pat and letting the young players continue to develop seems like their course of action.

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