Breaking Down the West Division in MLB's Realignment Plan
As Major League Baseball sifts through a myriad of contingency plans to salvage the season amid the coronavirus pandemic, they have to entertain every idea brought to the table. Each plan will have their pros and will definitely have their cons. Certain teams may get the short end of the stick in certain scenarios, but most teams would understandably take what they can get if it means baseball is played in 2020.
In the latest contingency plan to become public knowledge, MLB would realign the leagues from the traditional two leagues into three 10-team divisions appropriately named after geographical regions: East, Central, and West. Teams would play only opponents from within their realigned division, allowing teams to play at their home ballparks and significantly minimize travel.
In this plan, the Texas Rangers were put into the West division with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, and Seattle Mariners. If you weren't paying attention, that's six teams within this division that reside on the west coast and two teams that are one time zone away in Mountain Standard Time. Only the Astros and Rangers would represent Central Standard Time in this division.
This is a perfect example of a team getting the short end of the stick, which I went into further detail about earlier this week and contrived a better solution based off of this plan.
However, this plan from MLB has the most potential of any other idea that's been revealed to the public. It allows players to reside in their team's home market, which they would normally do for the season anyway. It also keeps players out of living in isolation in a baseball biodome where one infected player could shut down the whole operation.
Of course, plans like this would have to be approved by government and public health officials. But of all the plans discussed so far, this one seems the most likely.
If this is the plan MLB is allowed to move forward with, how would the Rangers fare in a division with all but one of their opponents residing at least one time zone away? Here's a quick breakdown of each team in order of their records from 2019:
Houston Astros (107-55)
The Astros would be in the same boat as the Rangers regarding time zone issues, but equipped with a better roster. The defending American League champions lost Gerrit Cole and Robinson Chirinos in free agency, but still have one of the best rosters in baseball on paper. Before the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down, the Astros were the center of attention with their inept handling of their punishment for the 2017 sign-stealing scandal, but the shutdown may actually favor the Astros when baseball finally resumes. With no fans in the stands to boo the players, will the fallout of their punishment have the same effect as we initially expected?
Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56)
This is a team that just can't buy their way to a World Series championship. They have all the talent in the world, including the addition of Mookie Betts over the offseason, but even a pandemic has found a way to derail that. If baseball can find a way to resume in 2020 before Mookie tests the free agent market, this could easily be the favorite to win this division.
Oakland Athletics (97-55)
Oakland isn't far behind the Astros and Dodgers with the talent they've assembled. They're as well balanced as any team in baseball that can score runs and pitch very well. They were my favorite to win the AL West before coronavirus shut down the baseball world and I still believe they'd make a run for this division.
Arizona Diamondbacks (85-77)
Arizona had one of the best offseasons in baseball, adding starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner and outfielder Starling Marte to the roster. They also solidified their bullpen with the additions of Junior Guerra and Hector Rendon. They were an 85-win team in 2019 and had the potential of eclipsing 90 wins with their revamped roster. Who knows how the playoffs would look in this realignment plan, but if it's expanded to 14 teams, Arizona could very well qualify.
Texas Rangers (78-84)
The Rangers successfully addressed two of their three biggest needs over the winter. They reunited with catcher Robinson Chirinos and overhauled their rotation by adding Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles, and two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber to complement Mike Minor and Lance Lynn. While they missed out on the Anthony Rendon sweepstakes, adding Todd Frazier is an upgrade over their 2019 counterpart.
The Rangers have a lot of unknowns on their roster, but could surprise a number of people if things pan out how they expect. They still need another impact bat to make themselves a legitimate playoff contender.
San Francisco Giants (77-85)
The Giants are in a much different place than they were a decade ago. After a successful run in the earlier half of the 2010's with three World Series titles in five years, they've had three consecutive losing seasons. They're not in a full-blown rebuild, but they don't have the depth to compete with the top teams in this division.
Los Angeles Angels (72-90)
The Angels won the Anthony Rendon sweepstakes at the Winter Meetings, giving them arguably the best one-two punch in any lineup in baseball with the pair of Rendon and Mike Trout. This team will be able to score a lot of runs, but their pitching staff has a number of unknowns. They could slug their way into a possibly expanded playoff, but they will live or die by how well their pitching staff performs.
Colorado Rockies (71-91)
The main headlines surrounding the Rockies have focused on the relationship between the club and its star player Nolan Arenado, who was the center of many trade rumors over the winter. They underperformed in 2019, and if the club can't convince Arenado that they can still contend with what they have, Arenado could be exercising his opt-out clause after the 2021 season.
San Diego Padres (70-92)
The Padres are an interesting team. They have a lot of good young talent, both on their Major League roster and in the pipeline. They may still be a couple years away from being a legitimate contender, but they are not a team to take lightly.
Seattle Mariners (68-94)
This is a team that needs to tear it all down and rebuild. They weren't going to win a five-team division, so a 10-team division makes it even more impossible for the Mariners to do any damage.
Follow Inside The Rangers on SI on Twitter: @SITexasRangers
Like Inside The Rangers on SI on Facebook: facebook.com/SITexasRangers
Follow our Rangers insider Chris Halicke on Twitter: @ChrisHalicke
Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Inside The Rangers on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.
