Mariners primed to cruise through AL West while AL East beats itself up

Coming into the 2026 season, the Seattle Mariners remain the only MLB team that has yet to make it to the World Series. The front office knows that, the players know that, the fans know that, and they would all love for that to change. 

Luckily for them, they have a strong core returning from last season. They also signed and re-signed a few players, including Josh Naylor, Brendnan Donovan, and Jose A. Ferrer. 

They should have the firepower to push runs across the board, and they might not need many runs to feel comfortable. The starting rotation, on paper, is about as strong as it can get. 

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Mariners primed to cruise through AL West while AL East beats itself up

Unlike the AL East, which has four star-studded teams, the AL West isn't as competitive, and Seattle could use this to their advantage, per Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly. 

"As all the AL East teams beat up on each other, the Mariners should be able to win their division with relative ease, setting them up to potentially reach and win the World Series for the first time ever."

Kelly has huge expectations for this team, but it may not be as easy as he sees it. While the Los Angeles Angels and Athletics may not be ones to pay attention to, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are. 

If Texas can get a few of its veterans to have a breakout year, it could be a surprise team. On the other hand, you can never count out the Astros. 

They are coming off a disastrous season where they missed the postseason for the first time since the 2016 season, and they will be hungrier than ever to return. 

So the question remains, can Seattle cruise to another AL West championship? If they can, they should put themselves in a great spot for a deep postseason run.

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