Astros stand to benefit from in-division drama with one glaring exception

Looking at the Houston Astros in a vacuum, it's easy to see that the club is not up to the level of juggernauts from the past. The roster is aging, the bloated contracts have prevented them from adequately filling some holes, and questionable decisions threaten to derail things further.

Even the good, like signing Tatsuya Imai, brings with it a ton of uncertainty alongside the fanfare. But when you expand out from that bubble, things start to look a little brighter.

Many of these same concerns existed last season, and though it ended bitterly, Houston almost survived a tremendous onslaught of injuries that would have threatened even the deepest of rosters. Let's be real, if the club had better luck with health, they'd have been in the October dance.

In 2026, their fate isn't truly tied to their standing in the American League, but rather in their own division. And when you take a look at the rest of the AL West, things don't seem as gloomy.

Chaos within the AL West could help the Astros rise to the top in the AL West

Let's start with the obvious one, the Los Angeles Angeles. The paragon of dysfunction, it seemed the Angels were going to put the dark times behind them by coming to a resolution with Anthony Rendon. However, any money they may have freed up is threatened by a looming TV rights dispute. They have massive holes at second base, third base, center field, and the bullpen, and could use another starter as well. Look for them to look more like the 2024 version that was a pushover, rather than the 2025 unit that could be pesky at times.

Houston's in-state neighbor is going through some hard times as well. The Texas Rangers' financial situation seems worse than the Astros', with the club being forced to cut payroll. Their big splash was trading Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo. That move will save them a few pennies now, but cost them more in the future due to the two additional years on Nimmo's contract. Overall, things look pretty shaky in Arlington.

The Athletics, meanwhile, are embroiled in a strange battle. Ahead of their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, they've been trying and failing to acquire the trademark to their new name, the "Las Vegas Athletics." Weird. On the diamond, you can like their extension of Tyler Soderstrom, and feel that Jeff McNeil is a marginal upgrade for them, but who exactly is taking the mound? Oh, right, it's more or less the same staff that put up a putrid 4.71 team ERA in 2025.

The Seattle Mariners are the team to worry about, but even they have some cracks. Seattle quickly brought Josh Naylor back, but they were spurned by Jorge Polanco and could use upgrades at third base, DH, and potentially second base as well. A lot of Seattle's success last year came on the back of Cal Raleigh's record-breaking campaign. Raleigh is a stud, of course, but what happens if he isn't 60-home run good in 2026? They are the Astros' biggest threat, but they are not some unstoppable goliath, either.

Bringing it back to the Astros, you can see how, with better health and some things breaking the way that they want, like a breakout from Cam Smith or another youngster, and Imai being the top-of-the-rotation starter they envision, they can take the division. If they can do that and get into the October picture, who knows how things will turn out? On paper, they're worse than clubs like the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees, but what matters in the playoffs is who is hot, not who is best built to rack up wins over the 162-game marathon.

There's a chance that things could go very well for Houston in 2026, and the dysfunction and misfortune facing many of their division rivals are a big reason why.