AL East's collective slump seems to be paving another World Series path for Astros

The Houston Astros' turnaround in 2024 has been nothing short of remarkable. At the end of June, they were eight games below .500 and well out of any sort of playoff spot, as they were reeling from injuries and battling through guys seemingly forgetting how to hit. However, going 17-8 in June followed by a strong July so far has the Astros atop the AL West once again.

It has been rather helpful that the Astros division rivals, the Mariners and Rangers, haven't exactly set the world on fire. The Mariners were off to a good start before a horrid slump lately has them trending in the wrong direction, left hoping that Randy Arozarena can get their offense going. Texas has played better lately, but also had a really rough first half and is dealing with a myriad of injuries on both sides of the ball.

Help from other teams hasn't stopped with the AL West, as the Astros' chief competition in the American League in recent years has come from the AL East. Somehow, that entire division has fallen on hard times.

Assuming they nail the trade deadline, the Astros seemingly have a clear path to another World Series appearance.

A lot can change at the trade deadline, as a single move can swing a team's fortunes. However, with so few sellers and a lack of impact players available, we may be very close to understanding already what the rest of 2024 is going to look like. Barring another disaster (entirely possible), the Astros are likely to be one of the better teams in the AL, with or without a big move at the deadline.

However, the picture over in the AL East, which was supposed to feature the best teams in the league this year, is decidedly less clear. The Red Sox have had an up and down season, have struggled of late, and seem more like a team that could maybe make the AL Wild Card race a little interesting before truly contending next year. They also have played like the class of the division for a month and a half, somehow. The Rays have fallen on hard times for a change and just traded away one of their higher ceiling bats to begin what is likely to be a sell-off. Toronto has some real talent on their roster, but find themselves in last place while having to mull their future.

The Orioles are the team that still remains the scariest. Their roster is young and incredibly talented with more help coming from the minors, and Baltimore is very likely to make a move for pitching at the trade deadline. That said, they are under .500 in July, as their offense hasn't been able to find much consistency of late.

As for the Astros' long-time nemesis, the Yankees, they have some real promise. Their lineup is basically Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and then a bunch of injured and/or overhyped hitters that can't come up in the clutch. Soto and Judge are great, but the rest of the roster on the position player side is a pretty scathing indictment of the Yankees' willingness to continue to employ Brian Cashman. Combine that with some injuries to their pitching staff and Carlos Rodon's deal looking like a mistake, and it is hardly surprising that the Yankees have been in a freefall since their hot start to 2024.

It isn't smooth sailing from here for the Astros, as they have their own problems. They still need to try and add least one starting pitcher at the trade deadline after their own rotation was decimated, and getting an upgrade at first base would help a ton. However, the path forward doesn't seem to have nearly as many obstacles ahead of them in the AL as we originally thought.

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