Rivalry Review: Ranking the AL West Lineups Heading Into the 2023 Season

Division Series - Houston Astros v Seattle Mariners - Game Three
Division Series - Houston Astros v Seattle Mariners - Game Three / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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Tony Kemp
Los Angeles Angels v Oakland Athletics / Lachlan Cunningham/GettyImages

5) Oakland Athletics

Projected lineup:

1) 2B Tony Kemp
2) RF Ramón Laureano
3) LF Seth Brown
4) 1B Jesús Aguilar
5) 3B Jace Peterson
6) DH Aledmys Díaz
7) C Shea Langeliers
8) SS Nick Allen
9) CF Esteury Ruiz

There are no two ways around it: this is a bad baseball team with very little hope in 2023. Oakland won only 60 games in 2022 and then traded away their best player this offseason in Sean Murphy. 105-110 losses could be on the table for this bunch. They scored only 568 runs as a team last season, and may not top the mark by much in 2023.

Peterson, Diaz and Aguilar all joined the team in free agency, while Ruiz and Langeliers arrived in the Murphy deal. All three free agents are coming off of below league average seasons at the plate. While rookies like Langeliers and Ruiz may offer hope in the future, there is little to none for this season. Seth Brown may be a lone bright spot, though his name has been whispered about as potential trade bait.