Who’s the Bigger Threat for the Mariners: Angels or Rangers?

The Seattle Mariners got their ace for 2022 in Robbie Ray, but the rest of the AL West has been busy as well. The Texas Rangers have been in the headlines much more than many expected, and the Los Angeles Angels have also been pretty active to give their core players support.

Now you may be wondering, which team will be a bigger threat to the Mariners next year?

2022 Seattle Mariners Threat – Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers have shocked every baseball fan this offseason. The baseball world was blindsided by the news that Marcus Semien signed a long-term deal with the Rangers; Mariners fans were hoping Semien would end up in the Mariners blue uniform, but he will be wearing a different blue next season.

Soon after, Corey Seager came flying in with an even larger contract than Semien, which surprised many. A lot of eyes were on Carlos Correa to make a decision, but Seager put pen on paper to close a 10-year deal.

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The Rangers also added Jon Gray, a former Rockies starting pitcher, and veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun.

So, how dangerous are the Rangers to the Seattle Mariners now? Texas certainly got better, but they are still a long way away in my opinion. The only players that really shined from 2021 are Adolis Garcia and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Now they brought in two All-Star middle infielders, which pretty much sets your 1-4 in the batting order, but without much support. You have Nate Lowe at first who swings a decent bat, Jonah Heim at catcher who only played well against the M’s, a young Leody Taveras who struggled last year, and the veteran Kole Calhoun who doesn’t shine.

The pitching? Well, I would describe it as “meh.” You have Jon Gray at the front of your rotation who owns a career 4.59 ERA, former prospect Dane Dunning, a potential breakout candidate in Taylor Hearn, a young and inexperienced A.J. Alexy, and another former prospect Spencer Howard. There is no doubt that the Rangers have a young group that they could build on, but I don’t see them dominating in 2022.

With that all being said, the Rangers will definitely give the Mariners a harder time in 2022 than last year, but I still firmly believe that the Mariners will finish above them in the division.

 2022 Seattle Mariners Threat – Los Angeles Angels

The Halos haven’t made as large of a splash as the Ranger – so far. The Angels started with a one-year deal with flame thrower Noah Syndergaard, then picked up Michael Lorenzen, Aaron Loup, and re-signed Raisel Iglesias.

Again, it’s not going to make you freak out necessarily, but they are bulking up on what the team needs: pitching. And honestly, pitching has been the issue for the Angels forever. They tried building a strong starting rotation last year, but things went sideways very quickly.

But now that you add a potential top 10 starting pitcher in Syndergaard, and another hard-throwing pitcher in Lorenzen, it might just do the job. The Angels could line up with Shohei Ohtani, Syndergaard, Patrick Sandoval, Lorenzen, and Reid Detmers; on paper, I think that’s a very solid rotation. Sandoval had a breakout season and Detmers is a bright top prospect.

And then on the field, the Angels will look very similar to what we saw last year, EXCEPT they will have Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon back. In addition, it’s fair to assume that Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell will grow after getting their feet wet in 2021.

So, I think the Angels are going to be the biggest threat for the Mariners in 2022, despite the Rangers spending more money. Again, things can quickly change since there are lots of rumors swirling around, but hopefully the Mariners can make a few more moves to make these additions by the Angels and Rangers non-important.