AL West: Dezenzo to fill need in the outfield

Houston Astros

After the Astros surprisingly traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, there is a new vacancy in the Astros outfield. The front office has said Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick will start the season as starters in the outfield, which leaves a corner outfield spot up for grabs.

There are a few in-house options with Taylor Trammell, Mauricio Dubón and Zach Dezenzo. The former top prospect Trammell has yet to find success at the big league level and is now a part of his fifth major league franchise. Over four major league seasons and 359 plate appearances, Trammell has hit .167 with 15 home runs and an 82 wRC+. 

Dubón has been a solid utility player for the Astros, showcasing great defense at multiple positions while being serviceable at the plate. Dubón has hit .269 and .278 over the last two seasons, but 14 home runs and 10 stolen bases are not an everyday starter's profile. The Astros would likely prefer Dubón to be a platoon utility bat over a starting outfielder.

Dezenzo could be the sneaky choice to fill the vacated outfielder role barring no further moves. First, Dezenzo has primarily played first base throughout his time in the Astros system but over the winter he played 17 games in Puerto Rico—nine at first base and eight in left field. He’s hitting .361 in Puerto Rico after hitting .242 with two home runs over 19 games with the Astros in his first taste at the big league level. Dezenzo has showcased power and speed throughout the minor leagues, and he could be ready to take over the corner outfield role in his age-25 season. 

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Los Angeles Angels

Zach Neto missed the end of the regular season after a shoulder injury forced him to the IL and in November underwent surgery to repair it. There has been no official timeline, but early reports indicate that Neto will miss some time during spring training and likely part of the start of the season. With Neto out, the Angels can solve the problem with some options already on the roster. 

Luis Rengifo is the Swiss Army knife of players who can play all over the infield, so he could slide from second base to shortstop. Rengifo is an option, but it does not make the most sense. 

The two more likely options are Scott Kingery and Kyren Paris. Kingery has not played at the major league level since 2022 but found his swing at AAA last season, where he hit .268 with 25 home runs and 25 steals over 505 plate appearances. It was a very strong season after hitting 13 home runs and stealing 24 bases in 2023. Kingery brings interesting power with a lot of speed and could be a nice short-term fill-in while Neto recovers. 

Paris is the other option on the Angels 40-man roster. In 2023, Paris hit .255 with 14 home runs and 44 stolen bases at Double-A in 2023. In 2024, Paris received his first cup of coffee at the big league level and struggled over 59 plate appearances with a .118 batting average with one home run and one steal. A strong spring could garner a chance of at-bats for Paris while Neto recovers, but we would expect Kingery to get the early shortstop action. 

 

Athletics

The Athletics have been surprisingly aggressive this offseason but still have a glaring weakness at third base and have said they are looking to upgrade the position. Currently, the A’s are rolling with Darell Hernaiz or Max Schuemann at third base, and that is likely not the best option. 

Hernaiz is only 23 years old and in his first stint with the A’s last year hit .192 over 48 games with a home run and a stolen base. Hernaiz has showcased minimal power with speed and a good batting average throughout the minors, so maybe it will develop, but his 1% barrel rate and 49.5% ground ball rate will need to improve immensely. 

Schuemann was a little better this past season with seven home runs and 14 stolen bases over 133 games, but he only hit .220. Schuemann struck out 25.9% of the time with a 5.6% barrel rate and 37.4% hard-hit rate. Schuemann has been better in his short stint with the A’s, but there is still a lot to be desired from a regular in the lineup.

The likely outcome for the A’s is a free agent signing or a trade. They just signed Gio Urshela, who could aid as a veteran present at third base who can hit for average, but they may still be looking on the open market for a full-time option. 

 

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners are rumored to be looking for a first baseman via trade, but a bigger need for the team is at second base. Last year, Jorge Polanco was the primary second baseman when he was healthy, but he has left via free agency. 

Currently, the Mariners have Ryan Bliss penciled in at second base. In 35 games last year, Bliss hit .222 with two home runs and five steals. At Triple-A last year, Bliss hit .269 with 12 home runs and 50 steals, which would be great for the Mariners. Bliss will need to improve quickly to get to those AAA numbers, as he struck out 31% of the time with the Mariners with a 42.5% ground ball rate. He barreled the ball 9.5% of the time with a 46.5% hard-hit rate, which is solid and could make Bliss serviceable with improvements in plate discipline. 

If the Mariners look to find a replacement for Bliss, Polanco could be an option, as he’s been in talks with the Mariners for a return. There are also a few other free-agent options or trade options. For now, it’s Bliss’s job to lose, but we have plenty of time for Dealing Dipoto to change that. 

 

Texas Rangers

Kirby Yates was one of the best free agent closer stories of 2024. Yates is a free agent again, leaving the Rangers needing a closer. Yates collected a 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 24.1% K-BB, and 33 saves. That will be quite the stat line to replace.

Currently, the Rangers have Jacob Webb penciled into close. With the Orioles last year, Webb had a 3.02 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with a 13.1% K-BB as a late-inning reliever. That is the best K-BB of Webb’s career and the second-best ERA and WHIP. Webb is a good reliever but not the ideal closer.

There are a lot of closers on the free-agent market that could help the Rangers. A reunion with Yates is in play. Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Tanner Scott, and others are free agents who could all be strong closing upgrades. Expect the Rangers to sign a closer by the start of the season to fill in their biggest roster need. 

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