The Astros are acting like a team that can still smell a division opening, and if Bob Nightengale’s reporting is right, the Mariners have every reason to be uneasy.
Houston’s deadline focus starts with the outfield. Nightengale says the Astros badly need help there and are showing strong interest in Rockies outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy. But the part that should really set off alarms in Seattle is what comes next: the Astros “plan to be in the Tarik Skubal and Sonny Gray sweepstakes”.
That’s a serious swing for a club sitting at 46-48 and projected for its fewest wins since 2014. It’s also exactly the kind of move that makes sense when you’re in a division that has not exactly separated itself from the pack. The Mariners are still in front in the AL West, but only barely, sitting at 47-45 and hanging onto the lead by a thread.
A few months ago, this looked like the moment Seattle was supposed to slam the door. When Houston came to Seattle in mid-May and lost three of four, the Astros fell to 17-28.
The Mariners were 5.0 games up and had already clinched the season series. That should have been the knockout punch.
Instead, Seattle has let the fight linger.
Since then, Houston has gone 29-20. The Mariners, meanwhile, have kept drifting around .500. That’s the backdrop for why the Astros are still acting like buyers and why their target list matters so much.
And it gets worse for Seattle from there. Nightengale also reported that the Mariners are not expected to be ultra-aggressive at the deadline. That’s a dangerous approach for a team that clearly needs bullpen help and a right-handed bat who can hit lefites.
So while Houston is lining up to add, Seattle may be standing pat. In a division this soft, that’s the kind of gap that can flip a race fast.
The Mariners were supposed to be the team taking control. Instead, they’re the ones leaving the door open.
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