The Houston Astros are one of 30 teams hoping to take home the 2023 World Series Title.

The only difference between Houston and any other team right now is that the Astros have a leg up on “the field.” As they go for their seventh straight ALCS appearance, they enter the 2023 campaign as heavy favorites to win the AL West and the number one ranked team on several Power Rankings. This is no doubt due to their rotation, bullpen, and lineup coming back stronger than ever, despite the losses of Yuli Gurriel and Justin Verlander.

Houston Astros News

Baker says McCullers’ sore arm ‘is to be expected’ (mlb.com)

Maldonado arrives to Astros camp lighter, pain free (mlb.com)

Astros GM wants new deals for Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman (espn.com)

Yankees’ Gerrit Cole Has Brutally Honest Opinion of 2022 ALCS Loss to Astros (si.com)

A rough patch: the Astros’ new sponsorship deal with Oxy is doubly ugly (theguardian.com)

Photos: Day 2 of Astros spring training ($houstonchronicle.com$)

Why Houston Astros fans should read book about sign-stealing scandal (chron.com)

How Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox stole signs, and why Astros got hammered (chron.com)

AL West News

A’s hire lobbyists to garner support for public-private partnership (reviewjournal.com)

Rangers Sign Robbie Grossman (mlbtraderumors.com)

Kelenic’s runway with Mariners is clear — can he finally take off? (sports.mynorthwest.com)

Angels News: ZiPS Project Second Place Tie for Halos in AL West (si.com)

Other MLB News

Tim McCarver, two-time World Series champion and Hall of Fame MLB broadcaster, dies at 81 (cbssports.com)

How the projected standings agree (and how they don’t) (mlb.com)

The Injuries of Nestor Cortes and Frankie Montas Will Test the Yankees’ Rotation Depth (fangraphs.com)
Wow, that was fast.

Like father, like son: Nevin seeks revival in Detroit (mlb.com)

MLB: Bally network troubles could lead to end of blackouts (apnews.com)

After sophomore slump, India looks to find himself (mlb.com)

What MLB rule changes would you make? (bleedcubbieblue.com)

1 Sentence to Describe Every MLB Team Entering Spring Training 2023 (bleacherreport.com)

Updating the 2023 Draft Prospect Rankings (blogs.fangraphs.com)