Astros' Division Rival Texas Rangers Targeting Superstar Starting Pitcher

The Houston Astros' AL West title defense could become a whole lot more challenging if their rivals pull off this blockbuster deal.

Entering the upcoming season, it looked like the Houston Astros were sitting pretty with their roster healthy and their division rivals banged up already.

Spring Training has not been kind to the Seattle Mariners with their star relievers picking up injury after injury.

The defending World Series champion Texas Rangers already knew they'd be undermanned to begin with Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle out for roughly half of the year.

After really dominating the AL West division for the better part of seven seasons, the Astros scraped by to win it in 2023.

Based on projections, it seemed like Houston might be able to cruise to their fourth title in a row.

However, that could get more difficult based on the reports that the Rangers are reportedly interested in putting together a blockbuster trade that would land them 2022 AL Cy Young runner-up Dylan Cease.

"Early Tuesday, I heard the Texas Rangers might be close to acquiring Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease. The tip turned out not to be true, at least at that moment, but two sources briefed on the talks confirmed the teams engaged in recent discussions," writes Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

This is a bombshell report.

It looked for a long time like the Chicago White Sox were content with taking their ace into the season with them and looking for deals at the deadline.

They certainly had offers for Cease throughout the winter, but decided that there was nothing coming back in return that warranted them moving one of the best starters in the league.

What has changed that sentiment is unknown.

Ultimately, this impacts the Astros because they might have another battle to win the AL West on their hands.

Houston certainly won't shy away from anything, but there's a chance that the race to win the division will be a tight one again.