American League preview: Will teams still seek payback vs. Astros for cheating scandal?

The cheating Astros were cast as Public Enemy No. 1 heading into the 2020 season, with the expectation they would be harassed and ridiculed in every visiting ballpark for six months.

Then COVID-19 happened.

So with mandated empty ballparks the Astros won’t have to worry about hostile fans. But will the opposing teams, especially the victimized Dodgers -- who will face Houston due to the regionalized scheduled -- seek retribution for that stolen ’17 title?

We’re curious to see if the uber-talented Astros, who could easily return to the Fall Classic, are able to embrace their villainy, even under a new manager that everyone likes: the 71-year-old Dusty Baker. Given the circumstances, that was the perfect hire to replace the ousted AJ Hinch, although losing Gerrit Cole leaves a sizable void. As for the AL West, the Astros should have enough to hold off the A’s, who are coming off a pair of 97-win seasons ended by wild-card losses.

The Angels also made an inspired hire in bringing Joe Maddon back to Anaheim, but pairing RBI-machine Anthony Rendon the planet’s best player in Mike Trout is the real potential game-changer in SoCal. How would you like to be the Rangers? They just spent $1.1 billion on the new retractable-roof Globe Life Park and not only will it be devoid of crowds , but people are comparing it aesthetically to a giant stainless-steel BBQ grill. As for the Mariners, the Jarred Kelenic Watch already is underway, much to the horror of Mets fans.

Few, if any, teams benefited more from the shutdown than the Yankees, who needed the extra time to get Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and James Paxton ready for Opening Day 2.0. Even Masahiro Tanaka’s concussion will only cost him maybe one turn, and the Yankees are plenty deep to repeat as East champs. Like the Astros, the Red Sox’s own title-winning manager -- Alex Cora -- was a casualty of the cheating scandal, and they also traded away David Price and pending free agent Mookie Betts as part a salary dump. Also, No. 1 starter Eduardo Rodriguez won’t pitch the opener after getting the coronavirus, so Boston’s weakest rotation in years will likely cost them a shot at contention. That leaves the plucky Rays as the only legitimate threat to the Bronx crown, though the Blue Jays got better by signing Hyun-Jin Ryu and still have a maturing NextGen core with proven All-Star DNA in Vlad Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette. The good news for the Orioles? It’s impossible for them to have a third straight 100-loss season.

Over in the Central, after the Twins hit an MLB-record 307 home runs last season, the Bomba Squad added Josh Donaldson this winter for a bit more muscle. Best advice to them? Do whatever is necessary to avoid the Yankees come October. The  Indians traded two-time Cy winner Corey Kluber to Texas and now the clock is ticking on franchise shortstop Francisco Lindor, who becomes a free agent after the 2021 season. On the South Side, can the White Sox avoid an eighth-straight losing season? The additions of Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel and Edwin Encarnacion will help fortify the up-and-coming youngsters, but promising fireballer Michael Kopech chose to opt-out. Former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny headed west on I-70 to take over the same job for the Royals, who were sold for $1 billion during the offseason, despite being a fixer-upper on the field. The Tigers included this year’s No. 1 overall pick, Spencer Torkelson, in their 60-man player pool for this virus-tainted season, but he’ll be getting his reps on the Toledo taxi squad. The future (and winning) will wait in the Motor City.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.