After narrowly missing the postseason, the Mariners entered the offseason as buyers for the first time in recent memory. Looking to beef up an offense that has struggled the past few years, the M’s acquired multiple impact bats as well as some starting pitching. Now, as spring training approaches, the Mariners look like the clear favorite to win the American League West.

The M’s had a pretty simple shopping list for the offseason, which included a designated hitter and a starting pitcher. The designated hitter was a clear concern for the Mariners. The DH position yielded a pitiful .190 average with just 15 homers and 50 runs batted in during the 2014 season.

The signing of Nelson Cruz in early December solves this issue. Not only will Cruz provide balance as a righty in a predominantly lefty-heavy lineup, but he also brings the potential of 30-40 home runs and 90-100 RBI’s each year.

The Mariners also needed to pick up a starting pitcher. Down the stretch, the M’s rotation was clearly drained. Chris Young had his highest innings total since 2007 and struggled to the tune of an 8.59 ERA in September. Roenis Elias was also treading uncharted waters with his innings count and suffered a season-ending elbow injury. Even Hisashi Iwakuma faltered down the stretch with a 7.61 ERA in September.

At a time when the team needed to put together a run, its biggest strength failed them. In order to add more depth to the pitching staff, Jack Zduriencik traded Michael Saunders to the Blue Jays in exchange for 32-year-old lefty J.A. Happ. Last year, Happ went 11-11 with a 4.22 ERA. While his numbers may not seem impressive, keep in mind that he pitched many of his games at the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre, and improvement can be expected when moving to Safeco Field.

When the trade went down, it got considerable backlash from fans. Michael Saunders, while frequently injured, had tremendous upside as well as the potential to be a 20-homer and 20-steal player. The Mariners also dealt from a position of weakness, that being the outfield. With Saunders gone, the right field options included Stefen Romero, who hit just .192 in 2014, and the speedy but light hitting James Jones.

These outfield fears were quickly addressed, but not in the way many had envisioned. Instead of trading for Justin Upton or Matt Kemp and losing much of the farm system, the M’s decided to go with a platoon instead. The team acquired Justin Ruggiano from the Cubs to hit lefties and Seth Smith from the Padres to hit righties. Instead of selling the farm and most likely Taijuan Walker or James Paxton, the Mariners only gave up Brandon Maurer and Matt Brazis, the latter of which probably won’t even crack the big league roster until at least 2017.

Looking at the team now that most of the roster moves are in the rearview mirror, the Mariners are built to win the division at a time when the AL West has a lot of uncertainties. Oakland has just recently added Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar to beef up their offense, but it is hard to see the A’s contending with all the subtractions this offseason: Brandon Moss, Josh Donaldson and Jeff Samardzija, just to name a few.

The Texas Rangers are coming off an injury-plagued 2014 and a last place finish in the West. The Rangers do have some impact players returning next year, like Prince Fielder and Derek Holland, but there are too many question marks to see them competing in 2015.

The Houston Astros are moving in the right direction, with all of the young talent that they have stockpiled, but they are at least another year or two away from really vying for the division title.

That leaves the Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels as the two front runners right now, and comparing the two teams, the M’s look like the stronger club. Pitching-wise, the Mariners have the Angels beat. Garrett Richards is an uncertainty after going down with that devastating knee injury, and Matt Shoemaker is entering just his second season in the big leagues. Outside of Jered Weaver, there are a lot of question marks in that rotation.

The Angels do have an incredibly strong hitter in Mike Trout, but they also have the aging stars of Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, who could see even greater drops in production. With the M’s additions on offense, they should easily hold their own.

At a time when the AL West is up for grabs, the Mariners have peaked at the right time and are poised to hang a division title banner at Safeco in 2015.