Here we are, baseball fans. Spring training has started, the World Baseball Classic is just around the corner and the bright lights of the 2026 MLB regular season loom in the near future.
It has been an interesting offseason, with some impact trades, some surprising free agent signings and, of course, every team improving … right?
Well, it’s time to hand out our final 2025-26 offseason grades, so let’s find out who the big winners are.
Jump to a team:
AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
AL Central: CHW | CLE | DET | KC | MIN
AL West: ATH | HOU | LAA | SEA | TEX
NL East: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NL Central: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NL West: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF
Key additions: LHP Ranger Suarez, RHP Sonny Gray, 1B Willson Contreras, RHP Johan Oviedo, 3B Caleb Durbin, INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa, INF Andruw Monasterio
Key departures: 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Hunter Dobbins, LHP Kyle Harrison, OF Jhostynxon Garcia, LHP Shane Drohan
Not everyone might feel the same, but I absolutely love this offseason from Craig Breslow and his staff. Remember, the Red Sox now operate under a budget. Breslow can’t light money on fire the way the Red Sox did during the late 2010s under Dave Dombrowski. No, they didn’t re-sign Bregman, but the trade for Durbin gives them a player who projects to just one less win in value than Bregman — a younger, faster, high-contact hitter making $30 million in salary. The trades for Gray and Contreras bring in win-now veterans who also won’t hemorrhage the long-term payroll. Suarez is a riskier bet on a five-year, $130 million deal, but he has been a consistent performer since 2021 with only his durability a concern.
Importantly, Breslow kept the young core intact, not only all the outfielders, but two top-100 pitching prospects in Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, who made their major league debuts late in 2025 and should impact the rotation at some point in 2026. The Red Sox have improved their flexibility and depth in the infield while also improving their balance against left-handed pitching. If Trevor Story‘s declining range is a problem, then maybe Marcelo Mayer becomes the regular shortstop with Story sliding over to second. If you’re worried about Kristian Campbell being blocked, he can hit his way into DH or outfield at-bats.
The Red Sox are deep and good. They might be my pick to win the AL East.
Key additions: RF Kyle Tucker, RHP Edwin Diaz, INF Miguel Rojas (re-signed), INF/OF Enrique Hernandez (re-signed), RHP Evan Phillips (re-signed)
Key departures: OF Michael Conforto, LHP Anthony Banda, RHP Kirby Yates
Let’s see, the Dodgers entered the offseason with two major holes:
1. Their left fielders hit just .229 with 19 home runs. Fine, sign Tucker to a four-year, $240 million deal that might break baseball (he’ll play right field with Teoscar Hernandez moving to left).
2. Their closer situation was a bit of a mess by the playoffs. Fine, sign Diaz for $69 million on top of the $72 million for Tanner Scott a year ago.
Finally, do you believe in good luck charms and sentimentality? Fine, bring back both World Series heroes in Rojas and Hernandez for a combined $10 million.
All that and the Dodgers payroll is still down about $1 million from 2025, according to FanGraphs. Geez, imagine if they tried a little harder to win.
Key additions: LHP Framber Valdez, RHP Justin Verlander, RHP Drew Anderson, RHP Kenley Jansen, RHP Kyle Finnegan (re-signed), 2B Gleyber Torres accepted a qualifying offer
Key departures: RHP Tommy Kahnle
The Tigers salvaged the offseason with the late signings of Valdez and Verlander, but their most important move was the one they didn’t make: trading Tarik Skubal. There has been some warranted criticism about not addressing the offense that struggled to make contact in the playoff series loss to Seattle, but I think it made sense to prioritize the pitching:
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First, the offense improved 76 runs from 2024 while being one of the youngest groups in the American League. Now, the Tigers will be adding top prospect Kevin McGonigle to the infield at some point and Max Anderson could also join the lineup. Given the youth and McGonigle, there are reasons to expect the offense to be solid again.
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The pitching/defense gave up 49 more runs than in 2024 and the rotation ranked just 22nd in innings. Adding a starter like Valdez, who has averaged 192 innings the past four seasons, is a huge get. Verlander, meanwhile, isn’t just a sentimental signing, especially after a terrific final 13 starts last season in San Francisco.
I’m less enthused about the Jansen and Finnegan moves for the bullpen, but in the end, the Tigers kept Skubal and increased payroll some $62 million.
Key additions: 1B Josh Naylor (re-signed), INF Brendan Donovan, LHP Jose A. Ferrer, DH/OF Rob Refsnyder
Key departures: DH/2B Jorge Polanco, 3B Eugenio Suarez, C Mitch Garver, C Harry Ford, RHP Jurrangelo Cijntje
There is no single blow-your-socks off move here, but the Mariners did what they had to do to remain favorites in the AL West. Bringing back Naylor on a five-year deal was the pivotal transaction, as he excelled in his two months in Seattle while becoming an instant fan favorite. First base has long been a problem for the Mariners going back two decades (save for a short stint of good play from Ty France), so Naylor provides a long-term fix there without blowing out the budget.
The early February trade for Donovan gives them a guy who can play second or third, plus a leadoff hitter who had a .353 OBP last season, including .383 against right-handers (Seattle leadoff hitters ranked 24th in the majors with a .311 OBP). Ferrer is a premium left-handed bullpen arm, and Refsynder mashes lefties. The one quibble here is that the Mariners are weak at backup catcher, so Cal Raleigh will again have to carry a big workload, playing nearly every game behind the plate or at DH. The season-ending injury to Logan Evans announced just before spring training leaves the Mariners scrambling for a sixth starter if one of the top five goes down, but maybe Kade Anderson, the No. 3 pick last year, is as polished as hoped and ready to contribute if needed. Polanco is the only significant contributor gone from the 2025 roster, so the Mariners’ World Series dreams are bigger than ever.
Key additions: RHP Freddy Peralta, 3B Bo Bichette, 1B/DH Jorge Polanco, 2B Marcus Semien, CF Luis Robert Jr., RHP Devin Williams, RHP Luke Weaver, RHP Tobias Myers
Key departures: 1B Pete Alonso, RHP Edwin Diaz, LF Brandon Nimmo, 2B Jeff McNeil, RHP Brandon Sproat, DH Starling Marte, 2B Luisangel Acuna, RHP Griffin Canning, RHP Ryne Stanek, RHP Tyler Rogers
The biggest roller coaster in the world is Falcon’s Flight, located in Saudi Arabia. That’s what this offseason felt like for Mets fans. Fan favorite Alonso? Gone. Fan favorite Diaz? Gone. Fan favorite Nimmo? Gone. It looked as if it might turn into a disastrous offseason for the Mets. Then came the flurry of post-Christmas moves, including the three-year, $126 million deal for Bichette (which could turn into a one-year deal if he opts out) and the big trade for ace-like starter Peralta.
It’s a remarkable roster shuffle. With Juan Soto now moving to left field, of the nine players who started the most games at each position in 2025, only Francisco Lindor is slated to start at the same position in 2026 — and even his Opening Day is now in jeopardy after surgery to repair his hamate bone. Will it all add up to a better Mets team? I believe so, although there is some risk here, particularly in the bullpen, where Williams and Weaver didn’t exactly lock down the late innings last year for the Yankees. Still, this Mets team will score plenty of runs while being more athletic and better on defense — much more of a David Stearns-type team.
Key additions: RHP Dylan Cease, 3B Kazuma Okamoto, RHP Tyler Rogers, RHP Cody Ponce, OF Jesus Sanchez
Key departures: SS Bo Bichette, RHP Chris Bassitt, RHP Max Scherzer, OF Joey Loperfido
Give credit to the Blue Jays for keeping the foot on the gas. Their payroll is now up about $29 million from last year and about $60 million from 2024. Their time is clearly right now, with nearly all of their key players from last year’s World Series run back — and most are in their primes. Rogers is one of the most underrated signings of the offseason while Ponce, the KBO MVP, should factor into the rotation, especially with manager John Schneider saying Shane Bieber won’t be ready for Opening Day. With the announcement Anthony Santander will sit out five to six months, the Jays remained aggressive, acquiring Sanchez right as spring training started.
But I’m hedging this grade just a bit on two accounts. First, while Cease is talented and durable and wouldn’t surprise anyone if he contended for a Cy Young Award, he’s also a player with an ERA over 4.50 in two of the past three seasons. A $210 million contract is a huge payout for an inconsistent pitcher who isn’t a guaranteed upgrade over Bassitt.
Then there’s what is essentially the Okamoto-for-Bichette swap. I think Okamoto will hit and his offensive projections are close to Bichette’s, but we know Bichette can hit at a high level. Okamoto had a Bichette-like season in Japan last year, hitting .327 and improving his contact rate, but in previous years, he had hit for a lower average with more power. It will be interesting to see if he provides the same offense that Bichette offered last season.
Key additions: 1B Pete Alonso, OF Taylor Ward, RHP Shane Baz, RHP Chris Bassitt, RHP Zach Eflin (re-signed), RHP Ryan Helsley, RHP Andrew Kittredge, IF Blaze Alexander
Key departures: RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, RHP Grayson Rodriguez
At this point, it’s clear: President of baseball operations Mike Elias is not going to pay for a premium free agent pitcher, whether that’s his own philosophy or whether he’s hamstrung by his owners (first the Angelos family, and now David Rubinstein). It’s also fair to suggest that, this offseason at least, the market for starting pitchers wasn’t strong anyway — and given what Valdez and Cease signed for, it’s hard to blame the Orioles for not paying up (assuming they were even a potential landing spot).
The Orioles did address their needs — power and the rotation — and didn’t give up any important contributors from 2025 to do it. Indeed, their value added minus value lost might prove to be as large as any team this offseason. Trading four prospects, including two first-round picks from 2025, for Baz, a pitcher coming off a 0.4-WAR season, is certainly risky — and the Rodriguez-for-Ward deal could backfire if Rodriguez gets healthy. Even with the big contract for Alonso and the late signing of Bassitt for one year and $18.5 million, the payroll is only $6 million higher than last year. You might think a 76-year-old owner who professed his “commitment to this team and to my hometown” when his purchase was finalized in August 2024 might be a little more all-in on winning. That could still happen, but imagine an extra $20 million available to improve the roster even more.
Key additions: RHP Robert Suarez, RHP Raisel Iglesias (re-signed), SS Ha-Seong Kim (re-signed), INF/OF Mauricio Dubon, OF Mike Yastrzemski, C Jonah Heim, SS Jorge Mateo
Key departures: DH Marcell Ozuna, SS Nick Allen, RHP Pierce Johnson
After years of neglecting their bench, the Braves finally went all-in this offseason, adding an excellent fourth outfielder in Yastrzemski and a top utility player in Dubon. They even threw $20 million at Kim on a one-year deal to fix shortstop and then signed Suarez in addition to Iglesias. That was $58 million just for Yaz, Kim and the two relievers, leading to a $50 million payroll increase. That’s a worthy, quality offseason.
Unfortunately, the injury bug has already hit. Kim tore a tendon in his finger in January and will probably sit out a couple of months. The Braves began spring training by announcing Spencer Schwellenbach will sit out at least two months because of bone spurs in his elbow. Sean Murphy was already set to sit out the start of the season, which necessitated the Heim signing. And while the improved bench will help, the Braves need some of the returning starters to up their performances.
Key additions: RHP Hunter Dobbins, RHP Dustin May, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Ryne Stanek, RHP/LHP Jurrangelo Cijntje, LHP Brandon Clarke
Key departures: RHP Sonny Gray, INF Brendan Donovan, 1B Willson Contreras, 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP Miles Mikolas
Well, it’s done: The rebuild, the revamp, the step back — whatever you want to call it — is officially complete. The only players older than 30 on the 40-man roster are relievers Riley O’Brien and Stanek. The farm system has been improved, with five top-100 prospects led by infielder JJ Wetherholt, a top Rookie of the Year candidate for 2026. The payroll has been trimmed some $45 million from 2025, so that will make owner Bill DeWitt happy, although the organization will have to win back the fans with better results — eventually — on the field.
If you accept the premise of rebuilding, then Chaim Bloom did an excellent job. Improving the long-term viability of the rotation was the biggest need and Bloom did that with two separate trades with his old friends in Boston and then the Donovan deal. Dobbins and Fitts are more fourth/fifth-starter types, and Cijntje and Clarke are power arms with higher ceilings but reliever risk. They were two of the better prospects to switch teams this winter. What we don’t know: With a payroll now half of what it was just two years ago, where will the Cardinals go in the future?
Key additions: 3B Alex Bregman, LHP Shota Imanaga accepted a qualifying offer, RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Phil Maton, LHP Hoby Milner, RHP Hunter Harvey
Key departures: RF Kyle Tucker, OF Owen Caissie, RHP Brad Keller, LHP Drew Pomeranz, RHP Andrew Kittredge, 1B Justin Turner
Swooping in to sign Bregman to a five-year deal was a bit of a surprise considering how well Matt Shaw had played in the second half, but it was an aggressive play by a front office looking to guide the Cubs to their first full-season division title since 2017. From a value standpoint, Bregman won’t quite replace what Tucker provided (or will provide for the Dodgers), but Bregman is less expensive and provides intangibles that Tucker didn’t.
The Caissie-for-Cabrera deal was another aggressive move, trading six years of Caissie and his power potential for three years of Cabrera, an injury-prone-but-talented starter. The Cubs needed another strikeout pitcher for the rotation, so this feels like a worthy gamble. If Cabrera and Cade Horton can both stay healthy and provide close to 60 starts, combined with the eventual return of Justin Steele, the rotation will be much better than the FanGraphs projection that ranks it 19th in the majors.
Keller and Pomeranz were both superb in 2025, so the swap to Maton and Milner is a downgrade, leaving the bullpen a little shaky and lowering the overall grade. The payroll is up about $25 million from 2025, but only up a few million from 2024. It’s an interesting year for the Cubs: Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Jameson Taillon and Imanaga are all heading to free agency, so this core group that has been together for a few years now probably will be broken up after the season. That perhaps puts more urgency into 2026.
Key additions: 2B Brandon Lowe, DH Marcell Ozuna, 1B Ryan O’Hearn, LHP Mike Montgomery, OF Jake Mangum, LHP Gregory Soto, OF Jhostynxon Garcia
Key departures: RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Johan Oviedo, DH Andrew McCutchen
The Pirates hit 31 fewer home runs than any other team last season, so adding power was the offseason priority. They tried to go big — reportedly offering Kyle Schwarber a $125 million deal, and then making a run at Eugenio Suarez — but ended up settling for a couple of second-tier free agents in Ozuna and O’Hearn. Signing Ozuna probably cements a bit of an ugly split with McCutchen, who still wants to play, but Ozuna does project as an upgrade at DH. Garcia is a 23-year-old who comes from Boston and should compete for a starting job in the outfield. Is it enough to make the Pirates interesting? Maybe, although trading both Burrows and Oviedo thins the rotation depth, which means rookie Bubba Chandler will have to assume a significant role — and a number of innings — behind Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller.
Key additions: 2B Luis Arraez, RHP Tyler Mahle, RHP Adrian Houser, CF Harrison Bader, LHP Sam Hentges
Key departures: RHP Justin Verlander, 1B/DH Wilmer Flores
Individually, all of these moves make sense in addressing holes from 2025. The Giants needed more offense at second base and Arraez should provide league-average production, although with a hit on defense. Bader upgrades the defense in center field, although he is unlikely to repeat his offensive numbers. Mahle and Houser provide rotation depth, although Mahle hasn’t made more than 23 starts since 2021 and Houser’s 2025 numbers might be a fluke. In the big picture, it feels like a bunch of … well, 81-81 moves from an 81-81 team. That leaves the most fascinating move the Giants (or, arguably, any team) made all offseason — hiring University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello, who has no professional playing or coaching experience, as the manager.
Key additions: RHP Nick Martinez, 2B/OF Gavin Lux, OF Jacob Melton, OF Cedric Mullins, OF Jake Fraley, LHP Steven Matz, 3B Ben Williamson
Key departures: 2B Brandon Lowe, RHP Shane Baz, RHP Pete Fairbanks, OF Josh Lowe, LHP Mason Montgomery, OF Christopher Morel, OF Jake Mangum
Not listed above: the prospects obtained in the Baz and two Lowe trades. Let’s just say we trust the Rays’ ability to pinpoint prospects from other teams. Their outfielders ranked last in the majors with only 29 home runs while ranking 26th in OPS, so the Rays attempted to address that, even if it’s throwing the whole kitchen sink and garbage disposal at the problem. Melton is a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder with questions about his bat. Mullins hit 17 home runs but has a .303 OBP over the past three seasons. Fraley is a useful fourth outfielder. Is it a better group? We’ll see. A better team? Let me know how many starts Shane McClanahan makes.
Key additions: DH Kyle Schwarber (re-signed), C J.T. Realmuto (re-signed), RHP Brad Keller, RF Adolis Garcia
Key departures: LHP Ranger Suarez, LHP Matt Strahm, OF Nick Castellanos, OF Harrison Bader
The Phillies did what they had to do in re-signing Schwarber and Realmuto, otherwise they would have had gaping holes at DH and catcher. Keller essentially replaces Strahm while Garcia is Castellanos with better defense. More notable is what they didn’t do: sign a pitcher to replace Suarez or get more aggressive to perhaps mix things up a bit in a lineup that hasn’t hit in the past two postseasons. The Phillies are still good, but you can’t help but wonder if they need to be a little bit different.
Key additions: OF Owen Caissie, RHP Pete Fairbanks, OF Christopher Morel
Key departures: RHP Edward Cabrera, LHP Ryan Weathers, 1B Eric Wagaman, OF Dane Myers
Though the Marlins fell only four wins short of the playoffs last year, a run differential of minus-89 suggested they might not be ready to chase a playoff berth, so Peter Bendix, president of baseball operations, instead traded two starting pitchers for slugging outfield prospect Caissie and four prospects from the Yankees. On the surface, the Marlins depleted a rotation that ranked 26th in ERA and left Sandy Alcantara and Janson Junk as the only two pitchers who threw more than 100 innings in 2025.
On the other hand, cashing in now on Cabrera and Weathers, two pitchers who have been both inconsistent and injury prone, makes sense. Caissie is a bit of a divisive prospect, but he hit 22 home runs in 99 games in Triple-A last year. If Thomas White and Robby Snelling — No. 18 and No. 47 on the top-100 prospects list — can contribute significant innings at the major league level, the rotation might be OK anyway. Both reached Triple-A in 2025 and posted big strikeout rates in the minors, so both look close to ready. If Caissie produces, maybe the Marlins can contend for a wild-card berth after all.
Key additions: OF Cody Bellinger (re-signed), OF Trent Grisham accepted a qualifying offer, 1B Paul Goldschmidt (re-signed), INF Amed Rosario (re-signed), LHP Ryan Weathers
Key departures: RHP Devin Williams, RHP Luke Weaver
General manager Brian Cashman elected to bring back the same roster as 2025, other than his two late-inning relievers. Once Grisham accepted a qualifying offer, that kind of limited Cashman’s ability to do something different, since New York really wanted to re-sign Bellinger. The Yankees were patient, eventually getting him to return on a five-year, $162.5 million contract. Bellinger might not repeat his 5.1-WAR season, but his pull approach is perfect for Yankee Stadium and his defensive versatility a plus. Though this seems to block Jasson Dominguez, it was the situation last year and he still had 429 plate appearances.
Though it’s essentially the same roster that lost in the ALDS to the Blue Jays, remember all the trade deadline moves the Yankees had made: Ryan McMahon, Jose Caballero, David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Rosario. The Yankees went 34-19 over the final two months with that revamped roster — a 104-win pace. The key to that will be surviving the start of the season without Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole, plus a bullpen I’m not completely sold on. As with the Phillies, it’s usually a little dangerous to bring back the same roster, but the Yankees clearly project as one of the best teams in baseball once again — and, who knows, maybe this is the year Aaron Judge gets hot in the postseason.
Key additions: LHP MacKenzie Gore, LF Brandon Nimmo, C Danny Jansen, RHP Jakob Junis, RHP Chris Martin (re-signed)
Key departures: 2B Marcus Semien, RF Adolis Garcia, C Jonah Heim, RHP Tyler Mahle, RHP Merrill Kelly, LHP Patrick Corbin, RHP Shawn Armstrong, LHP Hoby Milner, RHP Jon Gray
The Rangers emphatically moved on from the 2023 World Series team, non-tendering Garcia and Heim while flipping Semien for Nimmo. Those moves were as much about performance as saving money as Garcia and Heim both posted .271 OBPs and Semien had his worst season in 2025 since joining the Rangers. In the Semien-for-Nimmo exchange, the Rangers traded three years of Semien for five years of Nimmo, saving a few million in AAV but not really improving the team, while taking on a contract that will probably be dead weight by the end of it. The Gore trade could be a big plus, trading four second-tier prospects for a high-ceiling pitcher, which Gore reached in the first half of 2025 before faltering. The Rangers lost a bunch of starts and the bullpen lost two productive arms in Armstrong and Milner, but the top three of Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Gore should give Texas a puncher’s chance.
Key additions: RHP Zac Gallen (re-signed), RHP Merrill Kelly, 3B Nolan Arenado, 1B Carlos Santana, RHP Michael Soroka, RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Kade Strowd
Key departures: INF Blaze Alexander, OF Jake McCarthy
The recent re-signing of Gallen helped boost the final mark a full grade. Gallen, encumbered by the qualifying offer the Diamondbacks gave him, didn’t get the multiyear deal he anticipated and went back to Arizona on a one-year deal for the qualifying offer amount — except $14 million of the $22.025 will be deferred. Gallen had his worst season in 2025 with a 4.83 ERA and 31 home runs allowed, but he did pitch 192 innings, so he’ll at least bring some stability to a rotation that needs those innings. The Diamondbacks brought back Kelly after trading him at the trade deadline and ended up keeping Ketel Marte, which is certainly a huge plus for their 2026 outlook.
But the additions of Arenado (OPS+ of 87) and Santana (OPS+ of 77) are uninspiring, two below-average veteran hitters on their last legs. They’re paying Arenado only $5 million of his $27 million salary this year and then $6 million in 2027, and Santana just $2 million, but the pair won’t help an offense that finished fourth in the National League in runs scored (and even that was with Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor in the lineup for two-thirds of the season). With Corbin Carroll suddenly in danger of missing Opening Day, the lineup is reliant on Geraldo Perdomo replicating his top-10 MVP season and Marte staying on the field. Throw in a messy bullpen situation and Arizona will need Gallen and Kelly to turn the clock back to 2023.
Key additions: RHP Brandon Woodruff accepted a qualifying offer, SS/CF Jett Williams, RHP Brandon Sproat, LHP Kyle Harrison, LHP Shane Drohan, LHP Angel Zerpa, C Gary Sanchez, INF David Hamilton
Key departures: RHP Freddy Peralta, 3B Caleb Durbin, OF Isaac Collins, LHP Jose Quintana, 1B Rhys Hoskins, RHP Nick Mears, INF Andruw Monasterio, RHP Tobias Myers
This is the most difficult team to grade. On the one hand, I hate — hate! — that dealing Peralta and Durbin makes the Brewers less likely to win a World Series in 2026. They traded away their staff ace, a guy who finished fifth in the Cy Young voting last season, and a young infielder who finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. And though they have a bunch of infielders in the pipeline, they now have a hole at third base for 2026.
On the other hand, the Brewers acquired a lot of interesting arms in the trades, with Sproat, Harrison and Drohan all potentially factoring into the rotation in 2026. Williams has never played third base and hit .209 after a promotion to Triple-A last year, but he’s the No. 32 prospect in the game and maybe elevates his game and takes over the position. If they can get 50-to-60 starts from Woodruff and Jacob Misiorowski, and a couple of the new starters step up — and certainly the Brewers’ track record with developing pitchers is as good as any team’s — then the rotation might be fine, even without Peralta and Quintana. In the end, I’m going to split the difference and give this a C, while acknowledging this could all work out in both the short term and long term.
Key additions: OF Isaac Collins, LHP Matt Strahm, RHP Nick Mears, LHP Bailey Falter (re-signed), OF Kameron Misner, OF Lane Thomas
Key departures: OF Mike Yastrzemski, LHP Angel Zerpa, 2B Adam Frazier, RHP Michael Lorenzen, RHP Taylor Clarke
Kansas City outfielders hit a miserable .225/.285/.348 last season, which isn’t going to work if the Royals want to return to the postseason. They acquired Collins from the Brewers after he hit .263/.368/.411 and finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, but he was a 27-year-old rookie, so there isn’t any growth potential there — more likely some regression. Still, if he can get on base at a reasonable clip, he’ll give the Royals the leadoff hitter they lacked a season ago. Thomas hasn’t been good since 2023, so it’s unclear why the Royals would give him $5.25 million coming off a season in which he hit .160. Call it a ho-hum offseason that gets a boost with the underrated Maikel Garcia signing an extension that runs through 2031.
Key additions: 3B/1B Munetaka Murakami, 2B/OF Luisangel Acuna, OF Austin Hays, LHP Anthony Kay, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, LHP Sean Newcomb, RHP Erick Fedde
Key departures: CF Luis Robert Jr., OF Mike Tauchman
I love the Murakami gamble. Look, he’s going to strike out a ton and maybe he flops because of that, but there’s also 40-homer potential, so it’s a worthwhile risk for a team that needs power, especially at just two years and $34 million. Acuna — yes, general manager Chris Getz finally realized he’s not a switch-hitter — was hyped as a prospect but looks like a bench player. Kay, a former Blue Jays pitcher, is a sleeper signing after a good season in Japan.
But what doesn’t make sense is that the White Sox failed to supplement the Murakami signing with more help on offense other than Hays. If Murakami does turn into a star, then he’s a free agent in two years. Have you added enough to win in that short window? The payroll remains under $100 million. You’d think an 89-year-old owner might have a little more urgency to win, but alas, go ahead and yell at the Dodgers.
Key additions: RHP Tatsuya Imai, RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Ryan Weiss, SS Nick Allen, OF Joey Loperfido
Key departures: LHP Framber Valdez, INF/OF Mauricio Dubon, OF Jacob Melton, C Victor Caratini, OF Jesus Sanchez
With Valdez leaving in free agency and Ronel Blanco, Brandon Walter and Hayden Wesneski all gone for most or all of the season after Tommy John surgeries, the Astros’ priority was the rotation. Imai signed for three years and $54 million — or about half of the three-year, $115 million deal that Valdez eventually signed with the Tigers. That’s right in line with the projections that see Imai as about half as valuable as Valdez. Burrows comes over from the Pirates, where he had a 3.94 ERA as a rookie in 19 starts, so that looks like a nice pickup. Weiss never reached the majors with the Diamondbacks or Royals but had a big year in Korea and could factor in the rotation as well.
All of that is fine, but the Astros didn’t address an offense that scored 30 fewer runs than the AL average. A healthy Yordan Alvarez will help, but the third base logjam with Carlos Correa and Isaac Paredes still exists — and even if Paredes turns into a sort of utility guy, it’s a poor use of resources. Maybe that trade is still to come as, after swapping Sanchez for Loperfido, general manager Dana Brown said, “We’re not done.” The Sanchez trade saves about $6 million, so the payroll sits about $15 million below the first tax threshold.
Key additions: C Harry Ford, LHP Foster Griffin, INF Gavin Fien, INF Devin Fitz-Gerald
Key departures: LHP MacKenzie Gore, LHP Jose A. Ferrer
The Nationals have a new regime: 35-year-old president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, 31-year-old general manager Anirudh Kilambi and 33-year-old manager Blake Butera. They inherit a young team that’s still rebuilding — or, perhaps more apt, rebuilding again after that last rebuild didn’t take. They made two significant trades, both of which I liked: Gore for a prospect package, including Fien, the Rangers’ first-round pick in 2025; and reliever Ferrer for a potential starting catcher in Ford. Griffin is a lottery ticket, coming off a 1.69 ERA in Japan. It’s probably the right approach to this offseason, and maybe CJ Abrams is eventually traded as well, but at some point the Nationals have to spend some money to win.
Key additions: RHP Michael King (re-signed), OF/DH Miguel Andujar, INF Sung-Mun Song, OF/DH Nick Castellanos, RHP Griffin Canning
Key departures: RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Robert Suarez, 1B Luis Arraez, DH Ryan O’Hearn
This is when all those mega-contracts are starting to limit what the Padres can do as the payroll is still up $8 million despite just the one major offseason signing in bringing back King. They’ll get Castellanos for the league minimum, with the Phillies picking up the remainder of his $20 million salary. Will he help an offense that ranked 28th in home runs in 2025? He’ll have to hit better than the .250/.294/.400 he produced for the Phillies. Castellanos and Andujar are essentially fighting for DH at-bats with Castellanos maybe getting some time as a fourth outfielder, which isn’t necessarily a good thing given his defense. He had minus-0.8 WAR with the Phillies; I’m not sure he’s going to help much. Losing Cease, Suarez, Arraez and deadline pickup O’Hearn is a blow to the Padres’ overall depth. Yes, they’ll have Mason Miller for the full season, so they can manage the loss of Suarez in the bullpen, but given the lack of power, they’re going to have to ride that bullpen again.
Key additions: 3B/DH Eugenio Suarez, RHP Emilio Pagan (re-signed), RHP Pierce Johnson, LHP Caleb Ferguson, LHP Brock Burke, OF JJ Bleday, OF Dane Myers
Key departures: RHP Nick Martinez, OF Austin Hays, 2B/OF Gavin Lux, RHP Zack Littell, LHP Taylor Rogers, LHP Brent Suter
Though the Reds will enter 2026 with the highest payroll in club history (although only a few million more than they spent more than a decade ago), this is mostly a reshuffling of the deck chairs, especially in the bullpen. There is the one-year deal for Suarez (with a mutual option for 2027), who should serve as the regular DH, where the Reds ranked 22nd in OPS (.722) and tied for 21st in home runs (21). Suarez clubbed 49 home runs between Arizona and Seattle last season, but the $15 million deal he received suggests there wasn’t much belief across the league that he can do it again.
Bleday and Myers join a crowded outfield picture but one that doesn’t project well: 24th in FanGraphs WAR in left field, 24th in center and 30th in right. Look, the Reds will be fun to watch with their rotation, and if rookie Sal Stewart and a healthy Elly De La Cruz (he played through a strained quadriceps in 2025, which helps explain his power decline in the second half) both hit for power, a return to the playoffs is possible even if this offseason didn’t improve those chances all that much.
Key additions: LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, OF Willi Castro, RHP Michael Lorenzen, 2B Edouard Julien, OF Jake McCarthy, LHP Brennan Bernardino
Key departures: RHP German Marquez, INF Kyle Farmer, 1B Michael Toglia, 2B Thairo Estrada
The 2025 Rockies were one of the worst teams in modern major league history, a team that found every way imaginable to lose games, so I’m not exactly sure what they were supposed to do. The most important moves of their offseason had nothing to do with on-the-field personnel, but the hiring of Paul DePodesta as president of baseball operations and Josh Byrnes as general manager. They will have to modernize the front office and the player development system and then worry about building a competitive roster.
To that end, most of these signings and minor trades are simply to make the Rockies less of a disaster. Quintana has slowly been draining runs, with his ERA rising each year since 2022: 2.93, 3.57, 3.75, 3.96. Maybe he pitches well enough to be traded at the deadline. Sugano gave up a league-high 33 home runs in 157 innings with the Orioles last season and doesn’t strike out guys. Good luck with that. As for DePodesta, he spent the past decade with the … Cleveland Browns. Not exactly a decade of success for the Browns. Byrnes spent the past 11 years with the Dodgers. Hopefully he brings along some of the secret sauce.
Key additions: RHP Shawn Armstrong
Key departures: RHP Emmanuel Clase, RHP Luis Ortiz
How do you grade this offseason? Cleveland hasn’t added one major league hitter despite hitting .226 and scoring the fewest runs in the AL last season. Even for a team that you don’t expect to spend any money, that’s inexcusable (we’re blaming the owner here, not the front office). The only thing rescuing this offseason is the contract extension to Jose Ramirez, which the Guardians billed as a seven-year extension. That’s misleading, as he was already signed through 2028, so it’s really just an additional four years — with thanks to Ramirez again taking a hometown discount.
By the way, Larry Dolan bought the franchise in 2000 for $323 million. His son, Paul, is now the club chairman, with Forbes estimating the franchise worth at $1.55 billion. Cleveland last won the World Series in 1948. Their payroll is about $20 million less than in 2025.
Key additions: 2B Jeff McNeil, RHP Aaron Civale, RHP Mark Leiter Jr., 3B Andy Ibanez
Key departures: LHP Sean Newcomb
Well, I’m sure those blueprints of the new ballpark in Vegas are pretty to view. Meanwhile, after an impressive final three months that saw the A’s go 41-34 with a plus-56 run differential, they didn’t do anything except adding some low-value veterans. This isn’t on general manager David Forst, of course, but on owner John Fisher, although I’m sure he will point to a $16 million payroll increase as his personal sacrifice. The good news here is that left-handers Jamie Arnold, the first-round pick in 2025 out of Florida State, and Gage Jump, a second-round choice in 2024 from LSU, could both join the rotation at some point. But the bullpen will not only need someone to step up as the closer, it also lacks proven late-game leverage. A couple of significant signings there would have been a huge plus.
Key additions: OF Josh Lowe, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, RHP Kirby Yates, LHP Drew Pomeranz, LHP Brent Suter, RHP Jordan Romano, 3B Yoan Moncada (re-signed), RHP Alek Manoah
Key departures: LF Taylor Ward, LHP Tyler Anderson, RHP Kenley Jansen, RHP Kyle Hendricks, 2B Luis Rengifo
One thing about the Angels: They always do something. They’re also the franchise that prefers to play in quicksand rather than just enjoying a nice day at the beach — every move just seems to sink them a little bit deeper. The Angels have 10 non-arbitration players under contract for 2026. The ages of those 10 players range from 31 to 39. You’re not going to win with that, unless you have a superstar group of young players, which the Angels don’t have. What’s even more amusing is the list of players signed to minor league contracts: Jose Siri, Jeimer Candelario, Hunter Strickland, Trey Mancini, Nick Madrigal. There’s no harm in giving those players a look, but, as always, it just raises the question: What is the plan here?
Key additions: 1B Josh Bell, C Victor Caratini
Key departures: President of baseball operations Derek Falvey
Words you never want to hear: Tom Pohlad intends to be active in the day-to-day operations of the Twins. Pohlad took over as point man in December from his brother, after the Pohlad family decided to keep its majority interest in the franchise (bringing in new limited partners instead of selling). That eventually led to the mutual departure at the end of January of Falvey, the team’s president of baseball and business operations (i.e. the head baseball guy since 2017). The Twins have talent here, but we’re grading the offseason, not their chances of winning. Their payroll is down more than $50 million from 2024.