The Opener: Opening Day Part 3, Hoerner, Team Debuts
With the 2026 season now underway, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. Opening Day Part 3:
Most teams have already had their first game of the season, but a handful of clubs are only just now getting the Opening Day experience. The season begins today for fans of the A’s, Blue Jays, Rockies, Marlins, Royals, and Braves. The game between Kansas City and Atlanta is particularly exciting, given the impressive pitching matchup between a pair of excellent left-handers: Kansas City’s Cole Ragans and Atlanta’s Chris Sale. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm local time in Atlanta. Both Ragans and Sale missed time last year to injury, but the former has a 3.52 ERA in his last 45 starts while Sale has been even more impressive with a 2.46 ERA in 50 appearances.
2. Hoerner extension details incoming:
The Cubs and second baseman Nico Hoerner got together on a six-year extension last night. It’s the second six-year extension they’ve signed this week after star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong agreed to a $115MM deal. The financial details of Hoerner’s contract aren’t yet known but should come to light in short order. Hoerner would’ve been among the top free agents in this year’s class had he tested the open market after this season. It does bring about questions about the future of Matt Shaw on the Cubs’ roster, as Hoerner and new third baseman Alex Bregman are now both locked into the Chicago infield for the foreseeable future, leaving Shaw without a position.
3. Starters suiting up for new teams:
A pair of starters will be making their debuts with their new teams Friday. Tigers fans will get their first look at southpaw Framber Valdez, who’ll take on right-hander Michael King and the Padres. King is coming off an injury-marred 2025 season but is one of the most effective arms in the sport when healthy, while Valdez posted a 3.66 ERA with a 3.37 FIP in 192 innings of work last year.
Fans of Valdez’s former club in Houston will be getting their first look at right-hander Mike Burrows, who came to the ‘Stros from the Pirates in the three-team trade that sent Jacob Melton to Tampa Bay and Brandon Lowe to Pittsburgh. Burrows, 26, made 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Pirates last year and posted a 3.94 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate in 96 innings. He’s gearing up for his first full big league season and will get started with tonight’s game against Yusei Kikuchi and the Angels.
Poll: Who Will Win The NL East?
With the first game of the 2026 season already in the rearview mirror, the offseason is now complete for MLB’s 30 teams. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we have been conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East, and the Tigers did the same in our poll on the AL Central, and the Mariners were predicted to win the AL West. In the NL West, the Dodgers predictably came out on top, while the the Cubs won a plurality (42%) of the votes in the NL Central. Today, we’ll round out this series of polls with a look at the NL East. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:
Philadelphia Phillies (96-66)
The Phillies won the NL East in dominant fashion last year, but repeating that feat figures to be a much taller order in 2026. That’s because Philadelphia’s biggest offseason moves were focused on the same core that they’ve used for the last several years. Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto re-signed. Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo signed extensions. But none of that meaningfully pushes the ball forward relative to 2025. There were some external additions of note, like Adolis Garcia and Brad Keller, but the Phillies seem very comfortable banking on youngsters like Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter to pick up the slack left by departing All-Stars Ranger Suarez and Nick Castellanos. Will that be enough to keep them at the top of the NL East?
New York Mets (83-79)
The Mets completely overhauled their entire organization this offseason after missing the playoffs by a hair in 2025. Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, and Jeff McNeil (among others) are gone. Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, Bo Bichette, Devin Williams and Luis Robert Jr. (among others) have arrived to replace them. The result is a completely overhauled lineup that offers the potential for a very impressive offense on paper but comes with real defensive questions as Bichette and Polanco are set to be tasked with learning new positions. With that said, the team’s biggest addition of the winter is surely Freddy Peralta, who will lead a rotation that also stands to get a full season from Nolan McLean this year. It was an unorthodox retool of the roster in Queens this offseason, but this year’s team built around Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor certainly has a chance to be a lot stronger than the one they leaned on last season.
Miami Marlins (79-83)
The Marlins surprised baseball fans in 2025 by nearly making it all the way back to .500, but that wasn’t enough to convince president of baseball operations Peter Bendix to call off the rebuild early. Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers were shipped out the door, while the team’s additions were fairly modest. Owen Caissie joined the team as part of the Cabrera trade return and could be a 30-homer bat in right field, mirroring 2025 All-Star Kyle Stowers in left once the latter is healthy, but a team relying on Christopher Morel at first base and Chris Paddack to be your big free agent additions to the lineup and rotation doesn’t offer much reason for optimism about the club’s division chances. Pete Fairbanks was a strong addition to the bullpen, but Miami will need a big rebound from Sandy Alcantara plus significant steps forward from youngsters like Connor Norby, Max Meyer, and Agustin Ramirez if they’re going to compete for the East.
Atlanta Braves (76-86)
No team in baseball had a more disappointing season last year than the Braves. Virtually everything went wrong in Atlanta last season, as the entire roster struggled with injuries and under-performance outside of a few bright spots like Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson. The good news for Atlanta is, they still have a very talented core on paper. Ronald Acuna Jr. is a superstar with an MVP award on his mantle. Chris Sale is a future Hall of Famer. Spencer Strider and Austin Riley are certainly capable of bouncing back. Additions like Robert Suarez and Mike Yastrzemski should be helpful, though Ha-Seong Kim is starting the season on the injured list after signing on to be their starting shortstop. The bones of a great team are certainly present, but it’s anyone’s guess whether Atlanta can perform up to that level this year.
Washington Nationals (66-96)
The Nationals enter 2026 with little reason for hope in the short-term. James Wood looks like a budding superstar, but MacKenzie Gore has been traded and CJ Abrams could follow suit later this year. Offseason additions like Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas in the rotation should help to eat innings but neither offers substantial upside. Fans in D.C. could hope for big years from players like Wood, Abrams, Cade Cavalli and Brady House, but even with those things going right, the best case scenario would be convincing newly-minted president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to try and make a more substantial effort to compete next year. It would take a minor miracle to get the Nationals into the postseason for 2026, much less as the champions of the NL East.
How do MLBTR readers think the NL East will play out this year? Will the Phillies hang on to win it again despite running it back? Will the Mets’ massive retool work out? Or will a team like the Marlins or Braves surprise and take the crown for themselves? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win the NL East in 2026?
-
Philadelphia Phillies 40% (2,316)
-
New York Mets 33% (1,894)
-
Atlanta Braves 21% (1,198)
-
Washington Nationals 4% (212)
-
Miami Marlins 3% (152)
Total votes: 5,772
The Opener: Opening Day Part 2, O’Neill, Mets
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world as the 2026 season fully gets underway:
1. Opening Day Part 2:
While the 2026 season officially kicked off last night with the Yankees’ 7-0 romp over the Giants, most of the league will be starting its season today. Thursday’s games kick off at 1:15pm ET, when the Pirates take on the Mets in New York. Games will continue throughout the day before wrapping up with the Guardians facing the Mariners at 7:10pm PT in Seattle, nearly nine hours after the first game of the day. Just one matchup between division rivals is scheduled, as the Diamondbacks head to L.A. for a series against the reigning World Series Champion Dodgers.
2. Will O’Neill continue his streak?
Opening Day brings about many things each year: the start of a new baseball season, room for optimism for almost every fan base in the majors… and an opportunity for Tyler O’Neill to continue one of the wildest streaks in baseball. O’Neill has hit home runs on Opening Day for six consecutive years now, having started his streak as a member of the Cardinals in 2020 and carried through his trip through Boston and into his arrival with Baltimore. Today, he’ll look to continue that streak with the Orioles in their game against the Twins, which is scheduled for 3:05pm ET at Camden Yards. Twins ace Joe Ryan (3.42 ERA in 2025) will be on the mound for Minnesota and looking to build on his first All-Star campaign. Ryan surrendered homers on 12.1% of his fly balls both in 2025 and for his career so far, and gave up 26 total bombs last season. O’Neill is looking to rebound from an injury-wrecked season that saw him bat just .199/.292/.392 with nine home runs in 209 plate appearances.
3. Peralta to make first official Mets start:
Many fans already got a glimpse of right-hander Freddy Peralta in a Mets uniform during Spring Training, when he posted an impressive 2.70 ERA across ten frames. However, today’s matchup between the Mets and Pirates will be the first time Peralta starts a game that actually counts for his new club. His first assignment is a tough draw, as he’ll be battling reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes (1.97 ERA in 2025) while trying to suppress a new-look Pittsburgh lineup. Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds return, but this time they’re surrounded by a supporting cast of offseason additions like Marcell Ozuna, Brandon Lowe, and Ryan O’Hearn. It’s a big test for the Pirates’ offense out the gate, as Peralta finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting last year after firing 176 2/3 innings with a 2.70 ERA and a 28.2% strikeout rate.
Poll: Who Will Win The NL Central?
With the 2026 season set to begin today, the offseason is now complete for MLB’s 30 teams. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East, and the Tigers did the same in our poll on the AL Central, and the Mariners were predicted to win the AL West. Yesterday, MLBTR readers overwhelmingly voted (66%) to predict the Dodgers would win the NL West. Today, we’ll be moving on to the NL Central. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:
Milwaukee Brewers (97-65)
The Brewers were the best team in baseball by regular season record last year. While their close NLDS matchup against their division rivals from Chicago and a demoralizing sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the NLCS did little to answer questions about the club’s viability in October, they’ve won three straight division titles and haven’t finished a 162-game season with fewer than 86 wins since 2016. At some point, it becomes hard not to reward that consistency, and even after a winter where the club traded away Freddy Peralta, Isaac Collins, and Caleb Durbin without making any obviously impactful additions to the roster, it’s easy to imagine Milwaukee’s run of success continuing in 2026. Jackson Chourio is certainly capable of a breakout, and Jacob Misiorowski could make Brewers fans forget Peralta in a hurry if the flamethrowing righty takes a step forward.
Chicago Cubs (92-70)
The Cubs failed to win the division last season, lost to their division rivals in the ALDS, and watched superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker walk in free agency over the offseason. Despite all of that, however, Chicago is viewed by some around the game as the heavy favorite in the NL Central. That’s thanks to a busy offseason where they brought Alex Bregman into the organization and landed right-hander Edward Cabrera in trade. Those external additions, larger contributions from up-and-coming youngsters Moises Ballesteros and Cade Horton, and the healthy return of Justin Steele to the top of the club’s rotation should all help the Cubs make up for the loss of Tucker. The true x-factor for Chicago’s hopes in the division this year, however, will surely be the recently-extended Pete Crow-Armstrong. If he looks anything like he did in the first half of 2025, he should be in the MVP conversation and help lead the Cubs to new heights. If he’s more like his second half, however, the Cubs could find themselves on the outside looking in for what should be a competitive NL Central race this year.
Cincinnati Reds (83-79)
The Reds shocked many fans and analysts when they managed to squeak into the postseason last year, and this offseason saw them bring old friend Eugenio Suarez back into the fold to add some thump to a lineup that was lackluster for most of 2026. It was a strong addition to be sure, but the loss of both Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo for the start of the 2026 season will put a lot of pressure on young arms like Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Brandon Williamson to carry the team in the early parts of the season. If the team’s youngsters can do that until Greene returns to his spot at the top of the rotation, perhaps Suarez and Elly De La Cruz can create enough offense to get the Reds to the postseason in more convincing fashion this year.
St. Louis Cardinals (78-84)
The Cardinals finally executed their long-teased rebuild this offseason, dealing away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Arenado in the span of three months. The resulting team has plenty of reasons for hope in the future, including star prospect JJ Wetherholt, but for the time being, it’s hard to see this club as anything other than the obvious weak link in the NL Central. A banner rookie season from Wetherholt would need to be combined with big steps forward for players like Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Matthew Liberatore alongside a rebound for Dustin May if there’s going to be any hope of playoff baseball in St. Louis this year. That’s a tall order to say the least, but players like Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera at least look like solid building blocks for the future.
Pittsburgh Pirates (71-91)
The Pirates may have finished fifth in the NL Central last year, but it would be a shock to see them do so again in 2026. They’re a popular darkhorse pick to even take the division this year, and it’s not hard to see why. Reigning NL Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes might be the best pitcher on the planet, and he’s backed up by a strong rotation that also includes Bubba Chandler and Mitch Keller headed into 2026. Those pitchers will be supported by a completely rebuilt offense this year, as Brandon Lowe, Marcell Ozuna, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jake Mangum are all in place to help boost a lineup that relied on Spencer Horwitz, Oneil Cruz, and Bryan Reynolds as its middle of the order bats last year. A bullpen that lost David Bednar at last year’s trade deadline but added Gregory Soto over the winter comes with some questions, and the team’s defense seems likely to leave something to be desired, but this is easily the most competitive the Pirates have been in a decade.
How do MLBTR readers think the NL Central will shake out this year? Will Milwaukee’s dominance continue despite dealing away Peralta and others? Will the Cubs take that extra step even after losing Kyle Tucker? Have the Pirates or Reds done enough to bridge the gap and push themselves into the conversation? Or will the Cardinals’ expected rebuilding phase end before it even begins? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win the NL Central in 2026?
The Opener: Opening Day, Roster Moves, Extensions
Baseball is back! Here are three things for baseball fans to keep an eye on as the 2026 season gets underway:
1. Opening Day 2026:
The 2026 season kicks off this evening with a single game set to air on Netflix. The Yankees will head to San Francisco for a game against the Giants that’s set to begin at 5:05pm local time. Right-hander Logan Webb (4th in NL Cy Young voting last year) is poised to face off against southpaw Max Fried (4th in AL Cy Young voting last year). The Yankees didn’t make any real changes to their lineup over the winter, though they’ll be without injured shortstop Anthony Volpe, which will give Jose Caballero the Opening Day nod at shortstop. It’ll be the first Yankees Opening Day for Caballero and third baseman Ryan McMahon, both of whom were acquired at last year’s trade deadline. The Giants, meanwhile, added infielder Luis Arraez and center fielder Harrison Bader in free agency, and Wednesday will be Rafael Devers‘ first Opening Day with San Francisco following last year’s June acquisition.
2. Roster moves aplenty:
All 30 teams, not just the Yankees and Giants, need to get their rosters ready for Opening Day today. That means there will be plenty of roster moves to keep an eye on throughout the day. Veterans who opted out of minor league deals are signing new contracts, players are being selected to 40-man rosters and designated for assignment, injury list decisions are being made, and even a few trades are likely to take place. Keep an eye on MLBTR throughout the day for the latest on all the last-minute roster decisions and transactions around the league.
3. Extension season continues:
Yesterday, the Cubs and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong finalized a six-year extension that guarantees the All-Star $115MM. That’s only the most recent in a busy spring for extensions, with Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, and Chris Sale among those to have inked new contracts on the player side, while Ross Atkins, Oli Marmol, Pat Murphy, and A.J. Preller have all done so on the personnel side. Extension conversations tend to continue a bit beyond Opening Day, and that’ll likely be true in 2026. Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin and A’s catcher Shea Langeliers are among the young players whose teams could look to lock them up long-term. Pending free agents like Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner and Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta have been heavily discussed extension candidates but might be less likely to get a deal done with just seven months to go before free agency.
Phillies Extend Cristopher Sanchez
For the second time in less than two years, the Phillies have announced a contract extension with Cristopher Sanchez. The left-hander’s previous extension in June 2024 gave the team control over Sanchez’s services through the 2030 season, but this new contract now locks Sanchez into the fold through at least the 2032 season for $88MM in new money. Sanchez is represented by Mato Sports Management.
The new deal keeps Sanchez’s $3MM salary in place for the 2026 season and adds a $6MM signing bonus. He’ll also earn the $6MM in 2027 and the $9MM in 2028 that was promised to him under the terms of his old extension. The Phillies previously held a $14MM club option on Sanchez for 2029 and a $15MM club option for 2030, but those option years have now been guaranteed under the new extension at those prices. Sanchez will then earn $27MM in each of the 2031 and 2032 seasons, though $10MM is deferred each year. Philadelphia holds a $32.5MM club option for the 2033 campaign. The value of that option can increase based on Cy Young voting from 2027 to 2032, with $2MM for a win, $1MM for second or third place, $750K for fourth or fifth and $500K for sixth through tenth. A buyout would also attach to the option by the same criteria. That becomes a $10MM club option if Sanchez spends 130 consecutive days on the injured list in 2031 or 2032. Sanchez can also earn up to $13MM extra via incentive bonuses over the course of the contract.
Sanchez’s four-year, $22.5MM extension from June 2024 had already proven to be a huge bargain for the Phillies, as the southpaw continued to produce throughout the 2024 campaign and then took a step forward by finishing second in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2025. It would’ve been easy for the Phillies to sit back and continue benefiting from the surplus value created by the extension, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski took the long view towards Sanchez’s future in Philadelphia.
“We kind of assumed years four and five were a no-brainer as far as we were going to pick those up,” Dombrowski told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and other reporters. “So we couldn’t even imagine a scenario in which we wouldn’t. Now we start talking beyond that. And we thought that somebody of Cristopher’s stature, we’d rather get this done now, while he’s still at the age that makes sense for us.”
It naturally isn’t uncommon for teams to sign their stars to multiple extensions over the course of their careers, as we’ve seen recently with the Guardians and Jose Ramirez back in January or the Diamondbacks with Ketel Marte last year. Those deals weren’t quite the same as the Sanchez extension, however. Both Ramirez and Marte had more than a decade of MLB experience under their belt and had already played out significant portions of their initial team-friendly extensions. In addition, those teams had the motive of restructuring their star’s previous deal to include deferred money.
That’s not to say Sanchez is undeserving of his new payday, of course. After earning a trip to the All-Star Game in 2024, Sanchez cemented his ace status with a superb 2025 season. The lefty spun a 2.50 ERA with a 2.55 FIP in 202 innings of work, striking out 212 batters across 32 starts. He paired his 26.3% strikeout rate with a 5.5% walk rate and a 58.3% ground ball rate, giving him a lower SIERA than every qualified starter in the NL and the third-lowest in baseball behind Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet.
By measure of fWAR, Sanchez’s 2025 season was a top-20 campaign by a qualified starter since 2015, tied with Cy Young-winning campaigns by future Hall of Famers like Chris Sale (2024), Max Scherzer (2017), and Justin Verlander (2019). Sanchez ultimately finished second behind Paul Skenes in Cy Young voting last year, but nonetheless established himself as among the upper-echelon of starters in today’s game with that performance.
Clearly, the Phillies are betting on Sanchez to age well like those other elite arms did by signing him to a big-money extension for his mid-thirties. Philadelphia has been unafraid of signing players well past their prime years previously, as shown by the fact that Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are under contract through their age-37 seasons, while Jesus Luzardo‘s new contract extension includes a club option for his age-34 campaign.
With this new contract, Sanchez joins Luzardo (2032 club option) and Trea Turner (contract guaranteed through 2033) as the only three players under team control beyond the expiration of Bryce Harper‘s contract in 2031. This restructured contract for Sanchez could be an interesting data point for Harper and agent Scott Boras, as the two-time MVP and future Hall of Famer has previously publicly expressed a desire to extend or restructure his contract with Philadelphia to keep him in town beyond the 2031 campaign. Of course, those previous attempts were before this past offseason’s comments from Dave Dombrowski critical of Harper that drew the superstar’s ire, prompting trade speculation that Dombrowski later firmly shut down.
Sanchez’s extension was first reported by FanSided’s Robert Murray. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported the total of money involved in the deal, while Francys Romero of Beisbol FR had the details about the performance incentives and Ronald Blum of The Associated Press provided all the financial details.
Inset photo courtesy of Bill Streicher — Imagn Images
Poll: Who Will Win The NL West?
With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB’s 30 clubs and teams. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East, and the Tigers did the same in our poll on the AL Central. Yesterday, MLBTR readers overwhelmingly voted (66%) to predict the Mariners would win the AL West. Today, we’ll be moving on to the National League, starting with the NL West. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:
Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69)
The Dodgers may have not even qualified for a playoff bye last year, but their dominant performance during the postseason quelled any doubt about the club being the class of the National League. Los Angeles did not rest on its laurels this offseason, adding two more superstars: outfielder Kyle Tucker and closer Edwin Diaz. That duo levels up a roster that already sports Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Mookie Betts among many other high-end players. As has become the norm, the Dodgers enter 2026 as the overwhelming favorite to win the division, although their aging and injury-prone core will surely start showing cracks at some point. Will this year be that year?
San Diego Padres (90-72)
On paper, the Padres might look to some as if they’re more likely to miss the playoffs entirely than overtake the Dodgers in the NL West. The silver living for San Diego, then, is that this was also true headed into the 2025 season. Despite that narrative, the Padres managed to spend much of the summer in a virtual tie with Los Angeles, and they were in sole possession of first place as late as August 23. This year, they’ll look to defy the odds once again with a patchwork rotation that offers little certainty outside of Nick Pivetta and a lineup that wasn’t substantially improved over the offseason. The biggest additions to San Diego relative to last year, in all likelihood, will be full seasons from star closer Mason Miller and veteran outfielder Ramon Laureano.
San Francisco Giants (81-81)
After a splashy trade for Rafael Devers last June, the Giants ended up selling at last year’s trade deadline. Their efforts to get back in the playoff hunt for 2026 this winter were more complementary than impactful. Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser join a rotation that lost Justin Verlander. The lineup added a glove-first outfielder in Harrison Bader and a bat-first infielder in Luis Arraez. Still, the team looks solid on paper. Those additions leave the San Francisco offense without many obvious holes, and the rotation sports one of the game’s best starters in Logan Webb plus a former Cy Young winner in Robbie Ray. Perhaps the biggest question facing the Giants this year is in the bullpen. San Francisco traded Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval last July and lost Randy Rodriguez to Tommy John surgery in September. None have been replaced. That could leave the club bleeding runs in the late innings without big steps forward from players like Erik Miller and Jose Butto.
Arizona Diamondbacks (80-82)
Just about everything that could go wrong on the pitching side did so for the Diamondbacks last year. Zac Gallen had the worst season of his career. Corbin Burnes, Justin Martinez, and A.J. Puk all underwent elbow surgery. Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez had seasons to forget. Their team is weaker on paper headed into 2026 than it was in 2025, as their big offseason additions were reunions with Gallen and Merrill Kelly, plus additions at the infield corners (Carlos Santana and Nolan Arenado) won’t match the offensive output of those positions’ previous occupants (Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez). Even so, Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll are legitimate superstars. Geraldo Perdomo might be one as well. If the team’s veteran pitchers can turn things around, perhaps the Diamondbacks could ride their strong offensive nucleus back into the postseason.
Colorado Rockies (43-119)
Following a 119-loss season in 2025, Colorado made some small moves under new front office boss Paul DePodesta but nothing that would truly move the needle. Jake McCarthy, Edouard Julien, Willi Castro, Michael Lorenzen, and Jose Quintana have certainly all had their fair share of success in the past, but each profiles as a complementary player at the best of times. Perhaps those moves working out plus steps forward from key pieces like Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar could help the Rockies avoid another 100-loss season, but a division title or Wild Card berth are both pipe dreams.
Who do MLBTR readers think will win the NL West? Have your say in the poll:
Who will win the NL West in 2026?
-
Los Angeles Dodgers 66% (2,924)
-
San Diego Padres 12% (523)
-
Colorado Rockies 10% (449)
-
San Francisco Giants 9% (403)
-
Arizona Diamondbacks 3% (138)
Total votes: 4,437
Nationals Return Rule 5 Pick Griff McGarry To Phillies
March 24th: The Phillies announced that McGarry is back in the organization and has been assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
March 22nd: The Nationals announced today that they’ve designated right-hander Griff McGarry for assignment. The move clears a spot for Jorbit Vivas on the 40-man roster, whose previously reported acquisition from the Yankees is now official. McGarry was the Nationals’ Rule 5 draft pick back in December and now will be available to any of the league’s other clubs who are willing to claim him with Rule 5 stipulations attached. If he goes unclaimed, he must be offered back to the Phillies for $50K. If the Phillies pass on reacquiring McGarry, he can be outrighted off the roster into the Nationals’ farm system.
McGarry, 26, was a fifth-round pick by the Phillies back in 2021 and got some top-100 prospect attention earlier in his career. That was before his career took a turn for the worse in 2023, when he posted an ugly 6.00 ERA in 17 starts thanks to lackluster command. Those command issues caused the organization to move McGarry to the bullpen for the 2024 season, but his already-high 18.5% walk rate from 2023 ballooned to a whopping 24.0% when he moved into a relief role. That led the Phillies to return the right-hander to the rotation for 2025, and he turned in decent numbers across 21 starts, most of which were at the Double-A level. He still walked too many batters, with 13.9% of his opponents getting a free pass, but he managed to make up for that elevated walk rate with a sensational 35.1% strikeout rate.
That improvement was enough for the Nationals to roll the dice on McGarry back in December, but his signature command issues once again resurfaced during Spring Training. While he managed a decent 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 innings of work, he walked (five) nearly as many batters as he struck out (six) in that time, leaving him with an 18.5% walk rate that would be difficult to justify carrying on a big league roster even for a rebuilding club. With optionable youngsters like Brad Lord and Ken Waldichuk capable of offering multi-inning relief with considerable upside and no Rule 5 restrictions, it’s not necessarily a surprising decision that the Nationals would opt for those arms rather than McGarry as they fill out their roster.
Should he go unclaimed on waivers, his upside is still considerable enough that it would be a surprise if the Phillies didn’t jump at the opportunity to reacquire him and continue his development throughout the 2026 campaign. Of course, it’s not impossible that he could be claimed; after all, McGarry was just the third-overall selection in the draft, meaning a number of teams later in the draft may well have considered drafting him themselves if he had fallen to them. Of course, it’s also a lot easier to draft a Rule 5 pick in December than it is to actually carry that player on their roster come March, so McGarry’s trip through the waiver wire will be one to watch over the coming days.
The Opener: Crow-Armstrong, McGonigle, Pena
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Crow-Armstrong extension details incoming:
The Cubs and star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong are finalizing a contract extension, but the deal has yet to be made official and the terms of the agreement are not yet reported. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports the deal is worth “more than double”the $66MM guarantee Crow-Armstrong was offered last year. That suggests a guarantee north of $132MM, and Nightengale goes on to write that the length of the deal will be “at least six years and perhaps as long as nine years.” More concrete information on the contract terms could become available as soon as today.
2. Will McGonigle make the Tigers?
Opening Day is just around the corner, meaning a number of major roster decisions need to be made around the league. Perhaps the biggest undecided call is in Detroit, where top prospect Kevin McGonigle could make the team as the club’s starting shortstop but has not yet received that assurance, with manager A.J. Hinch telling reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that they have not yet made a decision. McGonigle is the consensus No. 2 prospect in the game and certainly seemed ready during Spring Training, when he slashed .250/.423/.500 with more walks (11) than strikeouts (8) in 52 trips to the plate. A poll of MLBTR readers conducted just three weeks ago was fairly split on the matter, with 54% of respondents suggesting they expected McGonigle to break camp with the Tigers. Will he manage to do so, or will he head back to Triple-A and leave the shortstop position in the hands of Zach McKinstry and Javier Baez?
3. Pena status update:
Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters yesterday that star shortstop Jeremy Pena was undergoing testing after his pregame workout and could wind up getting at-bats in today if those tests go well (via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). That would be a big step for Pena, who suffered a finger fracture during the run-up to the World Baseball Classic earlier this month. That injury seemed to make a return to action by Opening Day an unlikely outcome, but the Astros at no point ruled Pena out for the start of the season and still not have done so with their first game just two days away. If Pena takes at-bats today and they go well, he could yet avoid a trip to the injured list. If the All-Star does wind up shelved to start the year, that would open the door to both Brice Matthews and Zach Cole making the roster.
Poll: Who Will Win The AL West?
With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB’s 30 clubs and teams. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East, while our readers overwhelmingly (58%) voted for the Tigers in our poll on the AL Central. Today, we’ll be moving on to the AL West. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:
Seattle Mariners (90-72)
Powered by an MVP-caliber season from star catcher Cal Raleigh, the Mariners surged ahead of the pack in the AL West last year and fell just one game short of reaching the World Series. Eugenio Suárez and Jorge Polanco departed via free agency, but the rest of that team is more or less intact. A rotation led by Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo figures to once again be among the very best in baseball, and they’ll be backed up by a bullpen that added lefty Jose A. Ferrer to pair with Andres Munoz and Matt Brash in high-leverage situations. The big addition to the offense is utilityman Brendan Donovan, who’ll primarily play third base and help lengthen a lineup featuring Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Josh Naylor, Randy Arozarena and breakout slugger Dominic Canzone. The offense could improve even more if young second baseman Cole Young and/or top prospect Colt Emerson prove they can be impact players in 2026, but it’s easy to make the argument that Seattle remains the most well-rounded team in the division even without those improvements.
Houston Astros (87-75)
The Astros missed the postseason for the first time since 2016 last year, and the team was not as aggressive as one might have expected this winter. That’s not to say the Astros were inactive. They replaced Framber Valdez at the top of the rotation with Tatsuya Imai and brought in Mike Burrows from the Pirates to add further depth to a rotation that was often held together by duct tape and bubblegum last year. Houston will bring back a nearly identical offense, only swapping Mauricio Dubon for Nick Allen and Jesus Sanchez for Joey Loperfido while going to internal backup Cesar Salazar as a replacement for Victor Caratini. The Astros explored trades of infielder Isaac Paredes and tried to get another left-handed bat, but they’ve come up empty to date. The uncertain health of closer Josh Hader only adds to the question marks facing Houston as they look to return to the top of this division.
Texas Rangers (81-81)
After a second consecutive disappointing season, the Rangers moved on from second baseman Marcus Semien, outfielder Adolis Garcia, and catcher Jonah Heim. Semien was traded to the Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who will take over right field following Garcia’s non-tender. Heim, also non-tendered, will be replaced by catcher Danny Jansen. Nimmo and Jansen should be upgrades over Heim and Garcia, though the team lost some positional depth by forcing Josh Smith into the everyday role at second base. The addition of MacKenzie Gore to an already talented rotation should allow the Rangers’ starters to once again be among the best in baseball, but they’ll need better health from Corey Seager and more production from Joc Pederson and Josh Jung if they’re going to compete for the division title this year.
The Athletics (76-86)
While it’s been a busy and exciting offseason for fans of the A’s, that excitement has mostly been focused on extensions. Long-term deals for Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson are encouraging for the long-term health of the franchise but don’t move the needle in 2026. The A’s added Jeff McNeil to help the offense at second base, and a full season of Nick Kurtz in the majors won’t hurt. Strong as the offense looks, the club’s lack of pitching additions for a roster that struggled to prevent runs even before losing Mason Miller at the trade deadline creates plenty of concern. They’ll need a lot to break right, particularly in the bullpen.
Los Angeles Angels (72-90)
As is often the case with the Angels, it’s not impossible to squint and see the bones of a solid team. Mike Trout was healthier last season than he’s been in a very long time. Jo Adell slugged 40 homers in 2025. Jorge Soler remains a potential middle-of-the-order force when healthy. Josh Lowe was a high-upside addition, and it’s not impossible to imagine any of Nolan Schanuel, Reid Detmers, and Christian Moore following in the footsteps of Zach Neto to become high quality regulars. Unfortunately, fans in Anaheim know that the club has been in this situation virtually every year for the past decade. They’ve seen far too many potential-laden teams undercut by a lack of depth before finishing the season underwater and failing to reach the playoffs. Perhaps this year will be different, but Angels fans have earned their skepticism, especially following an offseason where Lowe, Kirby Yates, and Grayson Rodriguez (the latter of whom is already injured) were the club’s biggest additions.
How do MLBTR readers think the AL West will shake out this year? Will the Mariners continue to reign supreme? Will the Astros find a way to reestablish themselves as the class of the AL? Was the Rangers’ roster shakeup enough to get them back to the playoffs? Or could the A’s or Angels surprise with a big season? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win the AL West in 2026?
-
Seattle Mariners 66% (3,469)
-
Houston Astros 11% (553)
-
Texas Rangers 8% (444)
-
The Athletics 8% (441)
-
Los Angeles Angels 6% (329)
Total votes: 5,236