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Offseason In Review: Minnesota Twins

By | at March 25, 2026 5:23pm CDT

Following a 2025 trade deadline fire sale, the Twins idled for half the offseason then feigned an effort at putting together a contender — all while slashing payroll to its lowest levels in a decade.

Major League Free Agent Signings

2026 commitments: $16MM
Total commitments: $23MM

Option Decisions

  • Team declined $2MM option on RHP Justin Topa in favor of $225K buyout (Topa remained under control via arbitration, agreed to $1.225MM salary for 2026)

Trades and Waiver Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

To call the past 18 months or so tumultuous for the Twins would be an understatement. After spending more than a year looking for a buyer, the Pohlad family pivoted and instead brought in several new minority stakeholders. They’d piled up more than $400MM in debt borrowing against the franchise, and that served as a major impediment to securing a buyer for the majority stake in the team. It was clear last summer — shortly after the team’s 11-player fire sale in July — that the Pohlads planned to keep the team in the family after failing to find a buyer. They originally announced that two new limited stakeholders were joining the ownership group, but the process of formally introducing those new partners dragged out for months.

The process was so elongated that as of the GM Meetings in November, longtime president of baseball operations Derek Falvey conceded that he had yet to be given a budget for the 2026 season. Falvey contended from the jump that he hoped to be able to add to the roster, but the Twins’ early inertia seemed to signal that the entire organization was in a holding pattern, from ownership on down to baseball operations.

One thing that became clear almost immediately was the need for a new manager. Rocco Baldelli was fired after seven seasons on the job. No manager would’ve succeeded with the collection of arms masquerading as a bullpen following last year’s deadline teardown, but Baldelli and Falvey had both seen speculation about their job security in recent seasons. Would that have been the case had ownership not slashed payroll immediately following 2023’s division title and playoff run? Perhaps not, but the Twins never really found the continuity for which they hoped under that leadership pairing even before the budget cuts.

A full-fledged search for a new skipper brought the Twins to … Baldelli’s former right-hand man, Derek Shelton. He’d served as bench coach for Baldelli prior to being hired as the manager in Pittsburgh, where he was fired last May. The Twins also considered former Minnesota hitting coach James Rowson (now with the Yankees), former Mariners skipper Scott Servais and Padres bench coach Ryan Flaherty before settling on Shelton.

By the time the ownership situation was finally resolved in December, we were already nearly halfway to spring training. The changes proved more substantial than expected. Minnesota announced three, not two, new limited partners. More notably, Tom Pohlad was named the team’s new executive chair and league-approved control person, taking over daily oversight of the team from his younger brother, Joe, who’d only ascended to that role about three years prior. Joe Pohlad is still listed as a board member on the Twins’ web site, though Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote earlier this month that Joe is no longer with the organization in any capacity.

As if the Pohlad family palace intrigue wasn’t confounding enough, the Twins would soon see their entire baseball operations outfit upended. After spending nearly the entire offseason as the Twins’ baseball ops leader, Falvey was suddenly and unexpectedly ousted on Jan. 30 — just two weeks before spring training commenced. He’d held his post as the Twins’ baseball operations leader since 2016.

The Twins announced it as a “mutual parting of ways.” Both Falvey and Tom Pohlad made public statements that struck the general tenor one would expect. Pohlad thanked Falvey for his years of service and his work to modernize the club; Falvey thanked the family for the opportunity and voiced a love for the organization. Both parties publicly stated that a change was likely best. In the aftermath, Falvey conceded that he and Joe Pohlad had a different working relationship and that Tom wanted to run things “a little differently.” Jeremy Zoll, who’d been promoted from assistant general manager to GM the offseason prior (after GM Thad Levine left the organization), is now running baseball operations.

All of that behind-the-scenes drama left the Twins in an odd spot. Once new ownership was in place, it seemed there was a green light for some modest spending, but that’s a much different revelation in mid-December than in early November. The Winter Meetings had come and gone by the time the front office had any sort of direction on spending. A significant portion of the offseason’s free agent and trade options had come off the board.

Between Tom Pohlad’s ascension to executive chair and Falvey’s departure, the Twins did make some small additions. Josh Bell inked a one-year deal to help plug a gap at either first base or designated hitter. Victor Caratini signed a two-year deal to both give the club a credible backup to Ryan Jeffers and to provide a catching option in 2027 — an important factor to consider with Jeffers up for free agency at season’s end. Old friend Taylor Rogers returned on a low-cost $2MM deal — a bargain price with which it’s hard to find fault.

The earlier stages of the offseason had presented some smaller-scale additions. The Twins picked up reliever Eric Orze in a trade with the Rays and a right-handed corner bat, Eric Wagaman, in a small swap with the Marlins. They also added glove-first, out-of-options catcher Alex Jackson in a bit of a head-scratching trade with the Orioles. They didn’t give up a prospect of great note to get him (5’5″ utilityman Payton Eeles), but Jackson has never hit in the majors and wasn’t going to stick on the Orioles’ roster all winter. The Twins could perhaps have picked him up as a minor league free agent or signed a comparable player to a minor league deal in free agency. Instead, they locked Jackson in on a $1.35MM salary, and he’ll now open the season in Triple-A and off the 40-man roster; the eventual Caratini signing left him with no role on the roster, and he’s now been passed through waivers.

When the calendar flipped to February, it was fair to wonder whether the Twins might have some late splashes up their sleeve. Payroll was down more than $30MM from the prior season and more than $50MM from the 2023 peak. The Twins reportedly showed at least cursory interest in Framber Valdez before he signed with the Tigers and in Freddy Peralta before he was traded from the Brewers to the Mets. Tom Pohlad publicly confirmed that he made a multi-year offer to Valdez, though further details aren’t clear. Still, on Feb. 1, Pohlad publicly stated that there were “still some investments to be made” in the roster prior to Opening Day. A couple weeks later, he told the team’s beat, “I want to be aggressive.”

The Twins had ample opportunity to act on some of those statements. Beyond Valdez, names like Eugenio Suárez, Zac Gallen, Nick Martinez, Zack Littell and Chris Bassitt remained unsigned. (Giolito still hasn’t signed.) The Twins seemed like a decent fit to land one of the remaining arms, continuing their trend of being an active February shopper that we’d seen in recent seasons. When top starter Pablo López suffered a UCL tear during his first spring bullpen session and former top prospect David Festa incurred a shoulder injury not long after, the fit grew even more obvious.

The Twins, however, not only stood pat on adding a starter. They opted to forgo making almost any more additions whatsoever. The Twins picked up left-hander Anthony Banda after he was squeezed out of the World Series champion Dodgers’ bullpen and designated for assignment, swinging a small trade sending international bonus pool space in the other direction. It was a nice enough value move, but it was hard to imagine a club that traded five relievers the preceding summer would go the entire offseason with its only notable bullpen acquisitions being Banda, Orze and Rogers.

That’s precisely how things played out, however. The Twins never added another starter after losing López for the season and Festa for at least the short term. Despite a wide-open bullpen mix and the clear ability to entice a veteran reliever by offering an easy path to ninth-inning work, Rogers and Banda were the lone veteran arms brought in. The Twins added Liam Hendriks, Andrew Chafin and Dan Altavilla on minor league deals, but none made the club. The former two have already been released. Waiver claim Zak Kent joined in March and won a spot in what can charitably be described as one of the five or six worst on-paper bullpen groups in the game.

Instead, the Twins are betting almost entirely on in-house upgrades and breakouts. It’s more than fair to want to get long looks at righties Taj Bradley and Mick Abel after both were focal points of the returns in last year’s deadline sell-off. But the Twins really only have six viable rotation options to begin the season, and that’s giving a lot of credit to three pitchers (Bradley, Abel and the already-optioned Zebby Matthews) who were once touted prospects but haven’t proven anything in the majors yet.

They Twins are a Joe Ryan injury away from the rotation being a bounceback hopeful (Bailey Ober), an out-of-options former top prospect who almost lost a roster spot last year (Simeon Woods Richardson) and that Bradley/Abel/Matthews trio. It should be noted, too, that the team’s inability to pick a lane led to holding onto Ryan, who entered the offseason as an obvious trade candidate and would have fetched a massive haul. It’s possible he’s the most sought-after trade chip at the deadline, but if Ryan suffers an injury of note, the decision to both hold onto him and forgo even a half-hearted effort to build out a competitive roster will be one of the great missed opportunities in recent memory.

There are prospects behind the current group of starters, many of whom will be ready this season. Connor Prielipp is already a top-100 prospect, and the Twins are quite high on fellow southpaw Kendry Rojas. Left-hander Dasan Hill has gotten some top-100 love, and righty Andrew Morris lacks ceiling but is a near-MLB-ready back-of-the-rotation option. It’s not as though the organization is wholly lacking depth, but the Twins’ inaction and sole reliance on these untested arms doesn’t square with Pohlad’s assertion that there is/was room to invest and that he hopes to be aggressive.

The bullpen with which the Twins will break camp includes Rogers, Banda, Orze, Kent, Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Kody Funderburk and Cody Laweryson (who made his MLB debut with the Twins last year, briefly went to the Angels on waivers, and is now back with the Twins). It’s frankly hard to fathom that a team that shipped out Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe last July would do so little to add to the relief corps in a meaningful way. As with the rotation, it simply doesn’t gel with the comments Pohlad has made since Falvey’s departure.

In the lineup, there’s a bit more cause for hope, but the group is still underwhelming. Byron Buxton had his best season ever in 2025, slugging 35 homers and swiping 24 bags. Top prospect Luke Keaschall has done nothing but hit since being taken in the second round of the 2023 draft, and he burst onto the MLB scene with a .302/.382/.445 slash that was followed by an even bigger spring performance (.377/.411/.717). Jeffers is quietly one of the better offensive catchers in the game. Bell isn’t a great hitter, but he’s been above average every season of his career other than 2020 and is annual 20-homer threat. Caratini is coming off a solid offensive showing in Houston.

There’s upside beyond the veterans. Matt Wallner has immense power (and an equally immense strikeout rate). Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee are former high picks and top prospects who have battled injuries but have notable ceilings, at least at the plate. Consensus top-100 prospects Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper are all close to MLB-ready.

There’s no immediate room in a crowded Twins outfield for either Jenkins or Rodriguez, however, which begs the question as to why a budget-crunched Minnesota club tendered a $4.475MM contract to a plodding lefty corner outfielder, Trevor Larnach. Perhaps they felt they’d be able to trade him for a bullpen arm, but Larnach looks like a square peg on a roster that’s already full of defensively limited hitters with glaring platoon issues. His presence on the roster surely helped push Alan Roden, who came over alongside Rojas in the Varland trade and outperformed Larnach this spring, to Triple-A St. Paul.

The bench is also something of an island of misfit toys. Caratini is nominally part of that group as the backup catcher, but he’s a better hitter than many of the actual bench players and will probably see a fair bit of run at DH. Kody Clemens went on an otherworldly tear after being acquired early last season but cooled off later in the year. James Outman‘s lack of minor league options always made him an odd target for the Twins last summer, particularly considering his long-running contact issues and his status as yet another left-handed outfielder on a roster chock-full of them. Tristan Gray, 30, and the since-optioned Eric Wagaman, 28, were acquired in small trades and are fringe big leaguers. Austin Martin was once a top pick but is now more of a utility player with a limited MLB track record.

It’s technically not out of the realm of possibility that with good health and plenty of breakouts/rebounds for young players (e.g. Abel, Bradley, Jenkins, Lewis, Lee) that the Twins silence doubters and take advantage of the weak AL Central to hang around the Wild Card chase in the first half. (If they do so, Pohlad could get another crack at making good on converting his words into actual action.) It is, however, extremely unlikely. The Twins look like one of the weakest teams in the majors, entirely reliant on young players exceeding expectations that were set in place by a gutted roster and an ownership group seemingly unable to get out of its own way.

“I’d love to get off this payroll thing for a second. Let’s judge the success of this year on wins and losses, and on whether we’re playing meaningful baseball in September,” Pohlad said in February. Based on the way the remainder of the offseason played out following those comments, it’s hard to imagine he’ll actually have to wait until September for that introspection.

How would MLBTR readers grade the Twins’ offseason? Have your say:

How would you grade the Twins' offseason?

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Minnesota Twins

Poll: Who Will Win The NL Central?

By | at March 25, 2026 4:03pm CDT

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?

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Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves

By | at March 25, 2026 2:53pm CDT

The Braves’ offseason began with a managerial change. They brought back their shortstop, added a pair of high-leverage relievers, and upgraded their outfield. A series of Spring Training injuries has magnified their lack of activity on the rotation market, leaving questions about whether they did enough to avoid a repeat of their frustrating 2025 season.

Major League Signings

2026 commitments: $65.75MM
Total future commitments: $113MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

Extensions

  • Signed LHP Chris Sale to one-year, $27MM deal covering 2027 season (deal includes $30MM club option for ’28)

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Despite a strong finish, the Braves finished the 2025 campaign 10 games below .500. They missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years, falling to fourth place in the NL East. That disappointing year came with questions about a managerial change. Brian Snitker was in the final year of his contract and turning 70 in October. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos had been adamant the team would welcome Snitker back if he wanted to continue, but the skipper was less committal.

Snitker announced at season’s end that he would not return to the dugout. He’ll remain with the team as a special advisor, a fitting transition for an organizational lifer whose time managing in the farm system dates to the early 1980s. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Braves have a new leader in the MLB dugout.

As is often the case with Atlanta’s player personnel moves, they were tight-lipped about their managerial search process. It’s unclear how many external candidates were under serious consideration. The Braves opted for continuity, elevating bench coach Walt Weiss to the position in early November. Weiss has been on the staff since the 2018 season and has four seasons of managerial experience. He led the Rockies between 2013-16, with Colorado winning between 66 and 75 games in those years.

Although Weiss was an internal hire, the Braves changed most of the coaching staff. Former Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino takes the bench coach role. They parted with longtime pitching coach Rick Kranitz, bringing in former Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner as his replacement. Hitting coach Tim Hyers returns for a second season.

Atlanta’s roster maneuvering began with a few notable option decisions. The team made easy calls to exercise their options on Chris Sale ($18MM) and Ozzie Albies ($7MM). Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim declined his $16MM player option, which had seemed increasingly likely as he generated a fair amount of buzz after Atlanta claimed him off waivers from the Rays. The Braves declined their $7MM option on setup man Pierce Johnson, who had struggled down the stretch. More surprisingly, they also bought out Tyler Kinley on what had seemed a reasonable $5.5MM option.

Anthopoulos said the team wanted to preserve as much financial flexibility as possible at the beginning of the offseason. They needed to do something at shortstop. Closer Raisel Iglesias was hitting free agency. Injuries had exposed a lack of rotation depth in 2025.

While acknowledging the need to acquire multiple relievers, Anthopoulos said in November that the priorities were shortstop and starting pitching (relayed by David O’Brien). “We’re going to focus on those spots. We’ll see where those lead us, what the acquisition costs are and all that, and then we’ll turn our attention to the bullpen,” he said from the GM Meetings.

That may well have been the plan, but it’s not how things played out. The free agent relief market moved much more quickly than the hitters or starting pitchers. Atlanta was as aggressive as any team in that arena. They started by re-signing Iglesias on a one-year, $16MM deal. The 36-year-old closer had overcome an early season home run spike to post a solid 3.21 ERA with an excellent strikeout and walk profile over 70 appearances.

The Braves would make a bigger bullpen splash three weeks later. They brought in two-time All-Star Robert Suarez on a three-year, $45MM contract in early December. Suarez has high-end velocity and has posted consecutive sub-3.00 ERA seasons. He led the National League with 40 saves, though the Braves confirmed that he’ll move into a setup role in deference to the incumbent Iglesias.

It’s a significant investment for a reliever’s age 35-37 seasons. Atlanta committed a combined $29MM to their 2026 payroll in their late-innings duo. They were clearly motivated to make a splash at the back of the bullpen. Jorge Castillo of ESPN reported that the Braves made a five-year offer to top free agent closer Edwin Díaz before they signed Suarez. Díaz opted for a three-year deal with the Dodgers instead (presumably at a much higher annual rate) and Atlanta moved quickly to the former Padres closer.

The Braves built out the bullpen with a handful of smaller free agent pickups. They brought Kinley back on a $4.25MM guarantee with a ’27 club option, confirming they made the right call to decline his slightly higher priced option for 2026.

Atlanta non-tendered and re-signed middle reliever Joel Payamps for $2.25MM. Danny Young and Ian Hamilton joined the organization on a split contract and non-guaranteed deal, respectively. Young will miss the majority of the season as he rehabs last May’s Tommy John surgery; Hamilton has already been outrighted off the 40-man roster.

The Braves should have one of the league’s stronger bullpens. Iglesias and Suarez are an elite one-two pairing. Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer offer Weiss a pair of quality left-handers, while Kinley and Payamps slot nicely into the middle innings. Daysbel Hernández is behind as he rehabs last year’s shoulder injury but should get a middle relief spot once he’s healthy. Out-of-options waiver pickup Osvaldo Bido nabs the final bullpen job for the time being.

Atlanta’s relief corps took one notable injury hit over the winter. Former setup man Joe Jiménez is dealing with another seemingly significant left knee issue. He missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing surgery the prior offseason. Jiménez required a cleanup procedure to repair cartilage damage last November. He was placed on the 60-day injured list at the start of camp, and it’s unclear when (or if) the Braves anticipate him pitching this year.

Although the bullpen was fixed, the Braves had yet to fully address either the rotation or shortstop as the Winter Meetings concluded. The latter position was essentially a waiting game on whether Kim would re-sign. Atlanta never seemed interested in spending on Bo Bichette. Kim was the only other starting shortstop available in free agency. The trade market at the position was similarly barren.

The Braves gave themselves some cover as they awaited Kim’s decision. They lined up a trade with the Astros that sent last year’s starting shortstop Nick Allen to Houston for Mauricio Dubón. Allen is a superlative defender but probably has the lightest bat of any non-catcher in the league.

Dubón is a Gold Glove utility player who should be a capable defensive shortstop. He’s a below-average hitter but certainly provides more at the plate than Allen did last year. The Braves paid $4.7MM in the difference between the infielders’ respective arbitration salaries. Dubón will be a free agent next offseason.

Dubón raised the floor at shortstop while having the versatility to play a multi-positional role if the Braves brought Kim back. They were tied to free agent utility infielder Willi Castro as well, but they ended up landing their preferred target in the middle of December. Kim returned on a one-year, $20MM deal. He reportedly declined a four-year, $48MM offer from the Athletics to take the higher salary in a familiar setting. Kim picked up an extra $4MM over the player option value, while the Braves solidified shortstop.

That was the plan, at least. It’s on hold after Kim slipped on ice in his native South Korea and tore a tendon in his right middle finger. He flew back to Atlanta to undergo surgery that’ll sideline him for the first four to six weeks of the season. It magnified the importance of the Dubón pickup, as he’s penciled back in as the everyday shortstop to begin the year.

Immediately after the Kim injury, the Braves signed Jorge Mateo to a big league deal for marginally more than the league minimum. He’ll work as a backup shortstop who could be pushed off the roster once Kim is healthy. While shortstop is in flux, the rest of the infield is settled. Matt Olson and Albies will play every day on the right side. Austin Riley is back from last year’s core surgery to man third base.

Catcher Sean Murphy also underwent an operation at the end of the 2025 season — a labrum repair in his right hip, in his case. Murphy has apparently played through hip pain for years. He’s starting the season on the injured list. The Braves have one of the sport’s best young catchers in Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin. Murphy’s absence opens some at-bats at designated hitter. Atlanta could ease his workload even if he’s back from the injured list before the end of May.

That freed up enough playing time that the Braves felt comfortable adding left fielder Mike Yastrzemski on a two-year, $23MM deal. A multi-year contract came as a surprise for a player who turns 36 in August. Yastrzemski has a long track record as a slightly above-average regular. He’s coming off a big finish to the 2025 season after being traded from the Giants to the Royals at the deadline.

Yastrzemski joins Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. as the projected starting outfield. Righty-hitting Eli White can work as a short side platoon player to take some at-bats from Yastrzemski against lefty pitching. That was supposed to move Jurickson Profar to the primary DH role.

That plan was also scuttled, as Spring Training brought the news that Profar had again tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. It’s his second straight year serving a PED ban. This one comes with a 162-game suspension, so he’ll miss the entire season and forfeit his $15MM salary. He’s under contract for a matching amount next year in the final season of what has become a massive headache of a free agent signing. It’s unclear if the Braves intend to keep him around or will eat the money and move on.

First baseman Dominic Smith, who signed a minor league contract over the winter, is set to open the season as the DH against right-handed pitching. Smith had a solid half-season for the Giants last year (.284/.333/.417 in 63 games) and hit pretty well this spring. The Braves re-signed him to a split contract at the end of camp, giving him a 40-man roster spot. He’ll be paid at a $1.25MM rate while he’s on the MLB team.

Atlanta did the same with veteran infielder Kyle Farmer, who’ll provide a right-handed bat off the bench. Farmer hasn’t hit much over the past two seasons and is coming off a very difficult season, batting .227/.280/.365 across 300 plate appearances for the Rockies. He’s also making $1.25MM for time in the majors on a split deal.

Smith and Farmer each have the service time to refuse minor league assignments, but their respective contracts presumably come with solid minor league salaries that could incentivize them to accept a future assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett. Farmer beat out-of-options infielder Brett Wisely for the last bench spot.

The Braves still needed a backup catcher for the first month and a half of the season. Jonah Heim, non-tendered by the Rangers in November, will fill that role. He signed a $1.5MM contract on the heels of a second straight rough season. Heim was an above-average regular and the starter on Texas’ 2023 World Series team. He has hit .217/.269/.334 with declining defensive grades over the past two years.

For all the activity on the position player and bullpen fronts, the Braves did curiously little in the rotation. Their biggest starting pitching move was a minor league deal for veteran lefty Martín Pérez. Anthopoulos said in February that the team was comfortable with their depth and felt they’d only benefit from adding a playoff-caliber starter. That’s a much different message from his comments in November.

It’s true that the intervening three months raised the team’s confidence in Grant Holmes, who finished last season with a UCL sprain but has successfully rehabbed without surgery to date. They’re surely encouraged by the development of prospects JR Ritchie and Didier Fuentes (the latter of whom will open the season in the big league bullpen after a dominant spring).

At the same time, it’s difficult to justify completely eschewing the rotation market given the injury histories of their returning starters. Zac Gallen, Justin Verlander, Chris Bassitt, Zack Littell and the still unsigned Lucas Giolito were among the starters who lingered in free agency into February. Gallen was the only one among that group who was attached to a qualifying offer. They all signed one-year deals (or are virtually certain to do so, in Giolito’s case). Did the Braves not consider any of them an upgrade over Joey Wentz, Bryce Elder or José Suarez?

It seems likelier that payroll was the obstacle, though they haven’t reallocated any of the $15MM they’re not paying to Profar. If that’s the case, it raises questions about whether they’d have been better served adding a starter than committing as much money as they did to the back of the bullpen — or whether Kim is a significant enough upgrade over Dubón that it made sense to pay him $20MM (even if the finger injury itself was obviously unforeseeable).

The already flimsy rotation depth has taken a number of hits this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep each underwent surgeries to remove loose bodies from their elbows. They’ll miss most or all of the first half. Spencer Strider has an oblique strain that’ll cost him at least a few weeks. That would have drawn Wentz into the rotation, but he tore his ACL in a collision covering first base and will miss the whole season. They already knew that AJ Smith-Shawver wouldn’t be a factor after last June’s Tommy John procedure.

Sale is back at the top of the rotation. He has his own significant injury history, but he’s currently healthy and a Cy Young caliber arm when he’s on the mound. It’s pivotal that Holmes’ elbow holds up, as he’s the #2 starter for the time being.

Reynaldo López is seemingly the third starter. He made one appearance last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. A fastball that usually sits in the 95-96 mph range averaged 91.3 mph this spring. The velocity might tick up a little bit as he gets into the season but probably isn’t climbing by four miles per hour. Even if he’s currently healthy, it’s unlikely he’s throwing 140+ innings.

Elder and Suarez are fringe roster types. The Braves placed the latter on waivers a couple months ago, losing him to the Orioles only to claim him back a few weeks later. They’re now each in the season-opening rotation. They’re going to need Ritchie and Fuentes to excel as rookies. The former will begin the year in Triple-A but should be up before long. Fuentes is going to start in relief with a plan to option him a few weeks into the season to build up as a starter in the minors. That’s a sensible course of action, but he’s a 20-year-old who pitched a total of 70 innings last year. He’s not logging a full rotation workload.

They’ll need to stay afloat for a couple months to benefit from midseason injury returns and potential deadline pickups. It’s certainly not out of the question, but there’s limited margin for error in a division that features the Phillies and Mets.

The Braves did make one notable move on the rotation front, albeit one that has no real impact on the 2026 picture. They hammered out an extension with Sale this spring, paying him a $27MM salary for the ’27 season while adding a $30MM club option for 2028. It’s a sensible move to extend a relationship that has worked extremely well for both sides. It also removes the already long shot possibility that the Braves might have traded Sale at the deadline if they weren’t performing up to expectations.

They’re certainly hoping they’ll play well enough to approach deadline season as buyers either way. Few teams match the high-end talent the Braves possess. A team with Acuña, Baldwin, Olson, and Riley plus an excellent bullpen can certainly be dangerous. This is among the most top-heavy rosters in MLB, though, putting a lot of pressure on the team’s pitching development to overcome the injuries.

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Atlanta Braves MLBTR Originals

Offseason In Review: Boston Red Sox

By | at March 25, 2026 10:26am CDT

The Red Sox have been focused on the future for a while but that future became the present in 2025. They responded with a very aggressive offseason, making many notable additions to the lineup and pitching staff.

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $17MM
Total spending: $137MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The Sox have essentially been rebuilding since the Mookie Betts trade in early 2020. They did quite well in 2021 but were around a .500 team in the three seasons after that. In that time, young players like Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Brayan Bello established themselves as valuable contributors, but the focus remained on a core of prospects consisting of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell.

Teel was flipped to the White Sox as the headliner in the Garrett Crochet trade last offseason. The other three all cracked the majors for the first time in 2025. Campbell and Mayer weren’t overwhelming in their debuts. The long-term outlook on Campbell is now a bit concerning but Mayer’s struggles may have been related to injury, as he battled wrist issues and ultimately required surgery. Anthony’s debut was excellent and he looks like a star in the making.

The Sox went 89-73 last year and earned a Wild Card spot. Though they were knocked out by the Yankees, that performance and the arrival of their prospects indicated they had moved well into win-now territory.

Before the offseason could even begin, the front office took a hit. In September, the Nationals plucked assistant general manager Paul Toboni and made him their new president of baseball operations. It appears that the Sox were planning to promote him to general manager, which would have cemented him as the #2 guy on the front office masthead, under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. Instead, he became the #1 guy in Washington. Boston’s GM search appears to be on pause.

Once the offseason began, Breslow was clear that adding to both the lineup and rotation would be priorities. Though the Sox had a good season in 2025, there were some clear holes. They were giving starts to Dustin May and Walker Buehler late in the year despite both pitchers having ERAs near 5.00. Prospects Connelly Early and Payton Tolle were pushed to the majors even though they had barely pitched at the Triple-A level. Lucas Giolito became a free agent at season’s end. The struggles of Campbell and the Triston Casas injury left them weak at second and first base. Alex Bregman triggered his opt-out, opening a hole at third. Shortstop would at least have continuity, as Trevor Story decided not to opt out of his deal.

It didn’t take long for the rotation to be addressed. A few weeks into the offseason, the Sox reached a deal with Chaim Bloom, who is now the president of baseball operations of the Cardinals. It’s rebuilding time in St. Louis, which meant established veteran players were available. The Sox acquired Sonny Gray for younger pitchers Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts.

Gray is still a good pitcher but he wasn’t needed in St. Louis. He’s 36 years old and going into the final guaranteed year of his contract. Some Boston fans were underwhelmed when looking at Gray’s age and his 4.28 ERA last year, but there are reasons to be optimistic. His strikeout, walk and ground ball numbers were all strong. His ERA may have been inflated by poor luck on batted balls, which is why his 3.39 FIP and 3.29 SIERA look much nicer.

Though the results have still been good, the contract was tricky, even beyond his no-trade clause. Gray’s deal was backloaded, paying him $35MM in 2026, followed by a $30MM club option with a $5MM buyout. That means he was guaranteed $40MM. The Cards ate $20MM of that to make the deal work and Gray agreed to a slight bump. His contract was reworked at part of the trade so he now gets $41MM, in the form of a $31MM salary and $10MM buyout on a mutual option.

Swallowing that kind of money was enough for the Cards to not just flip Gray but also get a notable return. Fitts is a useful depth starter with options in the near term. With the Sox planning to make rotation upgrades, he was going to get pushed down the depth chart to a point where he would have limited utility.

Clarke is potentially the long-term prize. He hasn’t yet reached Double-A and walks a ton of guys. He still needs a lot of polish but he has high-90s velocity and gets strikeouts. Given his uncertain future, he’s exactly the kind of prospect who should be going from a win-now club to a rebuilder. The Sox get a reliable near-term upgrade while the Cards get the long-term gamble.

Shortly thereafter, the Sox made another rotation addition, once again from an old friend. They made a five-player trade with the Pirates, who are now run by general manager Ben Cherington. The headliners in the trade were Johan Oviedo going to Boston and Jhostynxon García heading to Pittsburgh. García is an exciting upper minors prospect but has no path to playing time in the crowded Boston outfield, so the Sox cashed him in for another arm.

Oviedo is far less established than Gray but there’s intrigue there. He seemed to break out as a viable mid-rotation or back-end guy in 2023 when he gave the Bucs 177 2/3 innings with a 4.31 ERA. He missed 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery, came back in 2025 and looked even better, though in a small sample. He only made nine starts last year but had a 3.57 ERA and 24.7% strikeout rate. His walk rate was high but that may have been rust after his long layoff. Due to his missed time, he is only making $1.55MM this year and can be controlled via arbitration for one more season.

Before the holiday break came, the Sox circled back to Bloom. This time, it was for a lineup addition, with the Sox getting Willson Contreras. The former catcher made a pretty smooth transition to first base last year. Defensive Runs Saved put him just a hair below league average. Outs Above Average put him six above par. The defensive switch didn’t impact his offense, as he slashed .257/.344/.447 for a wRC+ of 124.

His contract situation wasn’t as onerous as Gray’s, as he was owed $41.5MM over two years. The trade ended up structured similarly, though the Cards only ate $8MM this time, a reflection of the fact that Contreras’s deal was closer to market value. Like with Gray, it was restructured to pay him an extra $1MM.

Once again, the Sox flipped out a useful depth starter. Like Fitts, Hunter Dobbins was going to end up down the depth chart, so was sent to a club with more room. Prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita were also included and could be the more notable pieces in the long run. But neither has reached Double-A yet and Fajardo hasn’t even turned 20 years old. As with Clarke in the Gray deal, the Sox have exchanged long-term wild cards for a near-term upgrade, landing the right-handed power bat they’d made a priority entering the winter.

As the calendar flipped to 2026, the Bregman question hung in the air as he remained unsigned and the Sox still had infield holes to address. Many felt that a return to Boston was the most likely outcome but it was not to be.

Bregman settled for a short-term, opt-out-laden pact last offseason but was now hoping to cash in. Breslow has shown an aversion to long-term deals. Bregman’s three-year deal was the longest free agent contract on Breslow’s ledger, as of the start of this offseason. The Sox did make Bregman a long-term offer this time but watered it down. Reportedly, the Sox got to $165MM over five years but with deferrals stretching decades into the future. Instead, Bregman went to the Cubs. That five-year deal also has deferrals but seemingly to a less extreme degree, and with a better sticker price of $175MM.

It’s a bit of an odd look for Boston, in the grand scheme of things. They signed Bregman a year ago and pushed Rafael Devers off third base, upsetting the face of their franchise. The relationship was apparently so damaged that Devers later spurned a request to play first base when Casas got injured. The Sox responded by shipping Devers to the Giants. Presumably, the Sox didn’t anticipate the dominoes falling that way when they signed Bregman. Regardless, the end result is that they completely abandoned their future with Devers in order to get one year of Bregman, then let Bregman slip away by losing a bidding war by a marginal amount.

They didn’t have time to ruminate on that big picture stuff and quickly pivoted. When Bregman turned down their offer, they seemingly just gave all that money to Ranger Suárez. A few days after the reports of Bregman joining the Cubs, the Sox and Suárez agreed to a five-year deal. The $130MM sticker price for Suárez was south of the $165MM offer to Bregman, but the former came with no deferrals. The exact net present value of the Bregman offer isn’t publicly known but his Cubs’ deal came with an NPV of around $150MM. Assuming that Boston was offering more extreme deferrals, the NPV would probably have been pushed pretty close to what Suárez accepted. Regardless, it set a new benchmark for Breslow, as he blew past his aforementioned free agency limits.

The Suárez signing bolstered what was already a very strong rotation. He is not a dominant pitcher, with his fastballs averaging in the low-90s last year, but he clearly knows what he’s doing. He posted a 3.20 ERA last year with a solid 23.2% strikeout rate, excellent 5.8% walk rate and strong 46.8% ground ball rate. Dating back to 2021, he has a 3.25 ERA.

Boston still had work to do and the specter of the Devers trade would again hover around their next two moves. The first one was effectively a salary dump. They flipped Jordan Hicks to the White Sox, with Chicago taking on $16MM of the $24MM left on that deal. In order to move that money off the books, Boston sent out pitching prospect David Sandlin and two players to be named later. They did get back one prospect and one player to be named later, but this was mostly the Sox selling Sandlin to save money.

The next deal was not about financial concerns. The Sox addressed their infield by acquiring Caleb Durbin from the Brewers. They also added some infield depth by netting Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler in the same deal, in addition to a Competitive Balance Round draft pick (#67 overall). Durbin had a solid rookie season in Milwaukee with a contact approach, rarely walking or striking out. He stole some bases and his defense was good. He doesn’t have a lot of power but his profile could play well at Fenway Park. He’ll take over at third base while the Sox will give Mayer a shot at second. Free agent signee Isiah Kiner-Falefa offers cover at both position in a utility role.

The Sox sent three players to Milwaukee, including starters Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan. The inclusion of Harrison had some echoes of the Quinn Priester trade. The Sox had acquired Priester from the Pirates, watched him post some mediocre results for a bit, then traded him to Milwaukee. Priester immediately flourished with the Brewers after the deal. In this case, the Sox acquired Harrison as part of last year’s Devers trade. His results last year were so-so. Now he’s been traded to Milwaukee and will open the season in that club’s rotation. Time will tell if he’s as immediately successful as Priester.

Though Devers was sent to San Francisco less than a year ago, the trade tree has already shot up to the canopy. The Sox got Hicks, Harrison, James Tibbs and Jose Bello in that deal. They quickly flipped Tibbs to the Dodgers to get Dustin May last year. May was a rental, so he’s gone. With Hicks and Harrison sent out this winter, Bello is the only player in the deal still in the system. Baseball America doesn’t consider him one of the top 30 prospects in the system. Boston did get Gage Ziehl and a player to be named later in the Hicks deal but had to give up Sandlin and two players to be named later. The Milwaukee deal brought in three players but also sent out three, so the branches of the Devers deal will keep spreading out for years to come.

Another key component of the Boston offseason was something they didn’t do. With Anthony’s graduation to the majors, the outfield felt crowded, with Rafaela, Duran and Abreu all in the mix, in addition to Masataka Yoshida. It felt possible that the Sox would flip someone out of that group, most likely Duran or Abreu, but they never did. It seems they will try to find playing time for the four primary outfielders by using the designated hitter spot. That could leave Yoshida as an overpaid bench bat, at least until an injury opens up some playing time.

There has been a lot of roster turnover when looking at the past year but it all adds up to put the Sox in what seems like a good position. They have a lot of young and controllable pieces in the lineup and rotation. They have enough outfield depth that they would still be in a good spot even if there’s a significant injury. They have one of the best rotations in the league. Injuries will inevitably pop up but Tolle is waiting in Triple-A. Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval could get healthy during the season. Casas could also be in game shape in the coming weeks. Perhaps injuries will open a path for him but he could also end up as a notable deadline trade chip now that Contreras is at first.

The AL East is tough to predict. All five teams feel like contenders but they can’t all make the playoffs. Some team will hit roadblocks and end up having a disappointing year. It happened to the Orioles in 2025 and the Blue Jays in 2024. There are no guarantees for any club but the Sox appear to be in a decent position to stay strong over a long season.

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Boston Red Sox MLBTR Originals

Offseason In Review: Chicago Cubs

By | at March 24, 2026 11:40pm CDT

The Cubs deepened their rotation, rebuilt their bullpen, and made one of the biggest free agent splashes in franchise history.

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $80.525MM ($15MM deferred)
Total future spending: $231.025MM ($70MM deferred)

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • Colin Rea, SP/RP: Facing a $6MM club option for 2026 with a $750K buyout, the parties instead agreed to a new deal paying $5.5MM for ’26.  The new deal includes a $7.5MM club option for 2027 with a $1MM buyout, for a $6.5MM guarantee and $5.75MM in new money.

Notable Losses

The Cubs’ offseason kicked off with a series of option decisions regarding starter Shota Imanaga.  Given the team’s lack of faith in Imanaga at the end of last season, those went as expected: the club declined their three-year option, and Imanaga declined his two-year option.

The Cubs’ decision to then issue Imanaga a one-year qualifying offer worth $22.025MM came as a surprise.  With big offseason plans, why risk tying up that much money on him in mid-November? Perhaps the Cubs thought the 32-year-old would find a better deal elsewhere, netting them a mid-70s pick in the 2026 draft.

But the team certainly understood it was possible Imanaga would explore the market and elect to return to Chicago on the QO, and that’s what he did.  Imanaga is a solid mid-rotation starter, one-year deals are rarely a problem, and restored velocity this spring may lead to a season more like his excellent 2024.

The only detriment to the Imanaga gambit would be if the Cubs found themselves pinching pennies elsewhere to make up for it.  On the same day Imanaga became a free agent – before qualifying offers were due – the Cubs did make a financially-motivated move.  Despite several of Craig Counsell’s other trusted relievers entering free agency, the Cubs shipped Andrew Kittredge back to Baltimore rather than pick up his $9MM club option.

Kittredge, 36, was excellent in 21 2/3 innings for the Cubs after coming over at the trade deadline, and was Counsell’s highest-leverage reliever in the playoffs.  He’s been slowed by shoulder inflammation this spring, but back in November, I thought the Cubs would welcome him back to their bullpen.  The Kittredge decision was curious, but 36-year-old pitchers are fickle, and $9MM tends to be the top range of what Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is willing to spend for one season of a reliever.  The Cubs did bring swingman Colin Rea back, throwing him a little extra money to get a club option for 2027.

After an unproductive and injury-marred second half, the Cubs seemed to have little interest in signing Kyle Tucker, whether to the $400MM+ deal he likely hoped for, or the record-setting AAV short-term opt-out deal he eventually signed with the Dodgers.  The Cubs probably wouldn’t have signed Tucker even if his second half had been strong.  But they did make him a qualifying offer to lock in the #75 pick in this year’s draft.

Knowing they’d get that pick likely boosted the Cubs’ willingness to forfeit their second-rounder, had they signed another team’s qualified free agent.  That possibility was on the table throughout the offseason, with the Cubs showing some level of reported interest in Dylan Cease, Michael King, Ranger Suarez, and Zac Gallen.

The Cubs made a legitimate run at Cease, who they drafted out of high school back in 2014.  Cease ultimately reached an agreement on a seven-year, $210MM deal with the Blue Jays on November 26th.  As Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic put it on December 3rd, the Cubs “bowed out as the bidding reached the $200 million mark.”

The thing is, the bidding kind of didn’t reach the $200MM mark on Cease, who deferred $64MM and signed with a net present value of approximately $189.2MM.  Either the Cubs actually drew their line below that range, or Hoyer had not yet convinced the Ricketts family to bend on their recent opposition to deferred money.

With Cease off the board, the Cubs reportedly at least entertained a number of top free agents throughout December beyond the starters mentioned, including Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, Tatsuya Imai, and Eugenio Suarez.

Simultaneously, the Cubs set about rebuilding their bullpen through free agency.  They snagged Phil Maton, a soft-tossing righty with a big strikeout rate last year, in November.  Maton’s two-year, $14.5MM deal marked the first multiyear free agent relief signing of Hoyer’s five-year tenure atop the Cubs’ front office, and the club’s first since their disastrous Craig Kimbrel signing in June 2019.  Hoyer saw another target, Ryan Helsley, land with Baltimore, but came away with Maton, Hunter Harvey, Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner, and Jacob Webb before the end of the year.

Save for a few minor league deals for depth, Hoyer’s bullpen work was done.  Perhaps emboldened by his success in acquiring Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Kittredge last year, Hoyer brought in four new bullpen options while retaining Thielbar.

In the 2024-25 offseason, five relievers signed for $20MM or more: Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, Blake Treinen, A.J. Minter, and Carlos Estevez.  The first three posted ERAs of 4.37 and up last year, and Minter pitched only 11 innings.  Estevez had success for the Royals, but is showing red flags this spring with a drastic velocity drop.  Given that bust rate – the Cubs were actually the high bidder on Scott – it’s hard to fault Hoyer for letting Keller go to the Phillies for $22MM.  Still, the Cubs’ bullpen, led by holdover and Team Venezuela stopper Daniel Palencia, comes with tons of variance for 2026.

The Cubs went off the beaten path to snag Tyler Austin on a cheap split contract.  The 34-year-old first baseman had a touch of success in the Majors with the 2018 Yankees and Twins, but eventually decamped to Japan for a six-year run with the Yokohama BayStars (where he was teammates with Imanaga).  It seemed that perhaps Austin would take over Justin Turner’s role as Michael Busch‘s caddy against tough lefties.  But after an excellent 2025 season, the Cubs are saying Busch has earned a shot against southpaws.  Part of that may be owed to the patellar tendon debridement procedure Austin underwent in February, expected to keep him out months.  But the commitment to Austin was minimal, he could eventually supplement Moises Ballesteros at DH, and the Cubs still have right-handed options on the active roster in Miguel Amaya and Matt Shaw.

The Cubs’ interest in Cease suggested a desire to add a pitcher to the front of their rotation.  According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, “the Cubs seem to have been the most aggressive suitor” of Japanese righty Tatsuya Imai, but they instead allowed the 27-year-old to sign an opt-out-laden three-year, $54MM deal with the Astros.

Perhaps the Cubs weren’t fans of the opt-out structure of Imai’s contract, after a similar one with Cody Bellinger became a headache.  They instead pivoted to a longtime target, Marlins righty Edward Cabrera.  The Cubs landed Cabrera in a January 7th trade with Miami, surrendering Baseball America’s #43 prospect in Owen Caissie (plus two others) to get him.  The Cubs control the hard-throwing Cabrera for three years, and he comes cheap in 2026 at just $4.45MM.

Cabrera, 28 in April, set a career-high with last year’s 144 2/3 innings (which includes a couple minor league rehab starts).  Dating back even before his 2021 debut, injuries have been a consistent theme in Cabrera’s career.  He dealt with biceps inflammation in ’21, but still reached the Majors in August of that year.  The biceps slowed him again the following year, which also included elbow tendinitis.  A shoulder impingement cost him a month in ’23, which recurred the following spring and again in May of ’24.  That one knocked him out for two months.

Cabrera began 2025 with an IL stint for a blister, another common injury for him.  An elbow injury cropped up in July, but did not necessitate a trip to the IL.  An elbow sprain did put Cabrera on the IL in September, though he returned in less than a month to make two final starts. His velocity was back at full strength in those appearances.

Of all the starting pitching options the Cubs entertained last winter, Cabrera was a high-risk, high-reward choice.  But, particularly after Imanaga accepted the QO, they needed front of the rotation upside more than depth.  The price on Cabrera was high; Caissie might have wound up as the Cubs’ starting right fielder for years otherwise.  Though he throws hard, Cabrera’s fastball is actually ineffective, as Sharma explained.  But he brings an excellent curveball and unique changeup, and he cut his walk rate last year.  Cabrera is the type of starter the Cubs were missing in last year’s playoffs, though whether he’ll be healthy in October is anyone’s guess.

Though there was a bit of stray Zac Gallen talk, the Cabrera acquisition completed the Cubs’ rotation.  They’ll trot out Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Imanaga, Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon to start the season, with Justin Steele hoping to return from surgery around June.  Javier Assad will start the season in Triple-A, with Ben Brown working multi-inning stints out of the MLB bullpen and Rea always ready to take starts as needed.  Jaxon Wiggins, the game’s 78th best prospect according to BA, will be at Triple-A Iowa as well.  Even with Taillon’s shaky spring, the Cubs’ rotation depth looks strong for now.  160+ innings from Horton would still go a long way, after last year’s second-place Rookie of the Year finish.

After last spring’s four-year, $115MM offer to Alex Bregman fell well short, I didn’t expect the Cubs to make a bigger push a year later.  I was wrong.  It turned out the Cubs’ previous failure to push further was more on ownership than Hoyer.  According to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Hoyer and GM Carter Hawkins used the intervening period to meet with higher-ups to “update the club’s philosophy on using deferred money to help finance deals for free agents.”  The fact that the Cubs’ big starting pitching acquisition, Cabrera, added less than $5MM to the payroll likely emboldened Hoyer on Bregman.

As the Chicago Bears were mounting a wild comeback to beat the Packers at Soldier Field to win the NFC Wild Card game – with Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in attendance – Hoyer was wrapping up a stunning deal with Bregman.  Whereas their 2025 four-year offer covered his age 31-34 seasons, this year’s five-year deal covers age 32-36.  That’s the first time the Cubs have signed a free agent through age 36 since Yu Darvish nearly eight years prior — a contract Hoyer dumped halfway through to get Caissie.

The Bregman deal included $70MM in deferred money, resulting in a net present value a bit shy of $155MM.  Bregman did a bit better than expected, as MLBTR had called for $160MM over six years.  Certainly Bregman brings a clubhouse effect that Kyle Tucker does not.  But though the Cubs didn’t have to include a sixth year (age 37 for Bregman), I was still surprised to see them sign a player for big money that deep into his career.  As Davy Andrews of FanGraphs put it, “He’s not starting out with much margin for error, so things could get ugly when his bat speed or his contact skills start to go. And Bregman is already slow and a below-average baserunner. He already has a weak arm. When the first-step quickness goes, the defense could crater pretty quickly too.”  Long-term pessimism aside, Bregman still projects for 3+ WAR this year.

Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, quietly worth 17.5 WAR over the last four years, had been in trade rumors throughout the winter.  Hoerner’s contract is up after 2026, but the Cubs did not see fit to move him this winter to clear a spot for Matt Shaw.  Shaw, 24, was displaced from his starting third base job by the Bregman signing.  Shaw popped up in rumors as well, but instead the Cubs plan to use him in a super-utility role this year.  For example, he’ll see time in right field early in the season as Seiya Suzuki recovers from a PCL strain suffered in the World Baseball Classic.

The Cubs’ Opening Day right field start against Nationals righty Cade Cavalli may go to Michael Conforto, as the veteran will make the team folllowing Suzuki’s injury.  Minor league signee Dylan Carlson also claimed a bench spot. At the time of this writing, Scott Kingery and Chas McCormick are vying for the last position player job, with Kingery’s infield versatility probably giving him the leg up.

Late Tuesday, the Cubs put a cherry on top of an exciting offseason by locking up center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong to a long-term extension running through 2032.  PCA, just 24 on Wednesday, cemented himself as a fan favorite with a first half last year that put him in the MVP conversation.  Crow-Armstrong’s second-half flop didn’t deter the Cubs from extending him, though they already controlled him through 2030.  As perhaps the game’s best defensive center fielder, PCA offers a high floor even if he can’t get his batting average up or learn to hit left-handed pitching.

Crow-Armstrong’s six-year extension begins in 2027, so it covers his four arbitration years plus his first two free agent seasons.  If we assume around $40MM in potential arbitration earnings, each free agent year gets valued at around $37-38MM.  That’s a hefty price, but as my colleague Steve Adams put it, the Cubs have a knack for getting players to give up an atypical number of free agent years (as in the cases of Hoerner and Ian Happ).

The PCA deal doesn’t really have a clear comp.  Consider:

  • Crow Armstrong: signed at age 24 with 1.170 Major League service, buys out four arbitration years and two free agent years covering age 25-30 for $115MM
  • Jackson Merrill: signed at age 22 with 1.006 service, buys out one pre-arb year, three arb years, and as many as six free agent years covering age 23-32 for $156MM (if 2035 club option is exercised)
  • Roman Anthony: signed at age 21.25 with 0.058 service, buys out three pre-arb years, three arb years, and as many as three free agent years covering age 22-30 for $160MM (if 2034 club option is exercised)
  • Corbin Carroll: signed at age 22.57 with 0.038 service, buys out three pre-arb years, three arb years, and as many as three free agent years covering age 22-30 for $134MM (if 2031 club option is exercised)
  • Tyler Soderstrom: signed at age 24.1 with 2.053 service, buys out one pre-arb year, three arb years, and as many as four free agent years covering age 24-31 for $111MM (if 2033 club option is exercised)

As you can see, none of these really match up with Crow-Armstrong, who signed a bit later in his career than most, gave up the fewest free agent years, gave up no club options, and like Anthony and Carroll preserved a shot at free agency heading into his age-31 season.

PCA was already part of the Cubs’ long-term outlook, but here’s how that looks at present (relievers excluded):

  • Free agents after 2026: Hoerner, Suzuki, Happ, Imanaga, Taillon, Boyd, Carson Kelly
  • Under control through 2027: Steele
  • Under control through 2028: Cabrera
  • Under control through 2029: Dansby Swanson, Busch, Miguel Amaya
  • Under control through 2030: Bregman, Horton
  • Under control through 2031: Moises Ballesteros, Shaw
  • Under control through 2032: Crow-Armstrong

Barring further extensions, the Cubs might see something on the order of 17 WAR walk out the door after the 2026 season, plus four relievers.  Throw a lockout into the mix, and the 2027 Cubs could look quite different when the dust eventually settles.  They’ve certainly got the payroll flexibility to sign Hoerner and/or Suzuki.  However, Hoerner could be somewhat difficult to value, and I’m not sure the Cubs will want to go further with a 32-year-old Suzuki.  The Cubs may be left seeking a pair of corner outfielders, multiple starting pitchers, and several relievers next offseason.

Those are problems for another day.  Though the PCA signing kicks in next year, the Cubs have pushed their 2026 payroll to new heights, passing the $244MM competitive balance tax threshold.  They’ve built a strong team despite losing Tucker, though they probably face tougher competition from the rest of the NL Central than many realize. That includes needing to find a way to jump the Brewers, who have kept them second in the division for three straight seasons.

How would you grade the Cubs' offseason?

  • B 52% (1,098)
  • A 25% (540)
  • C 16% (348)
  • F 4% (86)
  • D 2% (51)

Total votes: 2,123

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Chicago Cubs MLBTR Originals

Poll: Who Will Win The NL West?

By | at March 24, 2026 3:01pm CDT

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

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Offseason In Review: Baltimore Orioles

By | at March 24, 2026 10:57am CDT

After back-to-back excellent seasons in 2023-24, the 2025 Orioles stumbled to a last place finish. They responded with their biggest offseason of Mike Elias’ tenure running baseball operations.

Major League Signings

2026 commitments: $73.5MM
Total future commitments: $213.5MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

On the heels of back-to-back playoff appearances, the 2025 Orioles were 15 games under .500 by the end of May. They fired manager Brandon Hyde seven weeks into the season. The team played better under interim skipper Tony Mansolino, but they’d dug themselves a hole from which they never had much chance to crawl out.

Before making any significant roster moves, the O’s needed to decide on a manager. Guardians associate manager Craig Albernaz has been viewed as a manager in waiting for a few seasons. The O’s hired the 43-year-old to his first MLB managerial job, though he’d previously held the position at the lower levels of the Rays’ farm system.

Albernaz also has minor league playing experience and had worked on big league staffs in San Francisco and Cleveland over the past few years. Managerial changes frequently come with coaching staff adjustments. This was no exception. The O’s brought in Donnie Ecker as bench coach and Dustin Lind as hitting coach, though they stayed the course on the pitching side. Drew French is back for his third season as pitching coach; assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer and pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek are also holdovers.

The focus then turned to the roster. President of baseball operations Mike Elias hinted at the possibility of a big offseason, saying they were open to pursuing free agents who had declined qualifying offers. Starting pitching was the natural target with the team not having replaced Corbin Burnes at the top of last year’s rotation. The O’s would be tied to Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez as frequently as any team throughout the offseason.

They didn’t come away with either pitcher, though they reportedly did offer Suárez a five-year deal in the $125MM range. Baltimore’s biggest free agent splash would instead come on the position player side. The O’s were involved on the top power bats available both in free agency and trade.

Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso were the preeminent free agent sluggers. The Orioles pursued both, with Schwarber seemingly their top target. They reportedly offered him a five-year, $150MM deal around the Winter Meetings. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Schwarber preferred to return to Philadelphia if all else was equal. The Phillies matched, and last year’s NL MVP runner-up will spend another five years in the City of Brotherly Love.

Undaunted, the Orioles moved quickly to Alonso. One day after Schwarber’s agreement with Philly, the O’s hammered out a five-year deal to slot Alonso into the middle of the order. He signed for $155MM — it’s probably not a coincidence that his camp topped Schwarber’s deal by $1MM annually — and will be the everyday first baseman. Alonso was not eligible for the qualifying offer, so he didn’t require draft pick forfeiture. He rebounded from a slightly down 2024 season to hit .272/.347/.524 with 38 homers in his final season as a Met.

The deal raised some eyebrows around the league. It’s a lot of money for a player in his 30s whose game is built almost entirely around his bat. (The same can be said for the Schwarber deal, to be clear.) Alonso is as durable as any player in the game and will surely upgrade the offense. His first base defense has never been great and has declined over the past two seasons — to the point that the incumbent Mets were seemingly only interested in bringing him back on a shorter term that involved more work as a designated hitter.

It’s easily the biggest investment of the Elias era. They’d made nine-figure offers to other players — the ones to Burnes, Schwarber and later Suárez have all been publicly reported — but this is the organization’s first nine-figure signing since the Chris Davis extension a decade ago.

Alonso was one of seven right-handed hitters who hit at least 35 homers last season. He’s one of two whom the Orioles acquired over the winter. Taylor Ward popped a career-high 36 longballs with a .228/.317/.475 slash over 157 games for the Angels.

Ward was entering his final season of arbitration and felt a little superfluous to a Halos team loaded with right-handed power bats and lacking starting pitching. That arguably describes the Orioles as well, but the teams nevertheless lined up a one-for-one trade. Baltimore gave up four years of control over Grayson Rodriguez for one year of Ward, who’ll make $12.175MM.

It’s frankly difficult to imagine the O’s would have made that move if they had any faith in Rodriguez staying healthy. Formerly the top pitching prospect in the entire sport, Rodriguez pitched at a mid-rotation level between 2023-24. He has battled shoulder and elbow injuries over the last two seasons and didn’t pitch at all in ’25. Rodriguez was healthy at the time of the trade and has shown mid-90s velocity this spring, but a “dead arm” will again send him to the injured list to begin his Angels tenure.

The Ward trade preceded the Alonso signing by a couple weeks. Yet even at the time, it made for a bit of an odd roster fit. Baltimore’s top free agent signee of the previous offseason, Tyler O’Neill, is a right-handed hitting left fielder with huge power and modest on-base skills. O’Neill’s first season in Baltimore was a disaster, as he landed on the injured list three times and didn’t perform over 54 games when he was able to play. He made the obvious call to forego an opt-out and wasn’t going to be easy to trade with two years and $33MM remaining on his contract.

Baltimore presumably hopes to salvage something from the O’Neill investment, but the corner outfield picture is cluttered. He and Ward each fit best in left field. Dylan Beavers had a huge year in Triple-A and is coming off an impressive 35-game MLB showing. He should get regular playing time in right field, at least against righty pitching. Colton Cowser is coming off an injury-plagued season and stretched defensively up the middle, but they’ll need to play him in center field to get him regular playing time.

In the O’s defense, it’s not as if there were a ton of alternatives in center field. They were never likely to outbid the Yankees on Cody Bellinger. After that, Harrison Bader was the best of a middling group in free agency. The trade market was led by Luis Robert Jr., a reclamation candidate who’ll play the 2026 season on a $20MM salary.

The Orioles made a pure depth add at the position by signing Leody Taveras to a $2MM deal. He has been a capable defender for most of his career but hasn’t hit at all in the past two seasons. He’s a fourth/fifth outfielder who’ll round out the bench.

The glut of corner bats extends to the infield. Baltimore’s catching tandem of Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo are going to take a lot of at-bats at designated hitter. They haven’t found playing time for former top corner infield prospect Coby Mayo. Meanwhile, Ryan Mountcastle’s rough 2025 season and near-$7MM arbitration salary made him a clear non-tender candidate on paper. The Orioles opted to retain Mountcastle for his final year of arbitration, an odd decision in November that seemed particularly regrettable when they signed Alonso two weeks later.

Baltimore dangled Mountcastle in trade talks into Spring Training. There was unsurprisingly a limited market for a moderately expensive first baseman coming off a .250/.286/.367 season, even though the O’s managed to secure a club option over him for the 2027 campaign. It’s always possible an eleventh-hour trade will come together. If not, he’ll enter the season without much of a path to playing time as a right-handed bench bat.

Camp injuries opened a greater opportunity for Mayo, if only because he’s nominally capable of playing third base. Jordan Westburg has battled an oblique injury and, more ominously, has a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow. He’s trying a platelet-rich plasma injection in the hope of avoiding surgery. He’ll miss at least the first month of the season.

Mayo will open the year as the primary third baseman. The defense is a concern, but he’s yet another potentially impactful right-handed power hitter. Mayo hasn’t shown a whole lot in 340 scattered big league plate appearances, but he has been a consistent 20+ homer bat in the minors. He’s also coming off a huge Spring Training performance.

The injuries extended to the other side of the infield. Second baseman Jackson Holliday suffered a right hamate fracture during batting practice early in camp. He underwent surgery and will begin the season on the injured list. The O’s had serendipitously made a trade to fortify their infield depth just one day before Holliday suffered that fracture.

Baltimore acquired utilityman Blaze Alexander from the Diamondbacks for reliever Kade Strowd and a pair of minor leaguers. Alexander is a righty hitter with a little bit of power and some defensive versatility. He should be a serviceable stopgap at second until Holliday is healthy. He can then work in a multi-positional role or push Mayo off third base if necessary (depending on Westburg’s progress).

The O’s made a number of minor transactions on the position player side, largely in claiming players off waivers and trying to run them through waivers themselves a week or two later. They added corner infielder Bryan Ramos and outfielders Weston Wilson, Jhonkensy Noel and Will Robertson to the organization that way. They also traded out-of-options third catcher Alex Jackson to Minnesota for non-roster infielder Payton Eeles, a 5’5″ utility player with minimal power but strong on-base numbers in the minors.

Baltimore remained active in the free agent starting pitching market even after the Alonso signing. It’s likely that their offer to Suárez came towards the end of the winter, as he didn’t sign his $130MM deal with the Red Sox until late January. Valdez was unsigned into February, as were reported mid-tier targets Justin Verlander, Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt. (Giolito, of course, remains unsigned.)

The O’s eventually added Bassitt on a one-year, $18.5MM deal as Spring Training got underway. The veteran righty has started 30+ games in each of the last four seasons, typically allowing around four earned runs per nine with a league average strikeout/walk profile.

There are some similarities to late-career signings that haven’t worked for the O’s in past years (e.g. Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, Kyle Gibson), but Bassitt is at the higher end of that group. They got him for one year in an offseason when Merrill Kelly commanded a two-year deal from the Diamondbacks at the same age and with a similar profile. He should raise the floor in the middle of the rotation.

On the opposite end of the risk-reward spectrum, the Orioles made their biggest rotation add via trade. Baltimore packaged four prospects and a 2026 Competitive Balance draft pick (No. 33 overall) to the Rays for Shane Baz. The righty is entering his age-27 season and under arbitration control for three years. Baz is a former top prospect who still has plus stuff. He averages 97 mph on his fastball and has a trio of secondary pitches (knuckle-curve, cutter and changeup) that can miss bats.

There’s a path for Baz to become a high-end No. 3 starter who can slot behind Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish in the top half of the rotation. There’s work to do if he’s to reach that ceiling, however. Baz had seven scoreless starts last year; he also had 10 outings in which he allowed five or more runs. The O’s are chalking up some of the inconsistency to Baz’s struggles at Tampa Bay’s 2025 temporary home field, where he had a near-6.00 ERA and allowed 18 of his 26 home runs. Baz had a 3.86 ERA over 84 innings on the road.

They paid a hefty prospect cost to take the swing. The headliners of the return, Caden Bodine and Slater de Brun, were respectively selected 30th and 37th overall last summer. They parted with a similarly high pick in the upcoming draft. It’s also a bet on Baz to stay healthy, as last year was his first full season at the MLB level. Baz had undergone Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2022 campaign and was sidelined for nearly two years.

The new additions will respectively land third and fourth in Albernaz’s rotation. The Orioles round out the group by bringing back Zach Eflin on a one-year, $10MM deal. The righty had a nightmare of a 2025 season, allowing a near-6.00 ERA over 14 starts. He went on the injured list three times due to lat and back injuries. Eflin underwent a season-ending lumbar microdiscectomy in August but will be ready for Opening Day. The O’s are placing a moderate bet that he’ll return closer to the mid-rotation form he showed between 2023-24.

Baltimore’s three rotation moves pushed right-hander Dean Kremer to Triple-A to begin the season. He’s overqualified for a sixth starter in Triple-A, though an injury is sure to reopen a rotation spot before long. The Orioles will use Tyler Wells out of the bullpen. He can work in long relief but might be needed more often in leverage situations given the uncertainty in the late innings.

The Orioles lost Félix Bautista to rotator cuff surgery as the 2025 season was winding down. It was a massive blow to an already thin bullpen. Baltimore responded by making a pair of high-leverage pickups early in the offseason. They reacquired setup man Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs, picking up a $9MM team option that Chicago evidently wasn’t going to exercise. Kittredge is effective when healthy but missed time last season with a knee injury and will start this year on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation.

Baltimore’s bigger relief add came in the ninth inning. The O’s dipped into a robust free agent closing market to sign Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28MM guarantee that allows him to opt out after one season. A two-time All-Star with the Cardinals, Helsley has a triple digit fastball and a wipeout slider that can make him one of the best relievers in the game. The end to his 2025 season couldn’t have gone any worse though.

Helsley was rocked for a 7.20 ERA over 22 appearances after being traded from St. Louis to the Mets at last year’s deadline. His strikeouts dropped, the walks increased, and his home run rate skyrocketed. It’s believed that Helsley was tipping his pitches and unable to correct the issue in-season. The Orioles clearly agree, betting on the track record and stuff over the most recent results. Helsley had an encouraging spring, firing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts against three walks.

Yennier Cano will get some high-leverage assignments, as will Kittredge and Keegan Akin once they’re healthy. Baltimore restructured their contract with lefty Dietrich Enns, who missed a decent number of bats after being acquired from the Tigers in a minor deadline trade. They took a flier on former supplemental first-rounder Jackson Kowar, who is out of options and trying to win a middle relief role.

It was the busiest offseason of Elias’ eight years running baseball operations. It didn’t take the form many expected, as the Orioles emphasized adding power bats over a clear top-end starter. They invested a lot of trade capital and a decent amount of money to build out the middle of the rotation, hoping that’ll be enough to support a high-powered lineup. Can they follow the path of the 2025 Blue Jays in going worst to first in the AL East?

How would you grade the Orioles' offseason?

  • B 56% (1,158)
  • A 23% (467)
  • C 16% (326)
  • D 3% (72)
  • F 2% (41)

Total votes: 2,064

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Baltimore Orioles MLBTR Originals

Poll: Who Will Win The AL West?

By | at March 23, 2026 1:35pm CDT

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

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Offseason In Review: Houston Astros

By | at March 21, 2026 12:11pm CDT

Houston’s front office had a difficult task this offseason: acquire multiple starters despite limited payroll flexibility and one of the sport’s weakest farm system. They pulled that off, albeit at the cost of subtracting from an already thin outfield. They weren’t as successful in balancing a heavily right-handed lineup or figuring out how they’ll divide playing time in a crowded infield.

Major League Signings

2026 commitments: $21.45MM in salary plus $9.975MM posting fee
Total future commitments: $57.95MM plus posting fee

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

For the second straight offseason, the Astros faced an expected free agent departure of one of their core players. They made a six-year offer to Alex Bregman in 2024, but they seemingly made little or no effort to bring back Framber Valdez. Houston made the southpaw a qualifying offer to pick up a draft choice after the fourth round once Valdez inevitably signed elsewhere.

The rotation depth behind Hunter Brown was an issue even with Valdez on the team. Another elbow surgery for Luis Garcia brought an unfortunate end to his time in the organization, as the Astros had no reason to tender him a contract for his final arbitration season. Adding at least one mid-rotation arm was the main priority for GM Dana Brown and his staff. It’d be a challenge with owner Jim Crane reportedly looking to keep the team’s luxury tax number below the $244MM base threshold.

That pointed to the trade market as the priority. Acquiring affordable starting pitching comes at a significant cost in young talent. Houston dangled center fielder Jake Meyers in what they thought might be a sell-high situation after a career year. Teams had enough skepticism about Meyers’ bat that he wasn’t going to lead the return for a mid-rotation arm, however.

Houston and the Rays had conversations about righty Shane Baz at the Winter Meetings. It didn’t result in a deal but set the stage for the rotation move the Astros would make. Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported at the time that the Rays were particularly keen on pitching prospect Anderson Brito as part of the Baz return. Tampa Bay would land Brito and the Astros would get their controllable starter two weeks later — just in a more circuitous way.

The Pirates had entertained trading a starter for offense. Pittsburgh was never going to move Paul Skenes and was highly unlikely to give up Braxton Ashcraft or Bubba Chandler. Right-hander Mike Burrows was the best fit for that kind of move. He looks like a solid third or fourth starter and has less than a year of service time. He’s the kind of player who has significant appeal on the trade market but wouldn’t be as difficult for Pittsburgh to relinquish than any of their potential top-of-the-rotation arms.

Meyers wasn’t the kind of bat the Pirates needed. Isaac Paredes might have been, but he’s more valuable to the Astros than to Pittsburgh. The righty-hitting Paredes taps into every ounce of his middling raw power by pulling the ball in the air. He’s a perfect fit for Houston’s Daikin Park and its short left field porch. For Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, the toughest in the league for right-handed home run hitters? Not so much.

That’s where the Rays reenter the picture. Pittsburgh wasn’t interested in flipping Burrows for prospects. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, is constantly balancing the present and future while focusing on maximizing asset value. Houston parted with two of the better prospects in a weak farm system, sending outfielder Jacob Melton alongside Brito to Tampa Bay. The Pirates got slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe, fourth outfielder Jake Mangum, and a hard-throwing bullpen flier in Mason Montgomery from the Rays. Houston landed Burrows.

The 26-year-old righty is coming off a 3.94 ERA over 96 innings in his first real look at the big league level. Burrows posted solid strikeout and walk marks with a four-pitch mix led by a 95 mph fastball. It took him a while to establish himself, largely because of a 2023 Tommy John surgery, but it’s reasonable to view him as an above-average starter who is at least two years from his first significant earnings.

Burrows slotted behind Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier as Houston’s third starter. The back end was still an issue. It initially seemed the Astros would piece it together internally and with very modest free agent additions. They added hard-throwing Nate Pearson on a $1.35MM deal at the beginning of the offseason. They brought in 29-year-old righty Ryan Weiss — who topped out at Triple-A in affiliated ball but pitched well with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles last year — for $2.6MM.

Given the budget constraints, even the Houston front office surely didn’t anticipate landing one of the winter’s most discussed free agents. Tatsuya Imai was the top pitcher available from Japan via the posting system. The 27-year-old righty is coming off a 1.92 ERA with an NPB-leading 27.8% strikeout rate for the Seibu Lions. He averages around 95 mph with his fastball but is capable of running the heater into the upper-90s when he needs it.

Imai’s youth, velocity, whiff rates, and improving control all pointed to a potential nine-figure contract. That never materialized, as teams apparently had enough trepidation about the command and quality of his secondary stuff (particularly the changeup) to stay away from a long-term deal. Evaluators who are most bullish on Imai feel he fits into the middle of a big league rotation. The more pessimistic ones project him as a reliever — though whatever team won the bidding would only do so because they feel he’ll be a capable starter.

The depressed market allowed the Astros to jump in. As Imai’s 45-day posting window came to a close, he signed a three-year deal with Houston that included opt-outs after the first two seasons. It’s a $54MM guarantee that’ll pay him $18MM in year one (a $16MM salary plus a $2MM signing bonus). Imai will decide whether to pass on at least $36MM to retest free agency a year from now. The deal includes escalators that’d raise the price of the player options if Imai throws at least 80 innings this season.

Houston also paid a $9.975MM posting fee to the Lions. The fee is proportional to the contract’s $54MM guarantee and paid in full even if Imai opts out. There’s a decent chance the Astros are paying $27.975MM for one season. That’s a pretty sizable sum. That said, more than a third of that money is in the posting fee, which does not count toward the Astros’ luxury tax number. They kept the CBT commitment at $18MM without going beyond three years, an outcome few would have envisioned at the start of the offseason.

A front four of Brown, Javier, Imai and Burrows is solid. They’ll only need to patch together one rotation spot between Weiss, Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Blubaugh and Spencer Arrighetti. Minor league signee Peter Lambert has had a decent camp, while the Astros acquired swingman Kai-Wei Teng in a minor trade with the Giants. Pearson will build up as a starter as well, but he’s beginning the season on the injured list after experiencing elbow soreness this spring.

McCullers will probably open the season as the fifth starter based on his standing in the organization. He’s unlikely to have a long leash after turning in a 6.51 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. His fastball is back up to 93 mph this spring after landing closer to 91 last season, but various injuries have clearly taken a toll on his stuff and command.

Manager Joe Espada said this afternoon they’ll open with a five-man rotation but are likely to go to a six-man starting staff in the middle of April (relayed by Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). Imai is accustomed to pitching once a week, as all starters do in NPB. The Astros only have two off days between Opening Day and April 22. Assuming they eventually go the six-man route, Weiss or Arrighetti could pick up a few starts.

The front office did a good job getting the rotation into decent shape. It came at the cost of a few subtractions on the position player side. Trading Melton removed a left-handed hitter from the outfield. They also made a few downgrades to the bottom of the order and the bench in cost-saving moves.

Houston non-tendered second/third baseman Ramón Urías, who’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz at $4.4MM for his final arbitration season. They traded utility player Mauricio Dubón to the Braves for glove-only shortstop Nick Allen. That wound up saving $4.7MM in the difference between their respective arbitration salaries.

Houston spent all offseason trying to move right fielder Jesús Sánchez, who disappointed after a deadline acquisition from the Marlins. They lined up a deal in Spring Training that sent Sánchez to the Blue Jays for Joey Loperfido, a move that saved another $6MM.

They’re plenty familiar with Loperfido, whom they drafted and developed before trading to Toronto in the Yusei Kikuchi deal at the 2024 deadline. He hit .333/.379/.500 in 104 MLB plate appearances last season, but a 27:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio puts a damper on those numbers. Loperfido was a league average hitter over a bigger sample in Triple-A (.264/.341/.401 in 373 PAs). He’s a better fit as a left-handed bench bat than an everyday player.

The Astros easily led the majors in plate appearances by right-handed hitters. They had a total of seven players who took at least 40 at-bats from the left side. Five of them are off the 40-man roster, four out of the organization entirely. Victor Caratini hit free agency and signed a two-year deal with Minnesota. Sánchez and Melton were traded. Taylor Trammell and Cooper Hummel were waived. The only ones returning are Yordan Alvarez and rookie outfielder Zach Cole.

Houston’s desire for more lineup balance was no secret, yet this was a lot less successful than the rotation pursuits. The Astros didn’t come away with a left-handed hitter either at second base or in the outfield (except Loperfido, who was acquired for the lefty-hitting Sánchez). Brendan Donovan, who would have been an ideal roster fit, landed elsewhere in the division with the Mariners. Houston’s lack of farm depth and expendable starting pitching limited their options in this regard.

That led to plenty of late-offseason chatter about flipping an infielder. They would’ve needed to eat money to deal first baseman Christian Walker, who is owed $40MM over the next two seasons and coming off a replacement level showing. Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Carlos Correa obviously weren’t getting moved.

That left Paredes as the only infielder who was both a realistic trade candidate and had the ability to net a significant return. Dana Brown said in November that the Astros had “no interest” in moving the corner infielder, who was one of their best hitters on a rate basis. The front office softened that stance by Spring Training but nothing came together.

Houston enters the year with a lopsided position player group. They want Altuve playing mostly second base again after he struggled with last year’s left field experiment. Walker and Correa are the primary corner infield tandem. Peña will be the everyday shortstop with Alvarez working mostly as a designated hitter. That leaves Paredes as a dramatically overqualified bench bat on paper.

The situation should sort itself out before long. Correa and Alvarez have notable injury histories. Paredes himself is coming off a significant hamstring strain that cost him most of the second half. Altuve and Walker are in their mid-30s. There’s value in giving all those players rest days.

Peña will play essentially every day once he’s healthy. He broke his right ring finger during the World Baseball Classic and is questionable for Opening Day. The Astros could slide Correa to shortstop and pencil Paredes in at third base if Peña requires an injured list stint. That’d be a rough defensive infield, so they could also opt to live with Allen’s bat in the nine spot to play him at shortstop and keep Correa at the hot corner.

Trade rumors on Meyers quieted after the Astros dealt Melton. Meyers is now a key piece as the primary center fielder. Second-year outfielder Cam Smith should retake the right field job from Sánchez. Smith impressed defensively in his first year as an outfielder, but his bat wilted at the end of his rookie season.

Left field is wide open. Loperfido will get some work there, while Altuve and Alvarez figure to make occasional starts. Brice Matthews is a middle infielder by trade but has worked in the outfield this spring given the much clearer path to playing time on the grass. The Astros would love for Cole to stick on the roster as a left-handed power bat. He struck out at a 35% rate in the minors last season and has fanned 17 times in 44 plate appearances this spring. The swing-and-miss might push him off the active roster.

The Astros didn’t do much to replace Caratini, a high-end backup catcher. Yainer Diaz is the clear #1 option behind the plate. César Salazar is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. Houston brought back 2022 World Series champion Christian Vázquez on a minor league deal to compete with Salazar for a bench spot.

Houston was similarly quiet in addressing the bullpen. Their only MLB bullpen add was the selection of Roddery Muñoz in the Rule 5 draft. Some of their rotation depth pickups (e.g. Weiss, Pearson, Teng) could pitch in relief. That could have an indirect impact on the bullpen by giving the Astros the flexibility to use Blubaugh or Arrighetti in relief. Minor league signee Christian Roa, a Houston native and Texas A&M product, has had a great camp and is probably pitching his way onto the roster.

The Astros have already announced they’ll open the season without Josh Hader and Bennett Sousa. Hader has been bothered by a biceps issue after last year’s season-ending capsule injury in his shoulder. Sousa strained his oblique. They’re still well positioned from the left side with Bryan King and Steven Okert in the late innings. Plugging Bryan Abreu in as closer leaves their right-handed setup group rather thin.

It’s a top-heavy roster, one with a few obvious areas (left field, bullpen, left-handed bat) they’ll hope to address at the deadline. They’re estimated around $10MM below the luxury tax line, so they should have some flexibility for in-season maneuvering. There’s also the possibility that Crane reverses course and signs off on going past the threshold, as he did when Correa was available last summer.

The Astros are perennially in win-now mode. This season could be an inflection point for the organization after their first playoff miss in eight years. Espada and Dana Brown are entering the final years of their respective contracts.

Crane said in January they weren’t likely to discuss extensions until seeing how the 2026 season plays out. “I think we’ll go through this year like we always do, evaluate it and then make the decision at the end of the year,” the owner said. “We won’t probably do any extensions now. But I’m not saying that’s impossible. We haven’t talked about it yet. We’ve been focused on getting what we need to compete this next year.”

They got most of the way there, though they’re behind the Mariners on paper. Preseason projections from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus have the Astros closer to the Rangers (and potentially the A’s) as the second or third-best team in the AL West than to Seattle at the top of the division. Can they overcome the odds to reclaim first place, or will they at least find themselves back in a crowded American League Wild Card picture?

How would you grade the Astros' offseason?

  • C 44% (411)
  • B 24% (227)
  • D 21% (193)
  • F 8% (72)
  • A 3% (28)

Total votes: 931

 

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Houston Astros MLBTR Originals

Poll: Who Will Win The AL Central?

By | at March 20, 2026 4:34pm CDT

With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB’s 30 clubs and teams are now focused on the incoming season and being the team to raise the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, however, 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 AL Champion Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East yesterday with 39% of the vote. Today, we’ll be moving on to the AL Central. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:

Cleveland Guardians (88-75)

The Guardians managed to sneak their way into an AL Central title in the eleventh hour last year, overtaking the Tigers at the very end of the year thanks to a 20-7 September. They immediately got bounced from the playoffs by Detroit, however, and their response to that quick exit this postseason has left something to be desired. That seemed like a setup for a big offseason, but no such eventful winter occurred. Deserved as Jose Ramirez‘s latest extension may have been, it does nothing to improve the team for 2026. The only potential impact player the team has added anywhere on the roster is veteran first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is in camp on a minor league deal but is all but certain to make the team. More or less running back a roster that won 88 games last year isn’t the worst idea in the world, but it’s easy to feel as though last year’s division champs may have been overtaken by their rivals who made bigger splashes over the offseason.

Detroit Tigers (87-76)

The Tigers took the Mariners to Game 5 of the ALDS before falling just short, and now they’ll be looking to make the most out of what is likely to be Tarik Skubal‘s final season with the organization. A reunion with Gleyber Torres was the only big move on offense (although the impending debut of top prospect Kevin McGonigle could still transform the team’s lineup this year), but the Tigers were very active in overhauling their pitching staff. Framber Valdez joins Skubal at the front of the rotation and helps cushion the blow of losing Reese Olson to shoulder surgery, while Justin Verlander provides some mid-rotation stability in his homecoming at 43 years old. In the bullpen, the addition of a second future Hall of Fame veteran in Kenley Jansen and a reunion with Kyle Finnegan should create a solid back of the bullpen for a Tigers team that had the second-worst bullpen in the AL by FIP last year. Those additions seem likely to be enough to make the Tigers the favorite to finally claim the AL Central crown for the first time since 2014, though that also seemed likely to be the case last year.

Kansas City Royals (82-80)

The Royals had a middling season last year where they remained on the periphery of playoff relevance but never quite cracked the top tier of contenders. They wound up finishing just barely above .500, but will enter 2026 with hopes of a return to the postseason. Better health from Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic should go a long way for the club, as could the ascension of top prospect Carter Jensen as the heir apparent to franchise catcher Salvador Perez. In terms of external additions, the outfield will now feature Isaac Collins, Starling Marte, and Lane Thomas in addition to incumbents Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel, while Matt Strahm was brought in to fortify a high-leverage relief mix that already included Carlos Estevez and Lucas Erceg. With a handful of solid (if unspectacular) additions and an exciting young talent coming up from the minors, it’s not hard to imagine the Royals having a better year in 2026. Will that be enough to win the division?

Minnesota Twins (70-92)

2025 was a tough year for the Twins, as the organization was unable to lock down the sale both ownership and fans were hoping for off the field, while the team on the diamond struggled badly and wound up getting blown up at last summer’s trade deadline. Minnesota was saved from the basement of the AL Central by the lowly White Sox, but this offseason a change in control person, the hiring of a new manager, and the sudden departure of team president Derek Falvey led to instability at the top of the organization without much movement on the roster to show for it. Josh Bell and Victor Caratini are both solid complementary additions to the lineup, but neither makes up for the loss of Carlos Correa. A rotation that looked like the team’s strength lost Pablo Lopez before the season even began, while Taylor Rogers and others will be asked to save the bullpen after the losses of Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louis Varland. There’s plenty of interesting young talent (Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Luke Keaschall, Taj Bradley) on the roster, but a whole lot would have to go right for the Twins to fight their way back to the top of the AL Central this year.

Chicago White Sox (60-102)

The White Sox are still in the midst of what figures to be a lengthy rebuilding process, but more optimism can be found in the organization than has been the case for quite a while now. Young, impactful players like Shane Smith, Colson Montgomery, and Kyle Teel are beginning to establish themselves at the big league level, and the White Sox put in some effort to supplement that budding young core with external additions. Munetaka Murakami is the big addition who could easily add 40 home runs to the White Sox lineup if he pans out, but Anthony Kay, Sean Newcomb, and Seranthony Dominguez could all prove to be savvy additions to the roster as well on he pitching side. It would be a shock if these moves were enough to pull Chicago all the way to the top of the AL Central, but it seems possible that their days of losing 100 games a year are coming to a close.

Who do MLBTR readers think will win the division when all is said and done? Will the Guardians manage to come out on top for the third straight season despite virtually no additions? Will the Tigers finally break through in Skubal’s final season before free agency? Will the Royals’ busy offseason be enough to help them take a leap forward? Or will the Twins or White Sox shock the baseball world? Have your say in the poll below:

Who will win the AL Central in 2026?

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