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Poll: Who Will Win The AL West?

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Opening Day has finally arrived, and teams all around the league are gearing up for another pennant chase in hopes of being crowned this year’s World Series champion. Of course, there’s still another seven months to go before someone raises the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. We’ll be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. That series has already covered the National League, with the Dodgers, Cubs, and Phillies each coming out on top in their respective divisions. Now, the series moved on to the American League with a look at the AL West. Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Houston Astros (88-73)

The only club to make the playoffs from the AL West last year, the Astros enter the 2025 season on the heels of a postseason that snapped their nearly decade-long run of trips to the ALCS. After a winter where the team parted ways with longtime franchise stalwarts such as Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Justin Verlander, and Ryan Pressly, the team is looking very different than it has in previous years. There’s some clear signs of weakness, most notably the fact that the club’s outfield depth is thin enough that their starters in the outfield corners are two infielders: longtime second baseman Jose Altuve has moved to left, while top third base prospect Cam Smith is patrolling right field with just five games of experience outside of A-ball.

Flawed as the club’s roster may be, there’s still plenty to like about the Astros in 2025. Christian Walker is an upgrade at first base and Isaac Paredes is an All-Star caliber hitter who should benefit greatly from the Crawford Boxes as he steps into the third base job vacated by Bregman. Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown have a chance to form a strong front-of-the-rotation duo, while few teams boast a pair of arms better than Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu at the back of their bullpen. Whether that will be enough to maintain a stranglehold over the AL West in 2025 even after this winter’s departures remains to be seen, however.

Seattle Mariners (85-77)

2025 ended in soul-crushing fashion for Mariners fans as they missed the playoffs by just one game for the second consecutive season. The club’s offseason was similarly disappointing as well; despite rumors of trades that would’ve sent players like Triston Casas, Nico Hoerner, and Alec Bohm to the Pacific Northwest making their way through the rumor mill this winter, the club was content to simply re-sign Jorge Polanco and bring in veteran infielder Donovan Solano to augment a lineup that was in the bottom ten for runs scored last year.

Fortunately, there’s still some reason for optimism headed into 2025. The club’s elite rotation remains in place, and a quintet of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Luis Castillo should still give them an excellent chance to win on any given day, particularly with a strong bullpen that features fireballers like Andres Munoz and Matt Brash on the back end. A big year from Julio Rodriguez would go a long way to correcting last season’s offensive woes, but even if Rodriguez starts out slowly again in 2025 he’ll have support from a full season of deadline addition Randy Arozarena, who posted strong numbers down the stretch after being acquired from the Rays last summer. Will that be enough to get the club their first division title since 2001?

Texas Rangers (78-84)

When looking at clubs that finished below .500 in 2024, there’s arguably no team with more helium entering the 2025 campaign than the Rangers. The 2023 champs didn’t have the most explosive offseason, but nonetheless enter the season with an overhauled bullpen highlighted by Chris Martin and Robert Garcia as well as a pair of solid additions to the lineup in Joc Pederson and Jake Burger. The upside a healthy season from Jacob deGrom could offer the rotation is impossible to overstate, and the middle infield tandem of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien once again figures to be among the best in the sport.

If there’s a flaw in the club’s present construction, it’s a heavy reliance on youth. The club’s vaunted Vanderbilt duo of Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker are supremely talented and were always expected to be a big part of the team in 2025, but leaning on both youngsters as members of the Opening Day rotation is a tall ask given the pair’s inconsistency and inexperience at the major league level and highlights the lack of reliability in the club’s rotation outside of Nathan Eovaldi. In the lineup, meanwhile, Wyatt Langford appears to be as good as bet as any sophomore player can be to have a big year, but both he and Evan Carter struggled to stay healthy in 2024. Will those youngsters be able to carry the Rangers back to the playoffs?

Athletics (69-93)

West Sacramento’s temporary baseball team showed signs of life for the first time in a while during their final months in Oakland, even ending the season with a solid 32-32 record after the All-Star break. After departing Oakland, the club aggressively attempted to improve this winter. They signed right-hander Luis Severino and traded for southpaw Jeffrey Springs to bolster the rotation while adding Gio Urshela to the lineup and Jose Leclerc to the bullpen. That group of additions join a solid core featuring Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, Mason Miller, and Shea Langeliers.

As solid as that collection of talent is, however, the A’s will need a lot more to go right in order to compete this year. Steps forward from homegrown arms like JP Sears and Joey Estes would go a long way, as would former and current top prospects in the lineup like Tyler Soderstrom, Max Muncy, and Jacob Wilson breaking out and playing up to their ceilings. It’s certainly not impossible to imagine most of that happening. And if it did, the team surprising and making it back to the postseason for the first time since they tore down their core from the late 2010s should be on the table.

Los Angeles Angels (63-99)

Anaheim’s first year post-Shohei Ohtani could hardly have gone worse. Franchise face Mike Trout played just 29 games last year, and very few things went right for the club as they narrowly avoided a 100-loss season. That didn’t stop them from making an effort to improve this offseason, however. The club added Jorge Soler to the lineup for a stable source of power, with Yoan Moncada, Travis d’Arnaud, and Tim Anderson filling out the bench. Meanwhile, Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks, and Kenley Jansen were added to the pitching staff to deepen the rotation and bring a proper closer into the bullpen.

Kikuchi, Soler, and Jansen are all solid pieces, but the club will need more than those ancillary additions to bounce back from a dreadful 2024 campaign. Trout putting together his first fully healthy season in half a decade would go a long way, and the club’s decision to shift him to right field could help in that goal. Outside of that, the club will need its young position players like Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto, and Logan O’Hoppe to step up and put together big seasons if it has any hope of catching up to the top dogs in the AL West.

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Just two seasons after the top three AL West clubs finished within a game of each other in 2023, that same trio appear set to jockey for the top spot in the division once again. After years of being the prohibitive favorite on paper, the Astros look more vulnerable than ever. Will their offseason additions be enough to keep them on top, or will the Mariners’ impressive rotation or the Rangers’ infusion of young talent be enough to finally overtake Houston? Or, perhaps, you think the Athletics or Angels will surprise with their respective collections of offseason additions and talented youngsters. Have your say in the poll below:

Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies

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The Rockies are one of the few teams in the majors will no real shot at contending this year, so their offseason was understandably very quiet.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $13MM
Total spending: $13MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

There wasn't a lot of momentum for the Rockies going into the winter. 2024 was their sixth straight losing season. It was their second in a row getting to triple-digit losses. In the age of the expanded playoffs, most clubs are at least theoretical contenders, but the Rockies are one of a few that are clearly on the outside.

Such a team could perhaps find itself in plenty of offseason rumors anyway. The White Sox were coming off an atrocious 2024 season but still had notable trade candidates to talk about in Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. The Rockies have been reluctant to make such moves, however. Ryan McMahon could have been an exciting offseason trade candidate if there was any indication the Rockies were open to moving him, but that has never seemed likely.

There were some reports early in the offseason with a bit of smoke, to a degree. The Rockies were reportedly looking to lower payroll, not surprising given their circumstances. They had some openness to trading Brendan Rodgers, Cal Quantrill and Justin Lawrence. They clearly didn't find much interest. Rodgers and Quantrill were later non-tendered. Lawrence was put on waivers and claimed by the Pirates.

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Offseason In Review: St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals began their offseason by announcing major changes to the baseball operations staff and pledging to refocus on player development. Their efforts to free up playing time for younger players came up empty, however, and they'll run it back with nearly an identical roster.

Major League Signings

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Extensions

  • None

Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

"The message is, 'we're going young,'" Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said at the conclusion of the regular season. DeWitt's comments came on the heels of a press conference wherein longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced the 2025 season would be his last running baseball operations in St. Louis. Former Red Sox chief baseball officer and Rays senior vice president Chaim Bloom, hired as an advisor the prior offseason, would take the reins in 2026. He'd already agreed to a five-year contract.

It was a jarring change in tone for a Cardinals club that had perennially sought to compete in the National League Central. Mozeliak candidly acknowledged that the team's primary focus would not necessarily be on building the best roster for 2025, but rather on bolstering the organization's player development practice and building out the type of modern baseball operations systems and infrastructure that the Cardinals no longer possessed.

"Yes, this is a reset," Mozeliak said at the time. "Yes, this is going to be where we’re not focusing on necessarily building the best possible roster we can."

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Poll: Who Will Win The NL East?

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Opening Day has finally arrived, and teams all around the league are gearing up for another pennant chase in hopes of being crowned this year’s World Series champion. Of course, there’s still another seven months to go before someone raises the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. We’ll be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. That series already covered the NL West, where the Dodgers were viewed as an overwhelming favorite, and the NL Central, where the Cubs narrowly beat out the reigning division champs in Milwaukee. Now, the series continues with a look at the NL East. Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Philadelphia Phillies (95-67)

After the Phillies fell to their division-rival Mets during the NLDS, it appeared the club may consider making some considerable changes as they put Alec Bohm on the market and searched for outfield help rather than rely on internal options like Brandon Marsh and Josh Rojas. Ultimately, however, the club’s additions this winter were fairly modest. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski swung a trade for a big-name pitcher in need of a bounce-back in Jesus Luzardo. The signings of Jordan Romano and Max Kepler should help out as well but both are coming off down seasons due to injuries. With Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez departing, the bullpen is arguably weaker than last season.

The Phillies will mostly rely on the same core players they trotted out last year. Fortunately, that’s the same core that allowed them to sail into the postseason with a bye through the Wild Card series last year. Zack Wheeler remains one of the very best pitchers in the entire sport, and a rotation featuring Luzardo as the likely fifth starter behind Cristopher Sanchez, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suarez when fully healthy is in the conversation for the sport’s best. In the lineup, meanwhile, Bryce Harper returns as one of the sport’s most talented hitters, and his supporting cast of battle-tested veterans like Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and J.T. Realmuto all figure to contribute with the same consistency they’ve offered in previous years. It was more than enough to win the division last year, but will the same be true in 2025?

Atlanta Braves (89-73)

This past offseason was a relatively quiet one in Atlanta, as the club’s winter was defined more by the departures of franchise stalwarts like Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Travis d’Arnaud than any major additions, even as Jurickson Profar profiles as a substantial upgrade over last year’s platoon of Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall in left field. Other relatively marginal additions like Alex Verdugo, Nick Allen, and Hector Neris should help out somewhat as well, but the main thing Atlanta has going for it in 2025 is hope for better health. The Braves’ core was ravaged by injuries last year, with Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider both missing virtually the entire season while Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy and Michael Harris II all also missed significant time.

While health is never guaranteed, the club is all but certain to get more out of its two superstars in Acuna and Strider this year, and is overall unlikely to run into the same rash of injuries on the positional side even as Murphy is already out for the start of the season due to a cracked rib. The team that led baseball in runs scored in 2023 has brought in even more talent on offense since then while also building an impressive bullpen anchored by Raisel Iglesias and Aaron Bummer. All of that is before even considering that the club will once again enjoy the services of reigning NL Cy Young award winner Chris Sale, as well as Reynaldo Lopez as he tries to follow up on a 1.99 ERA campaign in 2025. In some ways, 2024 looked like a floor for the Braves’ talented floor. Will a bounce back be enough to win a tough division in 2025?

New York Mets (89-73)

For as talented as the Phillies and Braves are, it was the Mets who made the deepest run into the 2024 postseason of the NL East, getting all the way to Game 6 of the NLCS before falling to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers. Steve Cohen and David Stearns weren’t content to rest on their laurels this winter and made the biggest splash of any team when they signed Juan Soto to a record-shattering $765MM deal that will land him in Queens for the next 15 years. None of the club’s other moves matched that level of flash, but the returns of Sean Manaea, Jesse Winker, and Pete Alonso as well as more modest additions like Clay Holmes and A.J. Minter leave the Mets looking like a stronger club overall than they were this time last year.

Impactful as pairing Soto with Francisco Lindor at the top of the lineup figures to be, however, that won’t necessarily make the club a clear division favorite with many of the issues that made the Mets such underdogs last season still lingering. A rotation that featured little certainty on paper entering Spring Training is already getting tested by a number of injuries, and the club will rely on Mark Vientos avoiding a sophomore slump in order to lengthen a lineup that looks softer at the bottom than its counterparts in Atlanta and Philadelphia. Still, a lineup featuring two MVP finalists, two other 30-homer sluggers, and Brandon Nimmo looks impressive on paper, and a late-inning mix of Edwin Diaz, Minter, and Jose Butto should be able to preserve late leads. Will that be enough to overtake their rivals?

Washington Nationals (71-91)

The Nationals showed some signs of development last year, but ultimately sold at the trade deadline and fell well short of playoff contention when all was said and done. Still, an emerging core of James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, Dylan Crews, and CJ Abrams inspired enough confidence for the Nationals to make some modest buy-side additions this winter. Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell should provide a notable upgrade over Joey Meneses and Joey Gallo at first base, while Paul DeJong and Amed Rosario offer the sort of depth on the infield that was sorely lacking last year.

With three juggernauts at the top of the division, the path to a division title in D.C. is a murky one. With that being said, every member of that aforementioned core is young, talented, and capable of breaking out before even considering the potential impact other young pieces like Brady House, Cade Cavalli, and Robert Hassell III could offer at some point in the year. The addition of Michael Soroka to a rotation that already featured solid youngsters like Gore and Jake Irvin should also offer plenty of upside. Steep as the climb to the summit of the NL East would be, it’s certainly not impossible to imagine the Nationals being the surprise of the NL this year.

Miami Marlins (62-100)

Things were bleak in Miami last year as they lost 100 games for the first time since 2019. And unfortunately for fans, there’s little reason for optimism about the potential for better days in 2025. The club made virtually no additions this winter, and moves to ship out solid pieces like Luzardo and Jake Burger figure to be far more notable than the additions of minor pieces like Matt Mervis and Cal Quantrill. The return of stalwart ace Sandy Alcantara from Tommy John surgery provides a nice story early in the year, and young phenom Eury Perez could return later this season as well. Even the club’s vaunted collection of arms seems unlikely to be enough to get them back to the playoffs given a lineup that will rely on players like Jesus Sanchez and Connor Norby to carry its run production this year, and it would likely take a miracle for them to actually come out on top in such a tough division.

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The Phillies, Braves, and Mets all have strong cases to be the NL East’s best team after making the postseason last year. Philadelphia stands as the reigning champion, while Atlanta featured the best team in all of baseball just two years ago. New York, meanwhile, made a deep run in the postseason just last year and added arguably the most talented pure hitter in baseball over the winter. Meanwhile, D.C. is continuing to quietly assemble a young core that could break out and compete in its own right. Even with Miami deep in the trenches of a rebuild, it figures to be a deeply competitive division in 2025. Who do you think will come out on top? Have your say in the poll below:

Offseason In Review: Texas Rangers

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After a disappointing follow-up season to their first-ever World Series championship, the Rangers were the busiest team in the AL West over the offseason. Did they do enough to put themselves in the driver’s seat of the division?

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $56.225MM (not including Curvelo)
Total spending: $139.475MM (not including Curvelo)

Option Decisions

Trades & Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

While the Rangers significantly increased payroll during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 offseasons, they weren’t nearly as active the winter after their World Series victory, despite the extra cash their success surely brought in. The reason? Declining television revenue and an unknown future for their TV broadcasts. Texas was one of many teams affected when the company then known as Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy in 2023. The Rangers negotiated a new agreement with DSG for 2024, but it was only a one-year deal, and it paid them significantly less than they had received under their previous contract.

The Rangers did not re-up with DSG (now called Main Street Sports Group) for 2025, nor did they follow the path of teams like the Guardians and Twins, who will have their TV broadcasts distributed by MLB this season. Instead, the Rangers announced the brand new Rangers Sports Network in late January. RSN will partner with several TV providers to distribute games. Presumably, the team decided this would be a more lucrative option than signing away their exclusive TV rights to another broadcast company or MLB. Still, the whole ordeal meant the Rangers were facing quite a bit of financial uncertainty for the second consecutive winter. For the first time in four years, they did not increase their payroll. Indeed, the team made it a goal to drop below the luxury tax threshold in 2025. According to the estimates from RosterResource, those efforts were successful. The Rangers' payroll sits about $4MM lower than where it was at the end of last season, while their CBT payroll is $14.5MM lower – and $4.7MM below the first tax threshold.

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Offseason In Review: Athletics

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Motivated by their temporary move to Sacramento and the fear of an MLBPA grievance that could have cut into their revenue sharing money, the A's were busy. The result: three of the four largest contracts in franchise history, and a realistic (if long shot) hope of competing for a playoff spot.

Free Agent Signings

2025 spending: $40.05MM
Total spending: $82.05MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

The A's played around .500 ball in the second half. While their rotation remained largely uninspiring, things were starting to fall into place in the lineup. As the team officially closed the book on their 57 years in Oakland, fans who are sticking with the club in Sacramento and Las Vegas could start to dream on the team pulling out of a three-year rebuild.

There were a few clear areas to address. They needed multiple starting pitchers and a third baseman, at least. The A's rarely plug holes in free agency. They'd spent less than $55MM over the previous three offseasons combined. Owner John Fisher has suggested he'd raise payroll with expected revenue increases once they get to Las Vegas in 2028. It's hard to argue the A's deserved the benefit of the doubt after years of bottom-tier spending. There were no promises about the next three seasons anyhow, as those will be played at a Triple-A park in Sacramento.

At the beginning of the offseason, general manager David Forst firmly stated that designated hitter Brent Rooker wouldn't be available. It was fair to assume the same of star closer Mason Miller. They were no longer in the "tear it down" section of the rebuild, but it wasn't clear how aggressively they'd supplement their developing lineup.

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Players Currently In DFA Limbo

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The few days leading up to the start of the season bring a lot of roster shuffling. Many teams will promote a minor league signee or two who had impressed in camp. There are always a few players who are out of options who don’t break camp, meaning they’ll be made available to other clubs.

That movement will continue over the next few days. Players who are designated for assignment will know their fate within a week. That gives teams up to five days to explore trade scenarios. If they don’t line up a deal, they need to place the player on waivers, which take 48 hours to resolve. Rounding up the recent activity around MLB, here are the players currently in DFA limbo.

Poll: Who Will Win The NL Central?

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With Opening Day just over the horizon, teams all around the league are gearing up for another pennant chase in hopes of being crowned this year’s World Series champion. Of course, there’s still another seven months to go before someone raises the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. We’ll be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. That series already covered the NL West, where the Dodgers were viewed as an overwhelming favorite, and will now move on to the NL Central. Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Milwaukee Brewers (93-69)

The perennially underrated Brewers won the NL Central for a second consecutive year last season, finishing ten games up on the second-place Cubs and Cardinals. Impressively, they did so after losing both star manager Craig Counsell and ace right-hander Corbin Burnes the previous offseason. They’ll need to work that same magic to stay on top of their division this year after a winter that once again saw them part ways with major pieces. This time, longtime shortstop Willy Adames departed for San Francisco in free agency while the club traded star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees in exchange for prospect Caleb Durbin and southpaw Nestor Cortes.

Even without those stars, the Brewers could make some noise in a relatively weak division. A strong outfield anchored by Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio figures to impress once again in 2025, and William Contreras has blossomed into a true star behind the plate. Meanwhile, veteran ace Brandon Woodruff is expected back sometime early this year after missing 2024 due to shoulder surgery, joining existing rotation pieces like Freddy Peralta and Aaron Civale to form a strong group. The club’s first challenge of the year will be getting through the early weeks of the season with a patchwork rotation, as each of Woodruff, Tobias Myers, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, and Robert Gasser figure to open the year on the injured list.

Chicago Cubs (83-79)

After a second consecutive 83-79 finish in 2024, the Cubs made some major changes over the offseason. The club said goodbye to its longest-tenured player as Kyle Hendricks departed for Anaheim, replacing him in the rotation with southpaw Matthew Boyd, and swapped out Cody Bellinger for Kyle Tucker, a clear offensive upgrade that cost them third baseman Isaac Paredes to pull off. A reconstructed bullpen featuring Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier, Caleb Thielbar, and Eli Morgan looks strong on paper than the relief corps that was expected to be anchored by Adbert Alzolay and Hector Neris last year, as well. Despite those on-paper improvements, the Cubs face plenty of questions entering 2025. Matt Shaw, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and even Miguel Amaya offer plenty of upside at third base, in center field, and behind the plate respectively but none are surefire offensive contributors.

There’s still plenty to like, however. Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, and Ian Happ provide an incredibly strong floor in the outfield, and the addition of Justin Turner offers protection against a sophomore slump for 2024 standout rookie Michael Busch at first base while Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson figure to offer their perennially excellent defense alongside league average offense up the middle. Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga offer a quality one-two punch at the front of the club’s rotation, as well. It’s not too difficult to see a path back to the playoffs for the Cubs this year despite the questions, and adding a true star like Tucker ahead of his walk year could be the boost they need to recapture the division in 2025.

St. Louis Cardinals (83-79)

2024 was a mixed bag for the Cardinals, as they managed to get back over .500 following a disastrous 2023 campaign but saw both Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt fail to live up to expectations as they fell short of the playoffs once again. The struggles of the last two years prompted the Cardinals front office to put a focus on developing young players and parting ways with veterans this winter, though no-trade clauses wielded by Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Arenado prevented that goal from coming to fruition outside of the departures of veterans like Goldschmidt and Kyle Gibson via free agency.

That’s left the Cardinals with a roster that looks simultaneously similar and slightly downgraded from last year. Phil Maton was the club’s only big league free agent addition this winter, offering a veteran set-up option for closer Ryan Helsley after Andrew Kittredge departed in free agency. Outside of that, the club’s moves were largely internal. Contreras replaced Goldschmidt at first base to make room for a catching tandem of Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages, Matthew Liberatore is sliding into the club’s rotation from the bullpen, and the club appears committed to giving more regular opportunities to younger players like Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Alec Burleson. St. Louis’s hopes of finding success in 2025 likely hinge on those young players making the most of their opportunities this year and taking big steps forward.

Cincinnati Reds (77-85)

2024 was a deeply disappointed season in Cincinnati, as a club that many expected to blossom instead fell apart in the face of injuries all over the roster. Strong performances from stars Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene aside, there were few positive takeaways from last season. Fortunately, the club made substantial changes ahead of the 2025 season. They got things started in October by hiring future Hall of Famer Terry Francona to manage the club, and since then they’ve added Gavin Lux, Taylor Rogers, Jose Trevino, and Brady Singer in free agency while bringing back Nick Martinez and signing Austin Hays.

It was a busy offseason that added a number of solid complimentary pieces, all of whom should help the Reds avoid a total collapse like they suffered last year. Even so, the club will need better health from its core players to contend. The return of Matt McLain should offer a big boost, while healthy seasons from TJ Friedl in center field, Jeimer Candelario at third base, and Nick Lodolo in the rotation could be game changing as well. The pieces appear to be in place for brighter days in 2025, but whether that will be enough to get the Reds back to the postseason for the first time in a 162-game season since 2013 remains to be seen.

Pittsburgh Pirates (76-86)

Pittsburgh hasn’t finished above fourth place in the NL Central since 2016, and even a full season from reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes won’t be enough to pull the club back into postseason contention on its own. The Pirates had a relatively quiet offseason this winter as they brought Andrew Heaney into the rotation alongside the additions of Spencer Horwitz and Tommy Pham to the lineup but made few additions beyond that trio. Those additions join a solid enough nucleus that includes Skenes, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, Oneil Cruz, and Bryan Reynolds, but a lineup light on impact and a bullpen still anchored by David Bednar even after a 5.77 ERA season last year raise questions about the club’s ability to compete before even considering the fact that Jones and Horwitz are both presently nursing injuries.

That’s not to say there’s no hope for the Pirates this year, however. Skenes is perhaps the best young pitcher in the entire sport, and even if Jones misses time Keller, Heaney, and Bailey Falter make for a solid rotation that should keep the club in most games. A big season from Horwitz once he returns from the IL along with steps forward for young players like Cruz, Endy Rodriguez, and Nick Gonzales could lift the lineup well above its projections even if the club continues to get little value from former 1-1 pick Henry Davis, and Bednar returning to the form he showed in his previous back-to-back All-Star campaigns would go along way as well.

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It was a fairly busy offseason in the NL Central, and while the division still appears weaker at the top than its rivals on the coasts it nonetheless stands out as the only one in the National League where all five clubs are making some attempt to contend in 2025. Will the Brewers be able to hold onto the division crown for a third consecutive season? Will an up-and-coming club like the Cubs or Reds take a big enough step forward to wrest control? Or, perhaps, the Cardinals or Pirates will get the steps forward from young pieces necessary to surprise? Have your say in the poll below:

Offseason In Review: San Diego Padres

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The Padres had a fairly quiet offseason coming off a 93-win season. They were working with limited payroll room for the second straight winter, but they decided not to move any key pieces in cost-cutting trades. A few late signings -- including a backloaded four-year deal for a mid-rotation starter -- rounded out the offseason.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $11MM
Total spending: $62MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Seasons

Extensions

  • Signed SS Tyler Wade to one-year, $900K deal with $1MM club option for 2026

Notable Losses

The Padres faced a pair of injuries late last season that had a significant impact on their offseason. In August, Ha-Seong Kim injured his shoulder diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. He underwent a season-ending labrum repair a few weeks later. Joe Musgrove left a start early in the postseason with elbow tightness. He required Tommy John surgery that'll cost him the entire '25 season.

Kim's injury was "only" expected to carry into the early part of this season, though it came with a nebulous enough timeline that it's possible he'll miss most of the first half. The Padres never seemed likely to meet the asking price to retain free agency's #2 shortstop. However, there's a decent chance they would have issued Kim a qualifying offer if he were fully healthy.

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Poll: Who Will Win The NL West?

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With Opening Day just over the horizon, teams all around the league are gearing up for another pennant chase in hopes of being crowned this year’s World Series champion. Of course, there’s still another seven months to go before someone raises the Commissioner’s Trophy. And until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. We’ll be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division, and that series begins today with the NL West. Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64)

The Dodgers have already notched two wins over the Cubs in the Tokyo Series for 2025, and they did so coming off a season where they finished the year with the best record in baseball and went on to win the World Series over the Yankees in five games. The club’s core of MVP-caliber talent remains in place with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman all set to once again anchor the lineup this year. Meanwhile, a pitching staff that already included Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Clayton Kershaw has been bulked out further not just by Ohtani’s impending return to the mound but also the additions of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.

In the bullpen, the team’s solid late-inning mix of Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, and Evan Phillips got a pair of major additions in the form of Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, while the lineup is largely unchanged from last season with Hyeseong Kim set to replace Gavin Lux eventually and Michael Conforto stepping into the outfield in place of Jason Heyward. There are few clear places to nitpick a team that appears to be a clear juggernaut on paper, although the combination of Betts and Max Muncy on the left side of the infield figures to be below average defensively and the club’s strategy of stacking talented, oft-injured rotation arms always runs the risk of health problems.

San Diego Padres (93-69)

While many view besting the Dodgers as a mountain that’s near impossible to climb, it’s worth remembering that San Diego came within just one game of toppling them during the NLDS back in October. The Padres were restricted in their offseason activities by financial limitations, but the core of the 2024 club remains largely in place with Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis Jr. poised to anchor the lineup, Xander Bogaerts and Luis Arraez providing support and a front-of-the-rotation duo of Dylan Cease and Michael King who will be motivated to build on their excellent 2024 campaigns ahead of free agency this winter.

That’s not to say the club made no additions this winter, of course. The Padres waited out the market to sign talented right-hander Nick Pivetta to anchor the middle of their rotation alongside Yu Darvish, allowing them to make a splash on a tight budget. Other additions were less flashy, but could still prove valuable. While a supporting cast of Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Jose Iglesias, and Yuli Gurriel may not look like much on paper, no one expected Jurickson Profar, David Peralta, and Donovan Solano to be as impactful for the club as they were last year. If the Padres are to win an NL West that got even more loaded this winter, they’ll need to hit on those dice rolls once again.

Arizona Diamondbacks (89-73)

While the Diamondbacks missed the playoffs by a hair in 2024 when they finished tied with the Mets and Braves for the final two NL Wild Card spots, the 2023 NL champions put together an excellent team in 2024. The Diamondbacks led the majors in runs scored last year, and many core pieces like Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll are back for more this year alongside supporting veterans Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Eugenio Suarez. The losses of Christian Walker and Joc Pederson will certainly sting, but Josh Naylor should help to make up for some of that lost production and it wouldn’t be a shock to see longtime top prospect Jordan Lawlar break into the majors this year, either.

The pitching side of things is where Arizona figures to improve the most over last year. Zac Gallen is now complemented at the top of the Diamondbacks rotation by a co-ace in Corbin Burnes, and Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez should be able to offer far steadier mid-rotation production than they did in injury-marred 2024 campaigns. The club also enjoys a deep group of back-of-the-rotation options, with Brandon Pfaadt set to get the first crack at starting. Should injuries once again complicate matters, Ryne Nelson is one of the best sixth starters in the league and there’s nowhere for Jordan Montgomery to go but up after last year’s disastrous campaign.

San Francisco Giants (80-82)

The Giants enjoyed a reasonably strong offseason during Buster Posey’s first winter at the helm, but after finishing with a middling record for the third consecutive season it would take a lot of things going right for the club to make significant gains in the standings. The addition of a star-caliber shortstop in Willy Adames alongside Matt Chapman should make for one of the stronger left sides of the infield in the sport this year, but it would take a renaissance from Justin Verlander to even match Blake Snell’s production down the stretch last year. Meanwhile, the club has no established talent at DH and faces questions about the productivity of its outfield after Jung Hoo Lee’s debut season was sidetracked by injuries.

That’s not to say 2025 is a season without hope for fans in San Francisco, however. Verlander and Robbie Ray are both former Cy Young winners, and vintage performances from the duo in conjunction with Logan Webb’s ever-steady production could make an impressive front-end of the rotation. Young players like Heliot Ramos, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Patrick Bailey could build on solid 2024 campaigns and take further steps forward. And if they do so while the rotation plays up to its potential, it’s possible to see the Giants surprising this year.

Colorado Rockies (61-101)

While the division’s other four teams all have reasonable paths to contention this year, the Rockies would need to move heaven and earth just to get to .500 after a season where they finished 37 games back in the NL West and made no significant additions during the offseason. The club has a few potentially exciting pieces in place, with center fielder Brenton Doyle and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar creating an exciting up-the-middle duo, but the supporting cast leaves much to be desired.

The club traded its highest-ceiling offensive player, left fielder Nolan Jones, for utility man Tyler Freeman over the weekend. And exciting top prospects like Zac Veen and Chase Dollander remain in the minor leagues. Even a return to form from $182MM man Kris Bryant wouldn’t be enough to return playoff baseball to Colorado this year unless it was paired with strong performances from those aforementioned prospects in addition to veteran arms like German Marquez and Kyle Freeland turning back the clock to 2018.

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With four of the division’s five teams making an effort to get back to the playoffs this year, which club do you expect to come out on top? Will the Dodgers remain the league’s dominant force, or will they be overcome by a big season from one of their rivals like San Diego or Arizona? Have your say in the poll below:

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