Baseball is back! Here’s an overview of how every MLB team looks walking into spring training:
AL East
Baltimore Orioles: Last year was a breakout season for Baltimore, as they fought through one of the most competitive divisions in the league and finished with a record of 101-61. Over the winter, they acquired star pitcher Corbin Burnes from the Brewers in exchange for two prospects. Along with Grayson Rodriguez and John Means, their rotation is solid, and the offense barely changed, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they win another division title this season.
Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox had a disappointing 2023 season, finishing last in the division at 78-84. Their roster this year, however, looks different. Even after losing Chris Sale, they brought in Lucas Giolito and star closer Liam Hendericks to add to pitching depth. Tyler O’Neill is another free agent signing,who can hit the ball hard and has amazing abilities in the outfield.
New York Yankees: The Yankees are the MLB equivalent of the Cowboys in my opinion. Historically, they’re one of the best teams ever, but the recent cycle is that everyone is hyped up about them in the beginning, they have a good season and make a run, only for it to fall apart in the playoffs. Last season, they went 82-80, missing out of the playoffs entirely. They did, however, add Juan Soto, who can perform at an amazing level. I think this season will be a repeat of what we’ve seen lately, especially with the competitive division they’re in.
Tampa Bay Rays: Last year, the Rays were only two games short of Baltimore for the division title. They didn’t really make any signings that highlighted the offseason and kept their lineup the same for the most part. WIth most of their previously amazing farm system in the bigs now, they are still young, and I can see them still making a run for it, but it will be close.
Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays were also not very active over the winter, but with this roster, they didn’t really need to do much. Everyone is expecting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette to be themselves and have great performances again this year. Last year was an 89-win season for them, and if we see Alek Manoah rebound and perform like he did his first two seasons, they can outdo Tampa and potentially top Baltimore for the division.
AL Central:
Chicago White Sox: Two years ago, the White Sox looked like they had a dream team with Lucas Giolito, Luis Robert and Jose Abreu to name a few, but everything went downhill. In 2022, they had a .500 finish, and last year was even worse. Robert will always be a solid player to build a team around. With new young catcher Korey Lee along with Andrew Vaughn, they have their building blocks, and they’re in a very weak division, but this year is likely going to be another year focused on building the team.
Cleveland Guardians: Cleveland had a rather depressing season last year, not only missing out on holding the division title, but also finishing below .500. They still have former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber and ace Emmanuel Clase at closer, so they still have a solid pitching roster. Jose Ramirez will remain the building block in the infield along with Andres Giminez and Brayan Rocchio, a top prospect will be looking to make an impact in the bigs. If everything goes right and Bieber keeps up form, they can finish at the top of the division.
Detroit Tigers: After a few lowly seasons for Detroit, they showed some promise last season, finishing second in the division with an overall record of 78-84. Roster wise this season, Spencer Torkelson returns and will hope to make an impact along with Javier Baez, who has not made much, if any improvements to the team since they signed him to his massive six-year, $140 million contract. This offseason, the Tigers were not that active and did not sign any big impactful players, but they will hope to repeat and improve off of an impressive season.
Kansas CIty Royals: The Royals were in a deep rebuilding stage last season, but after the proposal for a new stadium downtown got passed, they had to spend some money. Along with extending star Bobby Witt Jr to a 11-year, $288 million extension, they brought in catcher Austin Nola to sit behind Salvador Perez. They also acquired John Schreiber, Michael Wacha and Hunter Renfroe. This Royals team is still rocky and has some holes, but if they can get everything figured out, they can compete for the division.
Minnesota Twins: The AL central is one of the worst and least threatening divisions in the league. You never know who is going to win. The Twins were the only team in the division to finish above .500,with a final record of 87-75. They had Sonny Gray, who had an amazing season, but lost him to the Cardinals during free agency. They added veteran Carlos Santana in free agency, but there were no shocking moves from them, so I’m curious to see if they can win another, or if it will go to one of the teams that spent more such as Kansas City, or a more solid lineup like Cleveland’s.
AL West
Houston Astros: The Astros pulled through and managed to top the Rangers for the division last year, but then fell to Texas in the playoffs. This Astros team is still extremely good this year. The stacked infield returns with Jose Abreu, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve, who just signed a 7-year, $163 million extension. Combine that with Yordan Alvarez at DH and the addition of star closer Josh Hader, this team still looks good. Age will test them though, as Abreu is 37 and ace Justin Verlander is 41.
Los Angeles Angels: The only word that I can think of to sum up the way Angels fans must be feeling right now is miserable. Not only did they lose Shohei Ohtani, who is arguably the best player in the league right now, but they lost him to their crosstown rivals, the Dodgers. It was revealed that Ohtani asked for the same contract from the Angels that he received from the Dodgers, but the front office declined. All of this happening is causing rumors to spread that Mike Trout will be traded, and while the front office says he isn’t on the market, there will definitely be teams interested in him.
Oakland Athletics: The A’s fans are arguably just as miserable as Angels fans, as the front office revealed that they have bought land on the Vegas strip and plan to move there by 2027. Roster wise, the team is far from perfect, but top prospect Tyler Soderstrom will be making an impact this season along with Zack Gelof. Oakland fans will likely be in for another season of rebuilding and not making any impacts. The A’s contract with the Colosseum also ends this year, but with the stadium in Vegas not being finished for another three years, there should be some interesting news on what they decide to do.
Seattle Mariners: Even after an 88-win season last year, Seattle missed out on the playoffs. Looking at the team, Andres Munoz returns as their closer along with Luis Castillo. With Logan Gilbert being two of the elite starters and with Julio Rodriguez being a star at the plate, they are set to compete with Houston and Texas again and will have their eyes on getting another wild card, if not a division title.
Texas Rangers: For the first time in team history, the Texas Rangers are World Series champions and they have the roster to repeat . Stars Nathaniel Lowe, Marcus Semien and Cory Seager all return on offense . The pitching will only be better too, hoping that Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer remain healthy, as the two of them received rings even though they barely played at all. Put all of this talent together, and this year, they’re not only good enough to win their division, but also another title.
NL East
Atlanta Braves: The Braves finished with the best record in the entire league last season, winning 104 games. Even better, their roster will likely not change much for many years to come. They have players like Matt Olson, Ronald Acuna and Austin RIley locked up for the near future. Atlanta has already won a championship with the roster too, when they beat the Rays back in 2021. With this current roster and not many teams in the division putting up a fight, this season should be one that Atlanta fans enjoy.
Miami Marlins: Last season was great for Miami. They won 84 games and snuck their way into the playoffs, but they have a ton of room for improvement. The pitching rotation is amazing, with former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara returning along with Eury Perez, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rodgers and Sixto Sanchez. Offensively, they have Jazz Chisholm returning too, who is a very versatile player and along with signing Tim Anderson, they have the offense improved a little bit, but they need to work on it more before they can really be competitors for a title.
New York Mets: When the Mets signed Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, everyone thought they finally had everything figured out and could compete for a title, but all of those hopes fell last season. They ended up getting rid of both aces and now are in a hard spot. Watching Francisco Alvarez develop further should be fun, as he is showing tons of potential and is only 22 years old. While they did make some decent moves this offseason, with the difficulty of the NL East, the chances of making anything happen are low.
Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies had another good season last year, winning 90 games and finishing second only behind the Braves. This season they made some new additions too, adding Whit Merrifield and Spencer Turnbull. Adding Turnbull to a rotation already featuring Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola rounds out the #3 spot. Bryce Harper and Trea Turner will be back looking to make an impact as well, and if they can put it together, they may be able to compete with Atlanta for the division,
Washington Nationals: The Nationals are deep in a rebuilding stage now. The team that defeated the Astros in 2019 is pretty much gone, except for Stephen Strasburg, who will likely be a Nat until he retires. The hope for Washington this season is to see more development by MacKenzie Gore, Keibert Ruiz and CJ Abrams just to name a few. Don’t expect to see much, if anything, from the Nationals this year, but in a few seasons, this may be a different story.
NL Central
Chicago Cubs: With an 83-win season, the Cubbies surprised everyone and will be looking to win the division this year. They weren’t very active at all in the beginning of the offseason, but ended up trading for Michael Bush from the Dodgers. Put him with a team already featuring Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong, who will be making his debut in the majors this season, and Chicago fans have a season to look forward to.
Cincinnati Reds: Cincy fans did not expect to see their team finish above .500 last season, but they did it (barely). Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo will be their top duo of pitchers for years to come, and Alexis DIaz is a great closer. Put this decent pitching with breakout star Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte, and this team looks promising. While this year may not be theirs, they’re definitely a team to watch out for in the next few seasons.
Milwaukee Brewers: While they did win the division last year and put up 92 wins, the NL central looks different this season with Chicago and Cincy looking better. The Brewers only lost power too, with the Corbin Burnes trade mentioned earlier. They still have Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta as starters and Devin Williams as their closer. This year is also going to be a redemption year for Christian Yelich who, after winning MVP, has not been his former self.
Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates have not been much of a contender for years now. They’re mostly just a farming team and get rid of their stars over time. If Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz can be impressive along with Henry Davis, the team may look better, but don’t expect to see anything perfect from them in the years to come.
St. Louis Cardinals: As a Cardinals fan, last season was painful to say the least, but obviously the front office decided that they just needed to retool and tweak the rotation. How did they do that? The way they always do, by bringing in old, slightly washed out pitchers. Sonny Gray and Kyle Gibson had great seasons last year, but their age makes Cardinals fans worry about if they can keep it up. Let’s actually hope last year was an off year so Goldy and Arenado can go back to their MVP candidate selves along with Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman starting to become stars in the league.
NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks: Last year shocked everyone. Corbin Carroll had a breakout season and led them to a World Series appearance, falling short to the Rangers. Alek Thomas and Gabriel Moreno will be two great sidekicks to Carroll, and with Zac Gallen remaining their ace this season, they may not be able to make it to the World Series this year, but with a little more experience and development, it can happen again soon.
Colorado Rockies: There’s really nothing to talk about the Rockies over the offseason with their controversial owners, as many fans want the team to be sold. They do, however, still have Ryan McMahon and Brendan Rodgers at the infield spots and long-time Rockie Charlie Blackmon at DH. Plus, who knows, maybe Kris Bryant can go back to his former self when he won Rookie of the Year with the Cubs.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Apparently, not making it to the World Series for one year was one too many for the Dodgers, because they had a shocking offseason. They managed to sign the two biggest free agents in the market, stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. With the way Ohtani’s contract is structured, this team is going to be amazing for the foreseeable future, so they are not only predicted to win this division and the National League, but also the World Series.
San Diego Padres: A few years ago, everyone was thinking that the Padres had a lineup capable of winning their first title, but now those hopes are pretty much gone. Fernando Tatis has been away with injuries, and they barely finished over .500 last season. Even after adding Xander Bogaerts, they can maybe sneak into a wild card spot, but I don’t expect much else.
San Francisco Giants: Giants fans have gone through some heartbreak in free agency over the past few seasons. First, they were expected to sign star Aaron Judge, but then he ended up going back to the Bronx. Then, the Ohtani rumors started, but he ended up going to their division rivals, the Dodgers. They never made any real moves either, so Giants fans can’t really say much for this offseason. Just like the Padres, they’re maybe a wild card team, but that’s it.