Spring training is upon us, which means Opening Day is coming into view and the 2025-26 offseason is effectively behind us. This uplifting checkpoint on the MLB calendar gives us occasion to appraise the offseason work of all 30 teams. We’ll do that by handing out letter grades to each based on estimations of what they’re offseason goals were. Not every team’s aim is contention, of course, and as unfortunate as that may be, we have to acknowledge when assessing how a club fared over the offseason. For the most part, though, this will be about the extent to which teams improved their on-field outlook for 2026 and beyond.
Assume the position, squadrons.
Arizona Diamondbacks: B
The best move the D-backs made this offseason wasn’t a move at all, but rather the decision not to trade All-Star infielder Ketel Marte. Elsewhere, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are back in the rotation and Michael Soroka is new to it. The addition of decline-phase veterans Nolan Arenado and Carlos Santana probably don’t move the needle all that much, but they do give manager Torey Lovullo some tactical options.
(Sacramento) Athletics: C
The A’s wisely committed to Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson for the long-term, and getting Jeff McNeil for cheap upgrades their second base situation. On the other hand, the A’s didn’t do enough to address their flawed rotation (Aaron Civale doesn’t get it done) and that will likely be their undoing in 2026.
Atlanta Braves: C
The story of the 2026 Braves will largely be told by whether they get some rebound performances in the lineup and whether the roster is able to be healthier than it was in 2025 (Spencer Schwellenbach is already headed to the 60-day IL, so not a great start). While the Braves didn’t make any huge splashes this winter, the newly arrived Mike Yastrzemski is a useful platoon bat in left and Robert Suarez improves the depth of high-leverage options in the bullpen. Shortstop, however, remains a major trouble spot.
Baltimore Orioles: B
The O’s added some much-needed right-handed pop by bringing Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward on board. On the pitching side, Baltimore also made sound moves by adding Shane Baz to the rotation via intra-divisional trade, re-upping with Zach Eflin, and inking Chris Bassitt. They also fleshed out the bullpen with Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge from the right side. The price in trade for Baz, however, was high, and the O’s still don’t have the ace they need.
Boston Red Sox: B+
The Sox fortified the front of the rotation behind ace Garrett Crochet with the additions of Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Johan Oviedo. As well, Willson Contreras’ right-handed thump should play well in Fenway. On the downside, Alex Bregman’s departure in free agency will be keenly felt in the infield and in the lineup, but the trade for Caleb Durbin helps lessen the sting.
Chicago Cubs: B
The loss of Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers and the apparent complete lack of interest in trying to bring back the best free agent of the 2025-26 class are marks against the Cubs. On the upside, they stabilized the infield with the Alex Bregman addition and the trade for Edward Cabrera deepens the rotation and provides upside. There are lots of new faces in the bullpen, plus the Cubs wisely resisted the temptation to trade away second baseman Nico Hoerner.
Chicago White Sox: B+
The ChiSox get an elevated grade largely because of the signing of Munetaka Murakami to a two-year contract. He’s not a known quantity, but his power upside makes this a very worthwhile low-risk endeavor for Chicago. While the trade return in the Luis Robert Jr. deal wasn’t particularly impressive, they did finally pull the trigger on it. The Anthony Kay and Sean Newcomb signings will help them cover innings at least.
Cincinnati Reds: C-
The Reds last season snuck into the playoffs despite a pretty bad offense. The Eugenio Suárez signing helps that situation, but they really needed to do more on this front. Yes, JJ Bleday and Dane Myers are new to the outfield mix, but that doesn’t achieve much. As well, useful 2025 contributors like Austin Hays, Nick Martinez, and Miguel Andujar may be missed.
Cleveland Guardians: C-
The bullpen has some new faces in it, but otherwise the Guards will mostly be running it back in 2026. Yes, they made the playoffs thanks to a miracle finish to the regular season, but at heart this is a team that was outscored by the opposition in 2025. They really needed to address multiple spots in the lineup this winter, but the Dolans remain as uninterested and neglectful as ever.
Colorado Rockies: B-
Coming off one of the worst seasons in MLB history, the Rockies badly needed a reboot and a step toward modernizing all of baseball operations. They did that, at least in theory, by bringing in Paul DePodesta as the lead decision maker. That’s the biggest move of the winter in Denver. DePodesta has been out of the game for a long time, but he still constitutes a major step forward for the organization. Elsewhere, taking a swing on Edouard Julien as a buy-low, post-hype youngster is a sound move.
Detroit Tigers: A-
We’ll ignore the silliness of the Tigers’ approach to Tarik Skubal’s arbitration case and instead praise them for not trading him ahead of his walk year. Detroit is angling to make the postseason for a third straight year, and that wouldn’t happen without Skubal. As well, the signing of Framber Valdez gives Detroit a worthy No. 2 in the rotation behind Skubal. The signing of franchise legend Justin Verlander is a crowd-pleaser and also deepens the rotation.
Houston Astros: B
The loss of Framber Valdez is a rough one, but the Astros have done a solid job of papering over his loss by signing Tatsuya Imai, trading for Mike Burrows, and plucking Ryan Weiss out of Korea. As a result, there’s now impressive rotation depth despite the loss of their bedrock to the Tigers. The infield situation remains crowded, but “crowded” also doubles as depth that might be useful.
Kansas City Royals: B
The Royals’ best move of the winter was inking the impressive Maikel Garcia to a long-term extension. There’s also been some needed bullpen churn — the Matt Strahm signing in particular is a welcome development — and the addition of Lane Thomas improves the KC bench.
Los Angeles Angels: B
Getting potentially four years of Grayson Rodriguez for one year of Taylor Ward was a great play by the Halos, even if Rodriguez hasn’t been healthy in some time. He’s a revival project of sorts, but he’s exactly the kind of swing the Halos should be taking. Their remaining additions — Vaughn Grissom, Alek Manoah, Drew Pomeranz, Jordan Romano, Kirby Yates — all make varying degrees of sense, and some of them will likely work out. All that mentioned, it’s hard to squint and see the Angels being relevant in the tough AL West in 2026. As such, this could all turn out to be a lot of wheel-spinning.
Los Angeles Dodgers: A
The back-to-back champs remain the standard when it comes to investing in on-field success. Rather than rest on their substantial laurels this winter, the Dodgers went out and signed the best free agent available (Kyle Tucker) and landed an upgrade at closer (Edwin Díaz). The Tucker addition in particular was made to order, as they could use a younger presence within their core and better production from the outfield corners.
Miami Marlins: B+
The Fish did well to land three prospects — including the very promising Owen Caissie — in trading Edward Cabrera to the Cubs. They also got good value in the Pete Fairbanks signing to shore up the high-leverage end of the bullpen. The story in Miami remains when and if they’ll trade former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, but otherwise the Marlins have done quality work this winter.
Milwaukee Brewers: C
The Brewers remain squarely in the discussion for “best organization in baseball,” but have they stretched their model to the limits this winter? The rotation will miss the stability of Freddy Peralta, who has three straight seasons of at least 30 starts and 200 strikeouts. As well, the Caleb Durbin trade was a bit of a strange one from the Milwaukee standpoint. Obviously, this organization has earned the benefit of the doubt, but in a vacuum these two major moves seem questionable. To be sure, the Brewers still very much profile as contenders in 2026.
Minnesota Twins: F
The Twins needed to make improvements in order to contend in the typically winnable AL Central, and their big move has been signing decline-phase Josh Bell. Their behavior at last year’s trade deadline suggested a rebuild was in the offing, but the Twins didn’t finish the job this winter. Trading Pablo López and Joe Ryan would’ve at least made the approach coherent, but instead the Twins seem to be indulging in half-measures.
New York Mets: B+
Pete Alonso’s thump and presence will be missed, as will Edwin Díaz’s strikeout chops in the closer role. That mentioned, the Mets have made a number of notable additions and reminded us why it’s premature to evaluate a team’s offseason until that offseason is complete. New to the scene are Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta (a sorely needed stabilizing presence at the front of the rotation), Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, Luis Robert Jr., Devin Williams, and Luke Weaver. That’s a significant makeover, and it’s one that could help the Mets get back to the postseason.
New York Yankees: C
Re-upping with Cody Bellinger, who put up a 5.1 WAR season in 2025, was a welcome development, but otherwise it was a fairly listless winter in the Bronx. On the pitching front, Ryan Weathers is the only addition to a rotation that figures to have serious health and durability concerns in the upcoming season. Hal Steinbrenner continues to refuse going full bore for the remainder of Aaron Judge’s peak.
Philadelphia Phillies: B
Bringing back Kyle Schwarber, the top source of power in the 2025-26 free agent class, was essential, and they did that. As well, stalwart catcher J.T. Realmuto is back in the fold. Will the Phils regret letting Ranger Suárez walk? There’s much riding on Zack Wheeler’s return to form, whenever he’s able to take the mound. That mentioned, youngster Andrew Painter has elite upside, so the Suárez decision is defensible. Elsewhere, Adolis García probably doesn’t adequately address their outfield issues.
Pittsburgh Pirates: B
The Pirates have at least been active, which is notable in light of Bob Nutting’s standing as one of the worst team owners in all of sports. Overall, it’s a mixed bag. The trade addition of Brandon Lowe adds power to the middle infield and he immediately gives the Buccos All-Star potential in the lineup. José Urquidy is also a solid low-risk addition to the back of the rotation. Somewhat less inspiring are the signings of Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna.
San Diego Padres: C
Bringing back Michael King was a welcome turn of events, but Dylan Cease’s ace upside will be missed at the front of the rotation. The lineup is also aging in spots, and new addition Sung-Mun Song comes with an uncertain ability to hit MLB pitching. Budget restrictions and a thinned-out farm system limited what AJ Preller could accomplish this offseason.
San Francisco Giants: D
One can make the case that the Giants’ biggest move is hiring a college head coach as their manager. That’s not optimal for a team trying to contend in the deep NL West. As for the moves involving actual players, they’re not especially inspiring. Luis Arraez is a stretch defensively at second base, and Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser don’t sufficiently upgrade the rotation behind ace Logan Webb. Harrison Bader is a useful player, but the Giants really needed a true needle-moving addition this winter.
Seattle Mariners: A
Is this the best team in the AL? That’s a defensive question to ask after a strong winter in Seattle. The Brendan Donovan trade was an excellent targeted strike, and Jose A. Ferrer should be a strong long-term fixture in the bullpen. Re-signing Josh Naylor made a lot of sense, and Rob Refsnyder gives manager Dan Wilson a potent platoon bat.
St. Louis Cardinals: B+
The Cardinals’ committed in word to the rebuild, and then first-year lead decision-maker Chaim Bloom committed to it in deed. In trading away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan, Bloom cleared paths for younger contributors in 2026 and beyond and, most importantly, greatly improved the organizational pitching depth and upside with those trade returns. The on-field results probably won’t be pretty in St. Louis this season, but this was a necessary step.
Tampa Bay Rays: B-
The Rays did really well with the return for Shane Baz in the trade with Baltimore — an absolute haul, really — and the signings of Steven Matz and Cedric Mullins should modestly help the cause in 2026. Nick Martinez is also a sensible addition. That mentioned, Brandon Lowe will be missed and Gavin Lux probably won’t come close to filling that void.
Texas Rangers: B
The Rangers were dealing with declared financial constraints this offseason, so in that light it’s solid work. Brandon Nimmo and Danny Jansen are new to the lineup, the flawed bullpen has seen a great deal of turnover, and the trade for MacKenzie Gore infuses the middle of the rotation with relative youth and upside.
Toronto Blue Jays: B+
Yes, the loss of the Bichette to the Mets via free agency certainly stings, but otherwise the reigning AL champs did good work over the winter. Dylan Cease brings swing-and-miss and ace potential to the rotation, and Kazuma Okamoto has real power potential. Tyler Rogers is also a nice add to the bullpen.
Washington Nationals: B+
The Nats undertook a needed makeover in the front office and in the dugout, and that’s what drives this grade. New POBO Paul Toboni brings youth and the capacity to modernize, and that Nats sorely need modernization. Elsewhere, getting Harry Ford and his upside in the Jose A. Ferrer trade with Seattle was a nifty move, and they got good bulk in the MacKenzie Gore trade with Texas.
