MLB power rankings: Braves, Dodgers, O’s are 1-2-3 as spring training starts, season beckons – The Athletic

Pitchers and catchers are officially getting going, full-squad workouts are almost here and the first spring training game is only a week away. Although several big names remain unsigned, most of the offseason moves have been made, so it’s a good time for power rankings. Let’s take stock of the league with an eye toward Opening Day.

Here’s how I view the 30 MLB teams, from the top dogs to the bottom dwellers, after assessing their trades, signings, incoming prospects, developing major-league players, and overall rosters.

The Braves have the best roster, from one to twenty-six, in the majors, led by reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and reigning MLB strikeout king Spencer Strider. They have elite defense, including the best corner infield duo in the sport with Matt Olson at first and Austin Riley at third. They have a special blend of speed and power up the middle with Ozzie Albies at second, Michael Harris II in center and Sean Murphy behind the plate. Their rotation is solid behind Strider, highlighted by Max Fried, one of the best left-handed starters in the league, and righty Bryce Elder, who gave them nearly 175 innings last season. They have a deep bullpen centered around closer Raisel Iglesias. The Braves made a couple of key trades this offseason, acquiring veteran lefty Chris Sale from the Red Sox to fortify the rotation and adding Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners, taking a chance on the 24-year-old outfielder as a reclamation project. The key to the Braves’ season is whether Sale, 34, and Charlie Morton, 40, can stay healthy and pitch close to their accustomed levels. If they do, the Braves might be planning a World Series parade come Halloween.

The Dodgers committed to more than $1.2 billion in player payroll this offseason, by far the most of any team, and they spent wisely. They signed the best overall player in the majors (Shohei Ohtani) and the best free-agent starting pitcher available (Yoshinobu Yamamoto). They traded for an ace (Tyler Glasnow) and signed a corner outfielder with 25-home run power (Teoscar Hernández). They re-signed franchise icon Clayton Kershaw, inked James Paxton for rotation depth and brought back Jason Heyward after his bounce-back season. The Dodgers did a magnificent job of adding quality and depth to their starting pitching ranks and now are primed to win the NL West for the 11th time in 12 years. As spring training gets underway, they’re once again the favorites in Vegas to win the World Series.

The Orioles needed to add one final piece to their roster to be a World Series-or-bust type team and they did it with the trade for Corbin Burnes. When the Cubs won the 2016 World Series, their “final piece” was signing Jon Lester (before the prior season), and when the Astros won the 2017 World Series, their “final piece” was trading for Justin Verlander. The Orioles followed that script with the Burnes trade. This team has so many young players primed for breakout seasons and/or vastly improved performances. Jackson Holliday, who has the best hit tool of any prospect in baseball, is expected to be the Orioles’ Opening Day second baseman and he’ll likely be the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson and third baseman Jordan Westburg will form one of the best left sides of the infield in the game, and Adley Rutschman is already the best overall catcher in the sport. The outfield — Anthony Santander in right, Cedric Mullins in center and Austin Hays in left — is more than solid and the Orioles are loaded with rookie outfielders ready to step in if any of them struggle or need to be traded for more pitching. Ryan Mountcastle will provide significant power at first base and Coby Mayo (29 homers last season at Double A and Triple A) is on the way. Burnes joins a rotation that features Kyle Bradish, who is coming off a breakout season, and Grayson Rodriguez, who is on a path to be the team’s future ace. Lefty John Means will be an AL Comeback Player of the Year candidate, and don’t be surprised if he wins the award. The back of the bullpen is solid, with the recently signed Craig Kimbrel along with Yennier Canó and Danny Coulombe, but the Orioles will likely need to add more depth and quality to their pen between now and the trade deadline.

The Astros shocked the baseball world by signing star closer Josh Hader to a five-year contract, which arguably gives them the best back end of the bullpen in the majors as he joins Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu to form a dominating trio. They extended Jose Altuve for five years, which will take Houston’s face of the franchise through his age-39 season. Both moves were huge statements to their clubhouse. The Astros have a strong nucleus of position players around Altuve, including third baseman Alex Bregman, left fielder Yordan Alvarez and right fielder Kyle Tucker. Yainer Diaz takes over as their everyday catcher, replacing Martín Maldonado, who signed with the White Sox this winter, but how much will Houston miss Maldonado’s game calling? The key for the Astros will be the health of their rotation: Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, José Urquidy, Hunter Brown and J.P. France. Brown, 25, is primed for his breakout season. The Astros have a new manager, Joe Espada, who took over for future Hall of Famer Dusty Baker, and some new faces, but the championship standard is the same: They’re once again serious World Series contenders.

The Rangers have yet to re-sign lefty Jordan Montgomery and have already said goodbye to reliever Aroldis Chapman and designated hitters Mitch Garver and Robbie Grossman in free agency. (Grossman remains unsigned.) They replaced Chapman by signing relievers Kirby Yates and David Robertson, and they expect rookie slugger Wyatt Langford, who has a legitimate chance to make the big-league team out of spring training, to be an upgrade in the lineup over the Garver/Grossman combination. The biggest question for the Rangers is when will their three key injured starting pitchers — Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle — be ready to rejoin the rotation? And when they do return, how will they perform? As of now, the Rangers will start the season with a rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning and Cody Bradford — which is solid, but on paper that group doesn’t match the rotations of the Astros and Mariners. However, the Rangers’ position players are as good or better than everyone else’s in the American League. They have one of the best team defenses in the league. They have speed and power throughout their lineup. Corey Seager had surgery in late January to repair a left sports hernia and will miss most of spring training, but the Rangers hope he’ll be ready by Opening Day or soon after. It should be a fun pennant race in the AL West, as the Astros, Rangers and Mariners all look like playoff teams this year.

The Phillies had a relatively quiet offseason outside of signing Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract. (They did add some other pitchers in small moves and could bolster their bench, with an eye on the outfield, this spring.)  They lost reliever Craig Kimbrel in free agency but feel comfortable with their bullpen holdovers, led by José Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, Gregory Soto and Seranthony Domínguez. Their rotation (Zack Wheeler, Nola, Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sánchez) remains playoff-worthy. Their key position players are all back in 2024, including top-of-the-lineup staples Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos. The Phillies are much-improved defensively with Johan Rojas taking over in center field, Brandon Marsh (currently sidelined with a minor knee injury) moving to left field, and Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm making huge strides in the field at second and third, respectively; plus don’t forget about J.T. Realmuto, arguably the National League’s best overall catcher, who should be better than last year. The Phillies are a playoff team but it will probably be with the first wild-card berth as overtaking the Braves in the NL East is a tall task.

The defending NL champion Diamondbacks had a spectacular offseason. The Eduardo Rodriguez signing (four years, $80 million) gives them a strong overall rotation of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson. Their bullpen, led by closer Paul Sewald, returns intact. They added two power bats, trading for third baseman Eugenio Suárez and signing DH Joc Pederson. Those two really improve the team’s power, and their occasional three-run homers could be a huge difference-maker, especially in close regular-season games. The Diamondbacks also brought back left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a three-year, $42 million deal, a good value. Corbin Carroll should again be in the MVP conversation and Gold Glove winner Gabriel Moreno should develop into a top-four (overall) catcher in the NL. This is an elite defensive team with game-changing speed and although I doubt they can best the Dodgers in the West, their roster looks primed for a return to the playoffs, this time as the NL’s second wild card.

The Yankees signed Marcus Stroman, but do they need to do more to bolster their rotation? (Brad Penner / USA Today)

Any review of the Yankees’ offseason has to start with the trade that landed superstar Juan Soto, who is expected to play right field and bat second in the lineup. Soto should benefit from hitting ahead of Aaron Judge in the order and, for half of his games, at Yankee Stadium with its short porch in right field. He will be extra motivated in his free-agent walk year and I’m predicting he’ll win the American League MVP Award. Want another prediction? I expect shortstop Anthony Volpe to join the 30/30 club this year. The team’s on-base percentage should be much better after acquiring Soto and trading for left fielder Alex Verdugo. New York also signed righty starter Marcus Stroman to a two-year deal and traded for a couple of lefty relievers, Caleb Ferguson and Victor González. The key for the Yankees will be whether DH Giancarlo Stanton and first baseman Anthony Rizzo can stay healthy and play well, and whether their rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole stays off the injured list, particularly Carlos Rodón, Stroman and Nestor Cortes. I’d like to see the Yankees sign Blake Snell, who has turned down a five-year, $162 million offer from them. He would be a game-changer for this team. Without Snell, they’re still a borderline playoff team for me.

The Blue Jays are still trying to re-sign third baseman Matt Chapman. In the meantime, they’ve landed DH Justin Turner to help the middle of their lineup, brought back Gold Glove center fielder Kevin Kiermaier and added the versatile Isiah Kiner-Falefa to provide positional flexibility off the bench. In terms of pitchers, they’ve added only Cuban reliever Yariel Rodriguez, whom they signed to a four-year, $32 million contract. The Blue Jays still have one of the best rotations in the AL East (Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi, Alek Manoah) and a strong bullpen, highlighted by closer Jordan Romero and set-up reliever Erik Swanson. How will Manoah fare after a nightmare season? Their position player core is still led by shortstop Bo Bichette and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but they haven’t been able to sign either of them long term; both are eligible for free agency after the 2025 season, so if the Blue Jays aren’t in the pennant race at the trade deadline, could one or both of them be moved? I don’t see the Blue Jays in that position though. They need to improve the bottom half of their lineup but are still a serious playoff contender.

10. Seattle Mariners

The Mariners have arguably the best young starting rotation in the American League with Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. All of them except Castillo are 26 or younger. The bullpen is dominant, led by closer Andrés Muñoz and set-up relievers Matt Brash and Gregory Santos. The Mariners have a strong defensive team up the middle with Cal Raleigh behind the plate, J.P. Crawford at shortstop and Julio Rodríguez in center field. They made an important trade with the Twins to acquire second baseman Jorge Polanco, who dramatically improves their offense and offers 20-plus-home run power at the position. The signing of DH Mitch Garver also will help, especially against left-handed pitching. However, I think they’ll miss the power of Eugenio Suárez, whom they traded to the Diamondbacks, and Teoscar Hernández, who signed with the Dodgers in free agency. On the plus side, the Mariners’ lineup should make more contact and strike out much less. But to be a real postseason threat, I think they still need to add one more impactful hitter.

11. Minnesota Twins

The Twins did the best job of “standing pat” this offseason. They didn’t have many needs because their farm system has so many major-league-ready prospects to fill the voids. I thought they did really well in the Jorge Polanco trade with the Mariners, getting starting pitching depth (Anthony DeSclafani) and bullpen depth (Justin Topa) in the five-player deal, but also acquiring outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez, who has plus-plus power and a strong arm. Brooks Lee, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2022 draft, can replace Polanco at second base. The Twins also dealt utilityman Nick Gordon to the Marlins for lefty reliever Steven Okert. They did lose Sonny Gray in free agency, but they’re confident that a healthy Chris Paddack can replace him, and the rest of their rotation is solid with Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober leading the way. Third baseman Royce Lewis, a superstar in the making, is poised for a big year. Now let’s just hope Byron Buxton can avoid injuries for one season. The Twins should repeat as AL Central champions.

The Reds remind me a lot of the 1999 team when I was the general manager in Cincinnati; no one expected us to win 96 games but we did because so many of our young players had breakout seasons. It feels like that’s going to happen for this team. The Reds have a young and deep infield that’s one of the best in the sport, highlighted by third baseman Noelvi Marte, shortstop Elly De La Cruz and second baseman Matt McLain. They signed veteran Jeimer Candelario to replace Joey Votto at first base and still have Jonathan India and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to help on the right side of the infield and in the DH spot. In the outfield, they’ll have Spencer Steer in left, TJ Friedl in center and Will Benson in right; all three are solid and have room to improve. Tyler Stephenson is a strong offensive catcher. Everyone in the starting lineup is in their 20s outside of Candelario, who turned 30 last November. How far the Reds will go depends on the development of their rotation, which is led by Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Graham Ashcraft. They made a smart free-agent bet on Frankie Montas with the hope he is healthy and can pitch like he did a few years ago with the Oakland A’s. The best part of their offseason, however, was the depth they added to the pitching staff, which, in addition to Montas includes Nick Martinez (who can start or relieve) and relievers Emilio Pagán and Brent Suter. (They also re-signed Buck Farmer, who made 71 appearances last season.) I’m predicting an NL Central title in 2024 for this up-and-coming team.

The best moves the Rays made this offseason were the extensions for president of baseball operations Erik Neander and manager Kevin Cash, two of the best in the business. In terms of player moves, their offseason as usual included trading a key player who was getting close to free agency; they dealt ace Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers along with outfielder Manuel Margot for talented righty Ryan Pepiot, who is expected to go right into their rotation, and 25-year-old outfielder Jonny DeLuca, who is also thought to be major-league-ready. The Rays also added to their bullpen depth by signing relievers Phil Maton and Chris Devenski. They are not expected to have Wander Franco back this year due to his legal troubles. However, they still have a competitive team without Franco and it’s hard to bet against a club that contends year in and year out. That said, this season looks like it will be more difficult for the Rays to make the playoffs than it’s been the past several years.

Will the Cubs re-sign Cody Bellinger? (John Fisher / Getty Images)

14. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs began the offseason by shocking the sport with the firing of David Ross and the hiring of Craig Counsell, whom they made the highest-paid manager in the majors. Suffice to say, a bold move. In terms of player movement, it’s been a slow winter for them outside of signing lefty Shota Imanaga and righty Héctor Neris. Imanaga is a back-of-the-rotation type starter and Neris is a solid set-up reliever who posted a 1.71 ERA in 71 appearances last season. Both players should help their clubhouse culture. The Cubs also made a trade with the Dodgers to land 26-year-old first baseman Michael Busch, who was blocked by Freddie Freeman in LA, and reliever Yency Almonte — but they paid a huge price by including lefty Jackson Ferris, a top pitching prospect, in the deal. Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell and Matt Chapman remain on the free-agent market, and perhaps president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer will make a big move. But if this is all the Cubs end up doing, they look more like a contending team than a playoff team once again.

The Padres were forced to pivot from their previous plan as they needed to reduce payroll, get younger and revamp the roster. They traded Juan Soto to the Yankees after they weren’t able to extend his contract. They acquired four pitchers in the seven-player deal: Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez, all of whom have a chance to make their staff out of spring training. The Padres reduced their payroll further by saying goodbye to free agents Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Nick Martinez and Josh Hader, among others, as well as trading away reliever Scott Barlow and infielder Matt Chapman. However, they did delve into free agency to sign Japanese reliever Yuki Matsui to a five-year deal and Korean reliever Woo-Suk Go to a two-year contract. They also bolstered the bullpen by signing former Yankees lefty Wandy Peralta to a four-year deal. The Padres have a new skipper in Mike Shildt, who had a successful managerial stint with the Cardinals before losing his job over philosophical differences. Their lineup will miss Soto and their outfield defense will miss Trent Grisham, who was included in the Soto swap. The top half of the Padres’ lineup will remain competitive with Ha-Seong Kim, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. But once again, the bottom half of their lineup will likely find it challenging to score runs. The Padres could end up being a more interesting team at the trade deadline than they will be in late September.

16. Miami Marlins

The Marlins will be without their ace, Sandy Alcantara, who will miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last October. However, they still have a wild-card-contending rotation made up of pitchers who are all 26 or younger, including right-handers Eury Pérez and Edward Cabrera and lefties Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Trevor Rogers. The Marlins hired Peter Bendix to run the baseball operations and he’s spent the past few months talking to opposing GMs, who are all trying to poach his young starters. He hasn’t done much to significantly improve the major-league roster yet as he’s focused more on building up the front office and organizational infrastructure. The Marlins’ position-player group is led by two-time batting champion Luis Arraez and center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., who provides a special combination of power and speed. They hope they get enough power from Josh Bell, Jake Burger and Bryan De La Cruz but will certainly miss the presence of Jorge Soler, who signed with the Giants. The Marlins need another bat or two for their lineup if they want to return to the postseason this year.

The Mets look like a mediocre middle-of-the-pack team, mainly because of the state of their rotation beyond ace Kodai Senga, who I do believe is a legit No. 1 starter. However, the rest of their rotation has more questions than answers. José Quintana, 35, posted a 3.57 ERA last season, but he pitched only 75 2/3 innings (13 starts) with a fastball that sat 88-90 mph. The Mets signed righty Luis Severino and lefty Sean Manaea in free agency and traded for Adrian Houser to round out the rotation, but none of them posted an ERA under 4.10 last season and only Manaea had more strikeouts than innings pitched. They don’t have a lot of starting pitching depth either. The bullpen should be solid, led by closer Edwin Díaz, who returns after missing the entire 2023 season, and a solid combination of short-inning relievers. The lineup is wild-card-worthy, but five of the expected nine starters are 30 or older. The Mets haven’t been able to extend first baseman Peter Alonso, who will be a free agent after this season. They’re hoping catcher Francisco Alvarez, 22, and third baseman Brett Baty, 24, improve on both sides of the ball, and the organization’s future looks bright, with a bevy of good prospects in the pipeline, including infielder/outfielder Jett Williams, shortstop Ronny Mauricio, second baseman Luisangel Acuña and outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford, several of whom could debut this year. (Mauricio did so last September.) However, the Mets seem like a third- or fourth-place team and only a fringe contender to me because of their lackluster rotation.

It’s a new era for the Brewers after they dealt ace Corbin Burnes to the Orioles and non-tendered their other ace, Brandon Woodruff. That left them with a rotation led by the hard-throwing Freddy Peralta, but after him it’s Wade Miley, Jakob Junis, Colin Rea, and DL Hall, whom they acquired in the Burnes trade; it’s not a rotation that looks like it will be competing in October. The Brewers still have Devin Williams, one of the best closers in baseball, but will miss the deft managing of Craig Counsell, who left for the rival Cubs. Pat Murphy replaced Counsell and that won’t be an easy assignment. The best move the Brewers made this offseason was signing top prospect Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82 million contract extension; he’s expected to play center field flanked by speedsters Sal Frelick in right and Garrett Mitchell in left. Their corner infielders will be the best they’ve had in years after signing first baseman Rhys Hoskins and acquiring third baseman Joey Ortiz in the Burnes deal. Shortstop Willy Adames is in his free-agent walk year, so it will be interesting to see if he is traded between now and the deadline; if he is, don’t be surprised to see Brice Turang, a Gold Glove-caliber defender, move from second to short to replace him. The Brewers will be competitive, but can they get to October with this rotation?

19. Boston Red Sox

The best move the Red Sox made this offseason was adding Theo Epstein to the ownership group, which eventually will have a positive impact on the major-league team. The hiring of Craig Breslow as chief baseball officer earlier in the offseason was endorsed by Epstein. Breslow has been slow to spend money early in his tenure but he did make a smart trade in dealing Chris Sale to the Braves for Vaughn Grissom, who becomes their long-term solution at second base. The Red Sox have a strong young infield with the developing Triston Casas at first, Grissom at second, Trevor Story at shortstop and Rafael Devers at third. I didn’t quite understand the decision to trade Alex Verdugo to the Yankees and replace him by trading for the oft-injured Tyler O’Neill from the Cardinals. O’Neill has more power but Verdugo is the better hitter. The Red Sox also signed Lucas Giolito to a two-year, $38.5 million deal to replace Sale in their rotation, but after watching him pitch for the Angels and Guardians at the end of last year, I wondered if he was hurt, in decline or just having a tough time adjusting to his new teams. Boston isn’t the easiest place to pitch if you’re not succeeding so that move will be under the microscope from day one. The rest of their rotation (Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck) is competitive but not playoff caliber.

Sonny Gray finished second in the AL Cy Young voting last year. (Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)

20. St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals prioritized adding three starting pitchers and a reliever in free agency, and although they landed all four, is it enough to get them back to the playoffs? The best move they made was signing Sonny Gray, 34, on a three-year, $75 million deal to lead the rotation. They also signed two 36-year-old starters, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, and both look like they’re in decline. Gray, Gibson and Lynn join Miles Mikolas, 35, and Steven Matz, 32, to form the oldest rotation in the sport and it’s fair to question how it will perform overall this season. In the bullpen, Keynan Middleton signed for $6 million as the team made a slew of smaller transactions for relievers. The Cardinals’ position-player group is led by Paul Goldschmidt, 36, and Nolan Arenado, who will turn 33 in April; I believe both still have All-Star games ahead of them. Outfielder Jordan Walker and second baseman Nolan Gorman look set for breakout seasons, but I don’t see this rotation carrying the Cardinals to the postseason.

21. San Francisco Giants

The Giants have had an active offseason; they signed center fielder Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year deal worth $113 million and righty Jordan Hicks to a four-year, $44 million pact with the idea of moving him from reliever to starter, then made a trade with the Mariners to land 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, who they hope will help them come August after he completes his Tommy John surgery rehab. This week the team agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract with Jorge Soler, who should supply needed power. They also made a change in the dugout, replacing Gabe Kapler with three-time Manager of the Year Bob Melvin. The Giants have worked to put at least an average or above-average player at each position but have yet to land any true stars in free agency. They are still involved in negotiations with multiple free agents so perhaps they’ll be able to sign one more significant player, whether that is third baseman Matt Chapman or another starter such as Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell. Their rotation will be led by Logan Webb, who finished second in the NL Cy Young voting last year, but they’ll have to rely on a trio of younger starters, including rookie left-hander Kyle Harrison, if this team is going to contend. At this point, they still look like a .500 team to me.

The Tigers lost Eduardo Rodriguez in free agency to the Diamondbacks but did a solid job of pivoting to replace him with veteran starters Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty. They made only one significant trade, acquiring Mark Canha from the Brewers to give them an option in left field or at DH and a boost in on-base percentage. The best moves they made were contract extensions: one to manager A.J. Hinch, the other to their best overall prospect, second baseman Colt Keith, whom they signed to a six-year extension with options, incentives and escalators that could make the contract worth $82 million over nine years. The Tigers have built a good young core — besides Keith they have outfielder Riley Greene who is a future superstar, center fielder Parker Meadows, DH Kerry Carpenter and first baseman Spencer Torkelson. That’s a strong group to build around. How competitive the Tigers will be depends on whether Tarik Skubal, their best starter, can reach the next level, if Flaherty and Maeda can stay healthy, and if their young starters such as Matt Manning and Reese Olson can live up to their potential. For now, they look like a second- or third-place team in the AL Central.

23. Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians have a strong, young rotation with Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams, all 24 to 28 years old. They have a stout bullpen led by closer Emmanuel Clase and set-up relievers Sam Hentges, Trevor Stephan and Scott Barlow. Their team defense is above average and especially strong up the middle. However, they need more offensive production from their corner outfield positions and I’m surprised they haven’t tried to do more via free agency or trades to improve there. José Ramírez remains the face of the franchise and is still one of the best overall third basemen in the game. Terry Francona will be replaced by rookie manager Stephen Vogt, and those are really big shoes to fill. The Guardians look more like a second- or third-place team than they do a playoff team, to me.

The Pirates are a team in between. They have several good young players on their roster and more prospects on the way, but their major-league club surrounded those players with second-division-type veterans. Among the position players, I expect a healthy Oneil Cruz to have a breakout season at shortstop, and they can count on Bryan Reynolds to be solid again in left field and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to play Gold Glove-caliber third base. Center fielder Jack Suwinski should be more consistent at the plate and he gives them above-average range in the outfield. Only time will tell if former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis can improve enough defensively to stay at catcher. Andrew McCutchen and Rowdy Tellez will provide veteran leadership. The rotation is led by Mitch Keller, but to fill it out the Pirates had to sign veteran Martín Pérez and trade for lefty Marco Gonzales, whom the Braves wanted to dump after they acquired him from the Mariners. In the bullpen, they added hard-throwing veteran Aroldis Chapman on a one-year, $10.5 million deal. The Pirates have made some progress over the past few years but not enough to contend.

Life after Shohei Ohtani is not expected to be fun for Angels fans as the best they can expect is a fourth-place finish in the AL West. The Halos hope they can finally get a healthy version of superstar Mike Trout and third baseman Anthony Rendon while they watch a trio of good young position players — first baseman Nolan Schanuel, catcher Logan O’Hoppe and shortstop Zach Neto — continue to develop at the major-league level. The Angels will depend on a rotation of Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson and Chase Silseth to stay competitive. Los Angeles spent the offseason loading up on relievers in free agency, including Robert Stephenson (three-year, $33 million deal), Adam Cimber, Luis García, Zach Plesac, Adam Kolarek, Matt Moore and José Cisnero. They also inked outfielder Aaron Hicks. Hopefully, they’ll be able to move some of them at the trade deadline for prospects to help what could be a long rebuild. I thought Ron Washington was a smart hire; let’s see what the new manager can do with this group.

The Royals made a statement in signing Bobby Witt Jr. to a $288.78 million extension. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

At last count, the Royals had made more moves than any other team this offseason, including signing seven free agents and making six trades. They emphasized pitching, adding Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Will Smith and Chris Stratton in free agency and Nick Anderson, Kyle Wright, Carlos Mateo, Ryan Brady and Cesar Espinal in trades. Wacha was my favorite of their moves at two years, $32 million because it could give them a solid asset at the trade deadline. The best move they made was giving the face of their franchise, Bobby Witt Jr., an 11-year, $288.78 million extension, ensuring he will play his prime years as a member of the Royals. (The deal includes opt-out clauses four years in a row starting after the seventh season.) Despite all the moves they’ve made, however, the Royals still have a way to go before they can be considered contenders, but they are making progress.

The Rockies again had a quiet offseason, signing veteran catcher Jacob Stallings and acquiring veteran pitcher Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Guardians that sent catching prospect Kody Huff to Cleveland. The organization’s position-player picture is full of positives: Left fielder Nolan Jones and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar have emerged as future stars and the farm system is loaded with good prospects including outfielders Yanquiel Fernandez, Jordan Beck and Zac Veen and infielders Adael Amador and Sterlin Thompson. The Rockies also have right-hander Chase Dollander, last year’s first-round pick, who is key to their hopes of becoming contenders again. But this season, Colorado is not yet equipped to escape last place in the NL West.

The Nationals haven’t won more than 71 games in a season over the past four years but appear to be making progress in their rebuild. The major-league position player core is led by shortstop CJ Abrams and catcher Keibert Ruiz, both of whom have more room for development. The same can be said for their rotation, which is led by Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin. However, the key to the Nationals’ future is the loaded farm system, led by pitchers Cade Cavalli (coming back from Tommy John surgery) and Jackson Rutledge and outfielders Dylan Crews, James Wood and Robert Hassell III, not to mention top third-base prospect Brady House. Most of this group should be able to be on the Nationals’ major-league roster by September at the latest if all goes well. That’s when the future will start to brighten in Washington.

29. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox made several moves to improve their starting pitching depth, signing Erick Fedde and Chris Flexen and trading with the Braves for Michael Soroka and Jared Shuster. They also think they improved up the middle with the acquisitions of infielders Nicky Lopez and Paul DeJong and most importantly catcher Martín Maldonado, who despite his age (37) is still one of the best game callers in the sport. Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. had a career-best season in 2023 and I expect DH/outfielder Eloy Jiménez to have a huge year if he can just stay healthy. However, it’s still going to be a long season on the South Side of Chicago and what matters most could be whether they find the right trade partner for righty Dylan Cease, who is expected to be dealt between now and the trade deadline.

30. Oakland A’s

The 30 MLB owners approved the A’s move to Las Vegas but then last week the city’s mayor, Carolyn Goodman, said: “I personally think they’ve gotta figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true. I thought this does not make sense for them to move here so why is it happening?” She later clarified her comments, saying she will “welcome” the team to Vegas if it doesn’t stay in California, but it’s just one thing after another for this beleaguered franchise. The A’s currently don’t have a stadium deal in Oakland or Las Vegas and I wonder how long it will be before a city like Nashville enters the conversation. In the meantime, it’s total chaos in the boardroom, on the field and with the fans. Let’s try to hit on some positives: The A’s do have quality young players — including second baseman Zack Gelof, catcher Shea Langeliers, first baseman Ryan Noda and outfielders JJ Bleday and Esteury Ruiz — who are developing at the major-league level. Their rotation is led by left-hander JP Sears and right-hander Paul Blackburn. They made two solid acquisitions to enhance the rotation, adding veteran left-hander Alex Wood and right-hander Ross Stripling, the latter in a rare cross-Bay trade with the Giants. Those moves won’t get the A’s out of last place or prevent them from losing 100 games, but they should be a few wins better as their young players develop and their veteran pitchers stabilize a last-place roster.

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(Top photo of Spencer Strider: John Adams / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)