All 30 MLB Teams' Biggest Question Heading into 2025 Spring Training
For all 30 Major League Baseball teams, pitchers and catchers have already reported to Spring Training. By Tuesday, position players will have joined their counterparts in their temporary homes in Florida and Arizona.
We're still well over a month away from the first games that count for anything and there are a few noteworthy free agents still out there waiting to be signed, but it's officially baseball season.
For every team, though, there are burning questions.
Some certainly have more questions (and more problematic ones) than others, but everyone is looking for some answers at the time of year when hope springs eternal.
We'll go division-by-division through the teams, identifying the biggest conundrum/unknown for each.
American League East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: Did the Birds do enough spending?
There's no question the O's spent more this offseason than they had in the past half-decade, adding Tyler O'Neill, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and more. But does this feel like a team with an Opening Day payroll about 65 percent greater than it had one year ago? They lost two All-Stars in Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander and backfilled those spots with—let's be honest—less impressive names. The rotation is definitely the biggest concern, but maybe 41-year-old Morton and 35-year-old, new-to-MLB Sugano shock us.
Boston Red Sox: Has this become the American League team to beat?
The betting markets certainly don't think so. Heck, Boston is listed as a coin flip to even make the postseason. But the Red Sox have added Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman. They're getting Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks back from seasons fully lost to injury. That's five new arms to beef up the oft-maligned pitching staff. They landed Alex Bregman this week to round out one heck of a lineup. And top prospects Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer could all be in the mix for the Opening Day roster. Been a rough three years of .500 or worse baseball, but Boston might be back with a vengeance.
New York Yankees: Is the corner infield good enough?
Third base is the major concern, where it appears Plan A is hoping that 36-year-old DJ LeMahieu can rebound from what was an awful 2024 campaign. But transitioning from Anthony Rizzo to Paul Goldschmidt at first base is something of a reclamation project of its own, as the 37-year-old just posted by far the worst OPS and K/BB ratio of his career. With both Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres out of the picture, could be a sharp drop from what was the AL's best offense one year ago.
Tampa Bay Rays: Is it Junior Caminero's time to shine?
Caminero got an appetizer of the majors in 2023 as a 19-year-old and a small plate of 43 games played last year, but could the highly touted prospect blossom into a star this spring? If he does, there's probably enough talent around him on this roster for Tampa Bay to be a factor again, especially if Ha-Seong Kim doesn't miss too much time. If Caminero struggles, though, the Rays could have another intriguing fire sale this summer.
Toronto Blue Jays: Will 2025 be Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s last ride in Canada?
The Blue Jays made a bunch of interesting acquisitions this winter, clearly all-in on trying to win one before Guerrero, Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt and more reach free agency. But even if Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman, Max Scherzer and Andrés Giménez all pan out and Toronto becomes a contender, the impending free agency of Guerrero is going to be the season-long elephant in the room. Only way to prevent that is extending him before the season begins, but good luck with that.
American League Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: What would "success in 2025" even look like for this team?
Fresh off the most losses suffered in a season since 1900, not much worth getting excited about here. The White Sox traded their star pitcher to Boston, and the few big-league acquisitions they've made this offseason are all blatant "maybe we can flip him for a prospect in July" buy-low candidates. But maybe they can at least identify and cultivate a building block, like rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery and/or one of the many young options for the starting rotation.
Cleveland Guardians: Do they have enough offense? Or starting pitching?
From what already wasn't a potent offense, Cleveland traded away two of its three leaders in plate appearances last season, shipping Josh Naylor to Arizona and Andrés Giménez to Toronto. If Kyle Manzardo doesn't have a breakout year, it could be a rough one for the Guardians, who also have serious question marks in their starting rotation, at least until Shane Bieber is able to return from Tommy John surgery, probably around the All-Star Break. The latest DraftKings odds only have the White Sox as less likely to win this division than Cleveland.
Detroit Tigers: Remember when this rotation was Tarik Skubal or Bust?
Between bringing back Jack Flaherty, signing Alex Cobb and having high hopes for rookie Jackson Jobe, Detroit's starting rotation has blossomed from a one-man show with frequent openers into a question of who gets left out if everyone is healthy, as they also still have Reese Olson and Casey Mize in the mix. We thought the Tigers would do more to upgrade the offense this winter, but adding Gleyber Torres while focusing more so on the state of the pitching staff may have been a big win.
Kansas City Royals: Is Jonathan India the answer?
Still one of the wildest stats from last season is that the Royals were a playoff team despite Bobby Witt Jr. being worth more FanGraphs WAR (10.4) than the rest of Kansas City's position players combined (9.6). But the only noteworthy change to their lineup was trading their No. 4 starting pitcher, Brady Singer, to Cincinnati for Jonathan India. Over the past three seasons, he has been pretty much the definition of an average bat as far as OPS+ and wRC+ are concerned, so we'll see if he can help Witt.
Minnesota Twins: When will the injury bug strike?
Between Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton, Minnesota got a combined total of 270 games played in 2024, out of a possible 486. That was only slightly worse than 2023, when that star trio combined to appear in 278 games. It's unfortunate that we have to ask in February if this nucleus can stay healthy, but how can we not question it at this point? And if they don't manage to play in close to 400 games in 2025—with Carlos Santana and Max Kepler already out of the picture—where's the offense coming from?
American League West
3 of 6
Athletics: Could the 2025 A's be the 2024 Royals?
Now that we've seen a team go straight from 106 losses one year to the postseason the next, we've got to question when and where that type of transformation will happen again. Kansas City's revival was rooted in an offseason revamping of its rotation, which the A's have certainly attempted to replicate, signing Luis Severino and trading for Jeffrey Springs. FanGraphs does still rate this as the worst starting rotation, but that's mighty harsh. If one of Joey Estes, Osvaldo Bido or Hogan Harris can build on some of what they showed last season, the A's could be interesting.
Houston Astros: Does the train keep chugging along?
Save for finishing second during the truncated 2020 campaign, Houston has won the AL West in every season dating back to 2017. Save for Jose Altuve and occasionally healthy Lance McCullers Jr., the entire roster has turned over during that time, and it hasn't mattered yet. So, no Kyle Tucker, no Justin Verlander, no Yusei Kikuchi, no Ryan Pressly, no Alex Bregman...no problem? Houston remains the betting favorite here, but it's starting to look like a real barebones operation.
Los Angeles Angels: Did the November aggressiveness actually change anything?
Fresh off a franchise-record, 99-loss disaster, the Angels hit the offseason like a bat out of hell, immediately trading for Jorge Soler, buying Scott Kingery off Philadelphia for some reason and signing all of Kyle Hendricks, Travis d'Arnaud and Kevin Newman before most teams had done a single thing. They also made a big splash for Kikuchi. Now that the offseason is mostly said and done, though, are the Halos even a little bit of a contender? Or was it just an early flourish to keep the status quo?
Seattle Mariners: Did anyone tell them the offseason began? Like, a while ago?
Last winter, it seemed like Seattle was making a trade every few days. But this year—despite rumblings that they might be in the market for Pete Alonso or Alex Bregman, and talk of a possible Luis Castillo trade—the Mariners have been just about the least active franchise of them all. Not a single trade, and basically the only roster change from the end of last season is they now have Donovan Solano instead of Justin Turner, Josh Rojas and Luis Urías. Granted, Seattle did tie Detroit for the best record in baseball from Sept. 4 onward, leading the AL in scoring during that 16-7 run. Still, hard to believe they've done next to nothing.
Texas Rangers: Who's the closer?
As Tanner Scott and Carlos Estévez continued to linger as available free agents, it felt inevitable that Texas would sign one of those closers. But Scott went to the Dodgers, Estévez went to the Royals and now there's talk that the team who lost Kirby Yates, David Robertson and Jose Leclerc might try Jon Gray at closer. Heading into the season with a closer-by-committee approach could be what derails what otherwise looks like a championship-caliber roster.
National League East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: When will the injured stars be available?
Maybe the biggest question in the entire MLB heading into spring training is when Atlanta will have Spencer Strider (Tommy John) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (ACL) back. Neither is expected to be available for Opening Day, but they should both be back before Memorial Day if there are no setbacks. But within Atlanta's first 11 series, they play the Dodgers twice, host the Phillies once and play at Arizona, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Toronto. So...get well soon?
Miami Marlins: How will the Tommy John pitchers fare?
Two of the most intriguing players on this entire roster are Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez, both of whom missed the entire 2024 campaign following elbow surgery. The former had his operation in October 2023 and might be good to go on Opening Day. The latter is more likely to return around the All-Star break. There's also Max Meyer, who has logged just 63 big-league innings since taken No. 3 overall in the 2020 draft. Could be quite the nucleus to build around for 2026 if they all look good enough in 2025.
New York Mets: Is this a World Series-caliber rotation?
New York's offense should be outstanding, adding Juan Soto to the mix without subtracting much of anything. Bit of a question mark in center between Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor, but all they really need is good defense from that spot in the lineup. But investing in Soto kept them from doing the same in their rotation, to the point where—with Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes replacing Luis Severino and Jose Quintana—it's probably less formidable than last season. Already feels inevitable that New York will be in hot pursuit of the biggest arm on the trade block over the summer.
Philadelphia Phillies: Can Jordan Romano bounce back?
The lineup? Stacked, adding Max Kepler and losing no one. The rotation? Loaded, trading for Jesús Luzardo and hoping to have Andrew Painter in the mix at some point. But the back end of the bullpen is, per usual, a question mark for the Phillies, who replaced Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman with Jordan Romano coming off a disastrous year in Toronto. If he struggles again, how quickly do they pivot? And to which of José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering or Matt Strahm? Do they get wild and see if Taijuan Walker can close?
Washington Nationals: Is this the year they start to turn things around?
The 2019 World Series champions have been a combined 132 games below .500 since that magical run, but there might be light at the end of that tunnel. James Wood and Dylan Crews have arrived. Brady House is coming. And they've got intriguing wild cards in the rotation in Cade Cavalli and Michael Soroka. Hard to see this team contending in this year's NL East, but flirting with .500 before getting Josiah Gray back in the mix in 2026 would be a big step in the right direction.
National League Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: Will they regret not getting Alex Bregman?
Issues at third base are nothing new for the Chicago Cubs, who have been in a constant state of trying to address the hot corner since trading away Kris Bryant in 2021. But after trading away both Isaac Paredes and prospect Cam Smith to get Kyle Tucker, it sure is looking like rookie Matt Shaw or bust for the foreseeable future. Which might be fine. The 2023 first-round pick is a top-20 overall prospect per MLB.com, after all. But if he's more Brett Baty than Jackson Merrill, that would be a pain point that lowers their ceiling.
Cincinnati Reds: Does Matt McLain's return reignite this offense?
For the 89 games that he played as a rookie in 2023, McLain was way more of a first-year phenom than Elly De La Cruz was, posting an .864 OPS and darn near leading the Reds in WAR. But he missed all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, and his presence was dearly missed, Cincinnati missing the postseason despite pitching better than it had in a decade. But with McLain back, with the addition of Brady Singer to the rotation and with Terry Francona in the dugout, the Reds just might win this division.
Milwaukee Brewers: Can they seriously do it again?
After trading away Corbin Burnes and not having Brandon Woodruff available for the year, Milwaukee was expected to drop off drastically in 2024. But it didn't. It won the NL Central by a 10-game margin, inexplicably getting better without its pair of aces. So, after losing Willy Adames in free agency and trading away Devin Williams for Nestor Cortes, can they run it back again? The Brew Crew definitely looks weaker than it did five months ago, but far be it from us to count them out.
Pittsburgh Pirates: How will the Oneil Cruz experiment continue?
Pittsburgh moved Cruz from shortstop to center late last season, after which he hit just .200 in 27 games played. Granted, that's still better than what they were getting from Michael A. Taylor in center, but Cruz is a much better hitter than that and needs to be a beacon of offense if the Pirates are going to make any sort of spirited push for the postseason with Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones anchoring the rotation. Otherwise, Pittsburgh's best-case scenario is probably a repeat of Seattle's batters squandering an outstanding year from its rotation.
St. Louis Cardinals: Are they going to trade Nolan Arenado away?
No team has been more stuck in neutral this offseason than the Cardinals, who had big plans of turning their focus to the future, only to find out the market for their eight-time All-Star third baseman wasn't what they thought it would be. And unable to move Arenado, they've ended up doing absolutely nothing for months. There's still time for a late fire sale, but there's also still time to make a pickup or two and legitimately try to win this division.
National League West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: Is this the best rotation in baseball?
Arizona thought it had an upper echelon starting rotation last season, but it never came together. On paper, though, Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt and perhaps some Jordan Montgomery has the potential to be incredible. And this was already the highest scoring offense in the majors last season, so a drastic uptick in pitching production could give the Diamondbacks a real chance to hang with the big bad Dodgers.
Colorado Rockies: Can they avoid a third straight 100+ loss season?
It's not all doom and gloom in Denver. The young trio of Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle and Michael Toglia could give the Rockies something to build around. Who knows, maybe Kris Bryant will be at least a little bit healthy for a change? However, the state of this pitching staff in this loaded division makes it difficult to even try to put on rose-colored glasses any time soon. They've gone 120-204 over the past two seasons, and it's probably going to be more of the same in 2025.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Where is the thermal exhaust port on this Death Star?
For 29 of the 30 fanbases in baseball, it's going to a be a serious "I root for two teams: My favorite team and whoever is facing the Dodgers" type of season. When they're healthy, they'll have a six-man rotation that doesn't even include Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May or Bobby Miller, a bullpen with five legitimate options at closer and a lineup so loaded that Kiké Hernández, Chris Taylor and Andy Pages all figure to come off the bench. They feel unbeatable, but how will they respond if and when adversity arises?
San Diego Padres: So, they're not trading Dylan Cease after all?
Prior to signing Nick Pivetta on Wednesday, it had been a quiet-as-a-church-mouse offseason from the Padres, who had done nothing to address the loss of Joe Musgrove to Tommy John surgery in October. There had been growing chatter about a possible trade of Cease, which sure would've felt similar to when the Brewers traded away Corbin Burnes last February. Now, instead of unloading the ace-caliber pitcher with one year remaining before he reaches free agency for the first time, they've given him another solid arm to work alongside. No longer any thought of San Diego potentially waving the white flag on this season.
San Francisco Giants: Is Willy Adames their savior?
The Giants' now decades-long lack of a 30 HR season has evolved from a curiosity into a full-blown narrative, encapsulating how difficult it is to hit at Oracle Park. Can this slugging shortstop do what no one has done since Barry Bonds, or will Adames, too, fall victim to the cavernous confines in San Francisco as the Giants put together a .500 or worse season for what would be the eighth time in the past nine years?
