MLB's 5 Best and Worst Offseasons So Far, Ranked
The MLB offseason is far from over while Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger and more stars remained unsigned, but you can also see the finish line just over the horizon.
With pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training in less than four weeks—yes, really—now is a good time to rank the five best and five worst offseasons so far.
The questions at play here are simple: Which teams have done as much (or even more) than was expected of them, and which teams haven't come close to matching expectations? We'd wager that most teams fall more toward the latter side, but the ones on this list are guilty of mishandling wide-open contention windows.
We'll begin with the five best offseasons before pivoting to the five worst.
Note: All WAR projections are according to FanGraphs.
5. Best: Los Angeles Dodgers
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2025 Record: 93-69, 1st in NL West (World Series Champs)
Key Offseason Additions: RHP Edwin Díaz, SS Miguel Rojas, INF Andy Ibáñez
Why They're Better
True, the Dodgers of 2026 still mostly resemble the Dodgers of 2025 even after several months of offseason activity. But if that's a bad thing, we'd like to hear why.
Besides, what really matters is that the signing of Díaz strengthened what was easily the Dodgers' biggest weakness last year. Their bullpen had a bottom-10 ERA, while he had the best ERA (1.63) of any qualified reliever in the National League.
There is a fair case that Díaz's best days are behind him, particularly in the sense that he's never again going to strike out half the batters he faces like he did in 2022. But since his whiff and strikeout rates were both in the 99th percentile in 2025, it's not like the present version of him is over the hill.
Otherwise, Rojas is a glue guy who deserved to be rewarded for saving the World Series for the Dodgers. Ibáñez is perfect for the bench, as he can play multiple positions and owns a career .778 OPS against lefties.
2026 Outlook
As of now, the Dodgers project for the most WAR of any team in MLB. So if anyone was hoping that LA's dreams of a three-peat would be dead on arrival on Opening Day, better snap out of it.
4. Best: Atlanta Braves
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2025 Record: 76-86, 4th in NL East
Key Offseason Additions: RHP Robert Suarez, LF Mike Yastrzemski, SS Ha-Seong Kim, RHP Raisel Iglesias, RHP Tyler Kinley, RHP Joel Payamps, INF Mauricio Dubón
Why They're Better
Four of the Braves' six free-agent signings have been re-signings, so what they have is not so much a whole new look as a slightly different look.
Even so, let's give the Suarez signing its due credit. He was an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, ultimately saving 76 games with a 2.87 ERA. He and Iglesias should lock down plenty of leads, which wasn't always so simple as Atlanta's bullpen finished 19th in ERA last season.
The Yastrzemski signing is more of a sneaky-good deal, but its impact should be felt all the same. The short version is that he's a good hitter in a position that had become known for bad offensive outcomes over the last two years.
Retaining Kim likewise has a chance to be one of the Braves' best moves, though that will depend on him turning the clock back a couple years. At best, he can still be the 5-WAR player he was for San Diego in 2022 and 2023.
2026 Outlook
Last year was Atlanta's ugliest season in a long time, but it wasn't for a lack of star power. And since most of those stars (excepting Marcell Ozuna) are back in tandem with the newcomers, it's not surprising that they project behind only the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays in WAR for the coming season.
3. Best: Toronto Blue Jays
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2025 Record: 94-68, 1st in AL East (AL Champs)
Key Offseason Additions: RHP Dylan Cease, 3B Kazuma Okamoto, RHP Tyler Rogers, RHP Cody Ponce
Why They're Better
The Blue Jays would rank higher on this list if they weren't committing the unforgivable sin of not being done yet. But rest assured, the Bo Bichette-shaped hole in their lineup will be filled somehow.
Heck, Okamoto might even be a good enough filler in his own right. The book on him practically screams, "Blue Jays hitter!" He puts on good at-bats and hits for power, which seemingly every hitter in their lineup can also do.
Cease is otherwise the headliner of Toronto's offseason haul. His results tend to be inconsistent, but strikeouts are a constant and he should benefit from having such an excellent defense behind him.
For their parts, Rogers and Ponce are two more sneaky-good signings. Rogers is one of the most unhittable relievers in MLB today, while Ponce is over-qualified to be a No. 5 starter after winning the KBO MVP last season.
2026 Outlook
Even without Bichette (or better yet, Kyle Tucker), the Blue Jays will begin 2026 as the team to beat in the American League. It's a vibes thing if nothing else, but they also project for the most WAR of any AL team.
2. Best: Chicago Cubs
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2025 Record: 92-70, 2nd in NL Central
Key Offseason Additions: 3B Alex Bregman, LHP Shota Imanaga, RHP Phil Maton, RHP Hunter Harvey, LHP Caleb Thielbar, LHP Hoby Milner, RHP Jacob Webb, 1B Tyler Austin, RHP Edward Cabrera
Why They're Better
The Cubs would not have been on this list a week ago, which goes to show what a big-ticket trade and a huge free-agent splash can do for a team's reputation.
Chicago's five-year, $175 million deal with Bregman is chef's kiss stuff. He's a proven winner who offers an impact bat and glove at the hot corner, so he checks all three boxes for what the Cubs needed—especially the bat, as third base produced a 29th-ranked .621 OPS last year.
Cabrera could be anywhere from a No. 4 to a No. 1 in the Cubs' current rotation, and there are reasons to bet the over. Health and consistency have eluded him throughout his career, but any guy who throws 97 mph and has two pitches with 40-plus whiff rates has ace potential.
Meanwhile, the Cubs have four newcomers in their bullpen. That should be a change for the better, especially if the new guys help solve the home run problem that plagued Cubs relievers in 2025.
2026 Outlook
The Cubs aren't on the same level as the Dodgers, but they have positioned themselves to get revenge on the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. Depending on what happens elsewhere, that alone could be a ticket to a first-round bye this October.
1. Best: Baltimore Orioles
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2025 Record: 75-87, 5th in AL East
Key Offseason Additions: 1B Pete Alonso, RHP Ryan Helsley, RHP Zach Eflin, OF Leody Taveras, RHP Shane Baz, LF Taylor Ward, RHP Andrew Kittredge
Why They're Better
Out of all those players listed above, only Eflin is a returnee to Baltimore. It really will be a new-look squad in 2026, and not a moment too soon.
Alonso is the perfect guy to bring some life and leadership to an offense that didn't have much of either last year. He and Ward could add as many as 70 home runs to the mix, thus returning Baltimore's offense to the slugging splendor it enjoyed in 2024.
Baz is in the post-hype section of his career, but his stuff is still lively and he was healthy enough to make 31 starts last season. If he's a No. 3 behind Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish, that's how you know Baltimore's rotation could be good.
In the bullpen, Helsley will need to be the guy that Félix Bautista used to be for the Orioles. It's perfectly permissible to be bullish, as Helsley was still throwing 100 mph with a nasty slider even in a down year in 2025.
2026 Outlook
Even after all they've done, the Orioles still feel underrated heading into 2026. They actually project for more WAR than several 2025 playoff teams, including the Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox.
5. Worst: San Diego Padres
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2025 Record: 90-72, 2nd in NL West
Key Offseason Additions: RHP Michael King, INF Sung Mun Song, LHP Kyle Hart
Why They're Worse
Honestly? It could be worse for the Padres. Song is bringing an intriguing power-speed blend over from Korea, and King has more than enough upside to justify his three-year, $75 million contract.
What really stands out, though, is who's not with San Diego right now.
Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez and Ryan O'Hearn are all gone, and all three of those losses are going to sting. And while we can quibble about Luis Arraez's true value, expecting Song to be as good as MLB's reigning hits leader is asking a lot.
The Padres still have time to save face, but even A.J. Preller might not have enough magic in his wand to make it happen. Sans spending capacity and marketable prospects, adding to the MLB roster could require subtracting from it, too.
2026 Outlook
The Padres are ostensibly still a contender in the NL West, but they're looking way up at the Dodgers and have ceded ground to the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks.
4. Worst: Milwaukee Brewers
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2025 Record: 97-65, 1st in NL Central
Key Offseason Additions: RHP Brandon Woodruff, LHP Angel Zerpa
Why They're Worse
Hey, at least the Brewers haven't lost any star players yet. That tends to be a theme in Milwaukee in any given winter, whereas they actually retained a core piece when Woodruff accepted the qualifying offer.
Yet even if Woodruff was excellent in the 12 starts he made last year, a lat strain ended his season in September and renewed questions about his durability. Between a $10 million buyout and his $22.025 salary, the Brewers will pay him over $30 million this year anyway.
It's hard to square the decision to make Woodruff the QO with subsequent reports that the Brewers are worried about their payroll. They did that to themselves, and they have seemed stuck ever since.
If anything, their next big move will finally see them lose a star. Maybe they'll do well in an eventual Freddy Peralta trade, but it'll still be a sore spot for the fanbase.
2026 Outlook
The Brewers are one of those teams that projection systems tend to whiff on, but it's hard to argue with the notion that the Cubs are the better team right now. They have loaded up, while the Brewers have stood there with their hands in their pockets.
3. Worst: Cleveland Guardians
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2025 Record: 88-74, 1st in AL Central
Key Offseason Additions: RHP Shawn Armstrong, C Austin Hedges, RHP Colin Holderman, RHP Connor Brogdon
Why They're Worse
To be fair, the Guardians don't normally throw their weight around during the winter. They indeed only have so much weight with which to do so, as this is notoriously a small-market, small-payroll franchise.
This time should be different, however, and not simply because the Guardians have an AL Central title to defend heading into 2026.
They also have a $24 million gap between what they spent in 2025 and what they project to spend in 2026. That's real money. Real enough, even, to buy the slugger their offense badly needs alongside José Ramírez.
That they have done basically nothing so far is hard to excuse, especially given that the wolves are very much at the door in Detroit and Kansas City.
2026 Outlook
The Guardians project for only 34.3 WAR in 2026, which puts them in the bottom 10 of MLB and ahead of only the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. Which means that, yes, even the Minnesota Twins have more talent on paper.
2. Worst: New York Mets
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2025 Record: 83-79, 2nd in NL East
Key Offseason Additions: RHP Devin Williams, 1B Jorge Polanco, RHP Luke Weaver, 2B Marcus Semien
Why They're Worse
The issue isn't that the Mets haven't done anything. All four of their new additions are good players, and it does sound like they needed some changes in the clubhouse.
That said, Williams is not Edwin Díaz. Nor is Polanco a proper replacement for Pete Alonso. Nor is Weaver as good as Tyler Rogers. And while Semien is a much-needed defensive upgrade, he's no Brandon Nimmo at the plate these days.
Further, context matters. The Mets are obviously not the Guardians when it comes to market size and spending capacity, and they even have a deeper farm system to pull from in trades. They should be having a big winter, and they're just…not.
This may well change, and their catches could be as big as Kyle Tucker and/or Freddy Peralta. For the moment, though, Mets fans have every reason to feel burned.
2026 Outlook
The Mets actually do project well for the 2026 season, to a point where only the Braves are pegged for more WAR among NL East clubs. But with only lateral moves to show for the winter so far, it's hard to fathom the roster proving to be any less top-heavy than it was in 2025.
1. Worst: New York Yankees
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2025 Record: 94-68, 2nd in AL East
Key Offseason Additions: CF Trent Grisham, INF Amed Rosario, LHP Ryan Yarbrough, RHP Paul Blackburn, LHP Ryan Weathers
Why They're Worse
The Yankees went to the World Series in 2024. They won as many games as the AL East winner last year. Aaron Judge's prime is still going…for now.
All these things should have them determined to go all-in for 2026, but they instead seem to be treating their offseason shopping as an optional exercise. Even bringing back Cody Bellinger, which should be a lay-up, is proving difficult.
As Hal Steinbrenner seems all too happy to remind everyone, the club is in a tricky spot with its finances. There is technically a $33 million gap between their 2025 expenses and projected 2026 payroll, but they're already way over the luxury tax threshold and within shouting distance of the "Cohen tax."
And yet, these are the Yankees we're talking about. No move is supposed to be too big, so no fan should be forgiving of how they've made only small moves so far.
2026 Outlook
The Yankees actually project as the fourth-best team in MLB this year, but those projections are taking a lot on faith with question marks like Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and even Giancarlo Stanton. In other words, the last thing the Yankees should be thinking is that they can leave good enough alone.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
