5 MLB Teams That Are Already Screwed in 2026

Given the Atlanta Braves employ Ronald Acuña, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Chris Sale, you can't rule them out from competing in 2026.

However, in Walt Weiss' first season as manager, things haven't gotten off to a great start for the team.

It would be fair to say there's always durability questions surrounding their top three veteran starters in Sale, Spencer Strider and Reynaldo López. The two arms you felt good about staying healthy in their starting rotation were 25-year-old Spencer Schwellenbach and 23-year-old Hurston Waldrep.

But Schwellenbach had an elbow "cleanup" surgery last week, with Waldrep set to also have his elbow operated on Monday. There's hope that both will pitch at some point this season, though elbows are tricky injuries to predict with pitchers.

Still, the Braves have enough talent that we can't say they are "screwed" before a single game is played, even if there have been some bad omens early.

There are, however, five teams that we can rule out from playoff contention before Opening Day.

Washington Nationals

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James Wood

Paul Taboni, the new president of baseball operations, began rebuilding the Nationals in his image this offseason.

Evidently, his plan involves taking a step backwards before moving forward, which is saying something considering Washington has lost 90 or more games in five consecutive seasons.

Taboni traded lefty MacKenzie Gore—who was an All-Star a season ago—to the Texas Rangers in January.

If you need an idea of how far away the Nationals might be from contending, Gore is only 26 years old and has two remaining seasons before free agency. Instead of trying to build around him, Washington traded him for a package headlined by 18-year-old third baseman Gavin Fien. Its top-ranked prospect is last year's No. 1 pick, 18-year-old shortstop Eli Willits.

Under Taboni, the Nationals may ultimately return to contention, but it's not going to be an overnight process. This is a team that desperately needed to add pitching in the offseason. Instead, it traded its ace.

Washington's only notable veteran signing was 37-year-old Miles Mikolas, who will still eat innings but has a 4.98 ERA over the last three seasons.

There will be things to watch with the Nationals in 2026. Can catcher Harry Ford—who was blocked by Cal Raleigh in Seattle—emerge when he's given a chance to play? If Josiah Gray and/or Cade Cavalli stays healthy, can either develop into the stars they once seemed poised to become? Just how good are James Wood and CJ Abrams, and does either of them—the latter, in particular—become a trade candidate?

The bottom line is that the Nationals are set up to lose over 100 games in Blake Butera's first season as manager. They probably also need new ownership that's committed to spending before they can truly return to contention.

St. Louis Cardinals

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Jordan Walker

If you see how many talented young players the Boston Red Sox have promoted in recent seasons, you understand why the Cardinals feel comfortable moving forward with Chaim Bloom as their president of baseball operations.

Bloom, though, tore things down to the studs this winter, trading away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendon Donovan, setting up the Cardinals to be the only non-competitive team in the NL Central this season.

Without a doubt, Bloom has earned the benefit of the doubt on being able to overhaul a farm system and get it churning out talent again based on the jobs he did in Boston and Tampa Bay. And it's probably the right move for the Cardinals not to fool themselves into thinking they can contend in 2026.

Still, it's strange for this franchise to enter a season where losing 90-plus games feels like a certainty.

St. Louis isn't completely without storylines this season. This is likely Jordan Walker's final chance to prove he's not a bust. Infielder JJ Wetherholt—the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 draft—could get extended runway this year. Masyn Winn is smooth at shortstop. Dustin May, while injury prone, is an interesting buy-low candidate.

It's rare that a team is so devoid of talent that there's nothing to watch for. The Cardinals have some quality players, particularly in their lineup. As a team, though, they could become the first St. Louis squad to lose 95 or more games since Miller Huggins' squad went 51-99-3 in 1913.

Chicago White Sox

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Munetaka Murakami

Two years after going 41-121, the White Sox actually seem to be trending in a positive direction.

The Pale Hose struck when concerns over Munetaka Murakami's ability to hit velocity and where he will play defensively led to his market cratering. Perhaps those concerns will prove valid, but if not, the White Sox signed a 26-year-old with massive power potential for just two years and $34 million.

General manager Chris Getz signed a pair of veterans this offseason in reliever Seranthony Domínguez and Austin Hays, while acquiring hard-throwing righty Jordan Hicks in a trade with the Red Sox.

Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Chase Meredith all project to be regulars in their age-24 seasons, while lefty Noah Schultz could be in play later in the season.

Remember how we said there are few bad teams that have nothing going for them at all? Well, the White Sox were one of the exceptions to that a couple years ago.

They still don't have nearly enough pitching to not be screwed from the sense of trying to contend, but for the first time in a while, there does seem to at least be a plan on the South Side.

Colorado Rockies

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Kyle Freeland

Under owner Dick Monfort, the Rockies seem content to just participate every year, hosting 81 home games a season at Coors Field and then heading home in October.

The Rockies don't have the financial might to match the $396 million luxury-tax payroll the Los Angeles Dodgers are projected to enter the season with, but it's hard to feel like they are really putting their best foot forward with a $105 million payroll projected on Opening Day.

To some degree, the Rockies are screwed until they figure out a way to develop pitching that can have success at Coors Field, which may be an impossible task. Kyle Freeland—who has a 5.00 ERA in 170 starts since he finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2019—is likely to again get the ball on Opening Day. Not much more needs to be said in that regard.

What's crazy, though, is the Rockies have traditionally had good offensive teams, and they couldn't even say that in 2025, when they finished 29th in runs scored (597). Ethan Holliday and Charlie Condon are high draft picks who could eventually help to get this lineup back on track, but there's not much to get excited about at the plate for Colorado in 2026.

The Rockies may improve from the staggering 119 games they lost a year ago, but they are likely headed for a fourth consecutive season of 100-plus losses in 2026.

Monfort has already telegraphed that he's going to be among the owners looking for a salary cap next winter, but the problems in Denver will hardly be solved just by that. New president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has his work cut out.

Minnesota Twins

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Byron Buxton

Following a massive sell-off last trade deadline, there was some thought entering the offseason that the Minnesota Twins might continue to deal their veteran players and hope that bottoming out might allow them to build up a great farm system.

The Twins didn't trade any of their remaining veteran stars this offseason, though early returns suggest they probably should have.

Righty Pablo López has already been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

The other top starter on the team, Joe Ryan, was scratched from his scheduled Grapefruit League start over the weekend. An MRI showed he's dealing with some inflammation in his lower back, which isn't the end of the world. It's still not ideal, though.

And then you get to a lineup built around Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis, two immense talents who have proved to be as likely to be hurt as healthy in their careers. To his credit, Buxton actually played in 126 games last season, but that was his most games played in a campaign since the 140 he posted for in 2017. Meanwhile, Lewis has played in 188 of a possible 324 games the last two seasons.

Even at its healthiest, this isn't a team with enough talent to be competitive. Add in that most of the stars are or likely will be injured and things look pretty bleak for the Twins.