The Biggest Regret Every MLB Team Will Have from 2025-26 Offseason
The first few weeks of the MLB season are the hardest to cover because fans want NFL-style reactions after each game, despite the fact that what happens in the early contests of the campaign is just a small drop in the bucket during a 162-game marathon.
So when you read this article, remember that while the early days of the 2026 MLB season have been considered, there's quite a bit of projection based on how the campaign is expected to play out.
With all that acknowledged, here is the biggest regret every MLB team will have from the 2025-26 offseason, with just a bit of the 2026 campaign as evidence.
AL East
1 of 6
New York Yankees: Extending qualifying offer to Trent Grisham
When the Yankees extended the one-year, $22.5 million qualifying offer to Trent Grisham, they likely hoped he would decline it and either re-sign with them at their price, or leave in free agency and allow them to collect draft-pick compensation.
Instead, he accepted the qualifying offer, so he's being paid handsomely in 2026. If the Yankees get the version of Grisham that posted an .811 OPS last season, that would be a fair price, particularly if his defensive metrics bounce back.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, Grisham has been a year-to-year proposition offensively, as evidenced by the .651 OPS he posted between 2022 and 2024. So far, he's off to a slow start at the plate, which is a worry considering how much he's making in 2026.
Tampa Bay Rays: Not adding another high-leverage reliever
Griffin Jax's 3.25 expected ERA and 2.51 FIP in a 2025 campaign that he split between the Minnesota Twins and Rays suggested he was much better than his 4.23 ERA might lead you to believe.
So far, though, Jax is off to a slow start in 2026, having allowed runs in three of his first five appearances of the season, including giving up three runs and not recording an out on April 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The bet here is still that Jax will bounce back, as will Kevin Kelly. But with those two off to cold starts and Garrett Cleavinger on the injured list with calf tightness, Kevin Cash's squad feels at least one high-leverage arm short.
It makes their offseason decision to decline Pete Fairbanks' $11 million club option—though he is also struggling with the Miami Marlins early on—seem even more puzzling.
Toronto Blue Jays: Giving Cody Ponce a multi-year deal
Perhaps it's not fair to blame Cody Ponce for spraining his right ACL, but it's a pretty ominous sign that the first season of a three-year, $30 million deal is already in danger after just one start for the veteran righty.
To be fair, the Blue Jays were interested in Ponce after he went 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA across 180.2 innings for the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea last season, so there were likely other teams bidding on his services. It's just unclear why Toronto was so intent on landing Ponce considering they had Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and José Berríos already under contract.
Granted, Yesavage, Bieber and Berríos are all on the IL currently, while Gausman is in a contract year. You need more than five starters to get through a season. But with Max Scherzer eventually re-signed as well, there was always a scenario where Ponce would end up as an expensive relief option. Now, he's in danger of his first season with the Blue Jays becoming a lost year.
Baltimore Orioles: Not signing Taylor Ward to an extension on the way in the door
No, Pete Alonso being on the opening slide wasn't meant to symbolize that the Orioles should regret giving him a five-year, $155 million contract in the winter, even if the five-time All-Star has started slowly.
We're actually going to point to Taylor Ward, who is yet to homer for the O's, but does have an .875 OPS at the time of publication.
He homered 36 times last season for the Los Angeles Angels, so the home runs are going to come. And when they do, Ward is going to command a lucrative multi-year deal in free agency this offseason.
Even though he'll be entering his age-33 season, Ward could well top the three-year, $66 million deal Teoscar Hernández got from the Los Angeles Dodgers after a huge year as a rental acquisition.
Perhaps Mike Elias and the Orioles are content to let Ward walk in the offseason, particularly if he plays his way into declining a qualifying offer. But while Grayson Rodriguez may never stay healthy, Baltimore gave up a talented pitcher who can't become a free agent until after the 2029 season for just one guaranteed year of Ward.
They perhaps should have been more aggressive in trying to extend Ward after acquiring him via trade.
Boston Red Sox: Not making major offensive free-agent investment
It's way too early to write off Ranger Suárez, though he had some red flags as a free agent, and the early returns on a five-year, $130 million deal aren't promising.
Still, it's hard to shake that the Red Sox alienated Rafael Devers while giving up draft-pick compensation and international bonus pool money to sign Alex Bregman as a qualified free agent, only to allow him to leave for nothing after one year in free agency.
It would have been one thing if the Red Sox pivoted to a free agent with more home run potential, such as Alonso, Kyle Schwarber or even Eugenio Suárez. But failing to either re-sign Bregman or add another big bat around Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu is perplexing.
Who knows, maybe Willson Contreras and/or Caleb Durbin will heat up soon.
AL Central
2 of 6
Cleveland Guardians: Not making larger investment in 1B/DH
It's been a disastrous start to the season for Kyle Manzardo, who has struck out in 12 of his first 38 plate appearances this season. To be fair, he should bounce back against right-handed pitching, as he homered 22 times with a .789 OPS against righties in 2025.
With that said, Manzardo hit .186 with a .671 OPS against lefties a year ago. So he would ideally be in a strict platoon with a right-handed hitter. Rhys Hoskins could be that guy, although Cleveland's best lineup right now probably includes him at DH with Manzardo playing first base. There's just not enough resources to go around between first base and DH.
Stephen Vogt has won AL Manager of the Year twice in as many seasons on the job. Imagine what he could do if ownership ever gave him, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff some disposable income to build the team with.
Kansas City Royals: Failing to solve outfield situation
Whether the Royals can drastically improve their outfield offensive production or not may ultimately come down to how Jac Caglianone develops in his first full MLB season.
But while Kyle Isbel is off to an uncharacteristic—almost certainly unsustainable—hot start at the plate, the early returns on the quantity of outfield options Kansas City brought in to try to improve their offense aren't great. At the time of publication, Isaac Collins, Lane Thomas and Starling Marte have all struggled at the plate to varying degrees. It's early, but the quantity over quality approach might not have been the best path for president of baseball operations J. J. Picollo to take.
The Royals likely would have had to part with one of their surplus of starting pitching options to acquire the aforementioned Ward, but a move like that would have made more sense for the 2026 iteration of the team.
Detroit Tigers: Not adding another infield option
Even with Kevin McGonigle looking like the early favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, the Tigers are short in the infield.
To be fair, Colt Keith has had some impressive swings early in the season, but with McGonigle's ability to play shortstop, it would have been nice for the Tigers to add a veteran bat to this infield in the winter, be it Bregman, Suárez or someone else. Perhaps if Torres hadn't accepted the qualifying offer that would have been more realistic.
Chicago White Sox: Failing to add more veteran pitching
Munetaka Murakami has been one of the top power hitters in baseball early in his rookie season, making the two-year, $34 million deal he signed with the White Sox look extremely team-friendly.
But while a young offensive core is starting to form on the South Side, this team is still light years away in terms of pitching. Seranthony Domínguez did get a two-year, $20 million deal to anchor the bullpen in the offseason, but there isn't a similar stabilizing veteran force in the starting rotation, even if Erick Fedde has a bounce-back season.
As the White Sox try to avoid their fourth consecutive season of 100-plus losses, they seem like a team that would have benefitted from veteran additions to both the starting rotation and bullpen.
Minnesota Twins: Not trading Pablo López
Perhaps hindsight is 20/20, but it's not as though trading Pablo López and/or Joe Ryan wasn't at least a topic of conversation in the offseason. The window to move the former slammed shut when he had to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery in mid-February.
Because López had the surgery so early in Spring Training, there's a real possibility he could return for a significant chunk of the 2027 season, although it's hard to know how quickly he'll return to form.
The reality is that the Twins aren't going to be competitive in 2026 or 2027, and are now on the hook for the final two seasons of López's four-year, $73.5 million contract.
AL West
3 of 6
Houston Astros: Not adding another veteran starter
The starting rotation for the Astros looked relatively thin on depth to begin the season, and with ace Hunter Brown now shut down from throwing "for a few weeks," Joe Espada's group is going to be tested even more.
With Brown out, even more pressure goes on Tatsuya Imai, whose first two MLB starts after coming over from Japan have been a mixed bag. Houston also needs Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier—two arms who have injury histories—to stay healthy now more than ever.
Even with Brown, there was enough uncertainty about how Imai would fare in his first MLB season that he couldn't be counted on to replace Framber Valdez. General manager Dana Brown should have been more aggressive in trying to find someone else that could be counted on to make 30-plus starts, at the very least. Right now, it seems like the Astros might have trouble getting through 162 games.
Los Angeles Angels: Failing to sign a power hitter
With general manager Perry Minasian in the final year of his deal and new manager Kurt Suzuki only being given a one-year deal, you would have thought there would have been more urgency from the Angels to make a major addition or two to their lineup over the winter.
Instead, they actually subtracted, trading the aforementioned Ward—who drove in 103 runs a season ago—to the O's. Granted, Ward was entering a contract year and they acquired a 26-year-old righty in Rodriguez for him. However, the early returns on that deal aren't great, as Rodriguez is currently on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, which is particularly troubling after he missed all of 2025 with right elbow inflammation and a right lat strain.
Even if Rodriguez was pitching at a high level for the Halos, they needed to replace Ward's offensive loss. Eugenio Suárez only required a one-year commitment, and he could have played some combination of third base and DH.
But hey, Angels fans aren't that concerned about winning, right?
Texas Rangers: Betting on so many uncertain arms in the bullpen
In fairness to the Rangers, their bullpen has actually been pretty good to this point, with Tyler Alexander, Jakob Junis, Jalen Beeks, Cole Winn and Jacob Latz all off to strong starts this season.
Still, while Robert Garcia was one of the more effective left-handed pitchers last season, this is a bullpen thin on proven high-leverage options outside of him and 39-year-old Chris Martin, who hasn't started well. Junis did pitch well for Cleveland last year, but Beeks is a journeyman, while Latz and Winn are trying to build off of strong seasons in 2025.
Jacob deGrom has already missed one start with neck stiffness, and had an MRI on his right knee earlier this week. The Rangers rotation has high upside, but if deGrom and/or Nathan Eovaldi don't hold up, or any of MacKenzie Gore, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker underperforms, it will put additional stress on the arm barn.
Seattle Mariners: Not finding a way to help Julio Rodríguez get out of the gate quicker
It's not exactly clear how the Mariners would go about doing this, but it's troubling that Julio Rodríguez is once again off to a slow start at the plate.
In fact, Rodríguez—now in his fifth MLB season—has a track record of being a significantly better offensive performer after the All-Star Break:
First-Half Career Stats (382 games): .257 batting average, .727 OPS
Second-Half Career Stats (220 games): .297 batting average, .902 OPS
Rodríguez has still provided value offensively in the first half of seasons in his career, while playing elite center field defense. That's how he's a three-time All-Star. But he's traditionally been a Hall of Fame level offensive player following the Midsummer Classic, and it's unclear why the splits are so drastic.
In any event, early indications are that Rodríguez is once again going to have to dig himself out of a hole offensively after a slow start. Perhaps in 2027 the Mariners will figure out a way to have Rodríguez hit his stride sooner.
Athletics: Failing to overhaul pitching staff
Given that they are playing their home games at a minor-league ballpark that proved to be a bandbox a year ago, it's not surprising that the Athletics pitching talent is badly lacking behind their lineup.
It's still sad, though, because while Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson are all off to slow starts offensively, they're going to heat up. When you add them to Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom, this is a lineup that's ready to compete.
Unfortunately, while Jeffrey Springs and Aaron Civale are pitching well to start the season, Luis Severino has struggled in his first two starts, despite both of them being away from Sutter Health Park.
It's understandable that the rebuilding A's traded Mason Miller to the San Diego Padres for a package headlined by shortstop Leo De Vries—the No. 6 prospect in baseball, per B/R's Joel Reuter—but it's obviously left their bullpen thin as well.
NL East
4 of 6
Miami Marlins: Not adding a veteran bat
Even after trading Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs, the Marlins seem to have a starting rotation capable of competing, particularly since former NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcántara has looked like his vintage self early on.
But what makes the Marlins such a frustrating franchise is that they responded to a 35-32 second half last season by making zero impact additions offensively to a lineup that probably could have used multiple veterans added to the mix.
Instead, all they did was take a flier on Christopher Morel after he was non-tendered by the Rays, which wasn't necessarily a bad gamble, but it couldn't be their most notable addition. To make matters worse, Morel hasn't played yet this season because of a strained oblique.
New York Mets: Letting Pete Alonso walk in free agency
This is why Alonso was on the opening slide, in case you were wondering.
While Alonso hasn't started quickly with the Orioles, neither have Bo Bichette or Jorge Polanco for the Mets. Alonso has a long track record of producing offensively in New York—after all, he's the franchise's all-time leader in home runs—and wouldn't have required giving up draft-pick compensation and international bonus pool money to sign, as Bichette did.
Clearly, the Mets felt that they needed to change the mix after a disastrous 28-37 second-half last season. Still, their utter indifference to giving Alonso a long-term deal the last two offseasons remains perplexing, because there's only a handful of players in the league who can provide the power production he does on an annual basis.
Atlanta Braves: Not signing a veteran starter
It's easy to say now with the benefit of hindsight, but Walt Weiss' rotation is already very thin, which perhaps is a problem that president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos should have anticipated this past offseason.
Granted, how the Braves rotation got to the point that Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and Martín Pérez are in it probably couldn't have been anticipated.
While it's not surprising that Spencer Strider is on the injured list with an oblique strain, losing both Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep to arthroscopic elbow surgery in February is surprising.
They were supposed to be the two arms Atlanta could trust to stay healthy, and while they could very well make an impact later in the season, it's going to be some time until they can return.
That puts extra pressure on Chris Sale and Reynaldo López—two gifted arms with lengthy injury histories—to stay healthy. There's been bad luck for the Braves, no doubt. But there probably should have been a better insurance option, particularly knowing that three-fifths of the projected Opening Day rotation had injury questions.
Philadelphia Phillies: Failing to find a middle-of-the-order bat
Though the trio of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hasn't gotten out of the gates quickly, you're pretty confident they'll get going. The Phillies also have quite a few options you're comfortable with hitting somewhere in the six through nine spots in the lineup, be it Brandon Marsh (vs. righties), Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, J.T. Realmuto, Adolis García, Edmundo Sosa (vs. lefties) and Justin Crawford.
The problem for the Phillies, as has been the case for much of this era, is having another run producer or two to hit behind their core lineup trio. They're paying Nick Castellanos $19.22 million this season to play elsewhere, as he largely failed to be the middle-of-the-order bat the Phillies hoped for over the last three seasons. The Phillies nearly added another big bat in free agency this offseason in the form of Bichette, but the Mets swooped in at the last second and signed him instead.
In all likelihood, the Phillies are going to reach the postseason in some form for the fifth year in a row. To avoid coming up short in October again, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is going to have to find a way to acquire another big bat before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Washington Nationals: Betting on Miles Mikolas to be veteran rotation anchor
Obviously, the Nationals aren't putting their best foot forward in terms of trying to compete in 2026. That may ultimately be the right move, as first-year president of baseball operations Paul Taboni tries to rebuild the organization in his image.
However, after Washington traded MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers in January, there needed to be a pivot to some sort of veteran that could eat innings in a respectable manner. With all due respect to Miles Mikolas' career, it's not surprising that he's off to a terrible start when he had a 4.98 ERA over his final three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.
It makes sense that the Nationals wanted to leave room for both Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray to get extended runway in their rotation—although the latter is already out with a flexor tendon strain—but there was room to add a stabilizing veteran.
Even if Zack Littell proves to be that to some degree, Lucas Giolito is still a free agent, and assuming he's healthy, the Nats might be wise to bring him in because there are 162 games to get through, and Mikolas doesn't appear to be a solution at this stage of his career.
NL Central
5 of 6
Milwaukee Brewers: Giving qualifying offer to Brandon Woodruff
The Brewers likely hoped Brandon Woodruff would decline their one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer when they extended it to him last winter.
But considering he made just 23 starts between 2023 and 2025, it wasn't surprising that the two-time All-Star decided to accept the QO.
So far, Woodruff has been healthy. It may be that he had a mid-career hiccup in terms of health, and he's past that. But is anyone going to bet on the 33-year-old making more than 25 starts this year? That's what the Brewers need, particularly after they traded Freddy Peralta to the Mets in January.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Signing Marcell Ozuna
The early returns on the one-year, $12 million signing of Marcell Ozuna by the Pirates are ugly, as he's hitting under .100 at the time of publication.
To be fair to Ozuna, he was hitting .085 at the end of April 2023 for the Braves, but wound up hitting 40 home runs and driving in 100 runs. Maybe such a turnaround is in the cards for Ozuna again in 2026.
More likely, though, is we're witnessing a 35-year-old that's hitting a wall. If that's the case, it's going to really burn for Pirates fans, particularly if Andrew McCutchen is able to come close to sustaining his hot start for the Texas Rangers.
The good news for the Buccos is they aren't solely reliant on Ozuna, as they also acquired Brandon Lowe and Ryan O'Hearn, who are off to quick starts. Pittsburgh also recently promoted top prospect Konnor Griffin. But if Ozuna doesn't turn things around, $12 million will be quite the sunk cost for a franchise that doesn't spend much money.
Cincinnati Reds: Not adding another big bat
It's unfortunate for the Reds that ace Hunter Greene had to undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery in March that will sideline him until July, particularly when the oft-injured Nick Lodolo also currently finds himself on the injured list with a blister. In the end, though, there's not much the Reds could have done to prevent Greene from getting bone chips in his elbow—it's an occupational hazard.
Where they do seem to still be lacking is in the lineup, which feels underwhelming even though they get to play 81 times a year at Great American Ball Park, one of the most hitter-friendly places the sport has to offer.
Eugenio Suárez, now in his second stint in Cincinnati, is going to heat up at some point. Even when that happens, though, the Reds still feel another big bat away around Suárez and Elly De La Cruz. As is, there's a lot of pressure on rookie Sal Stewart to sustain a hot start, and/or for Matt McLain to recapture the form that made him look like a budding superstar as a rookie in 2023.
St. Louis Cardinals: Giving Dustin May $12.5 million
It's not that there wasn't some logic in a rebuilding Cardinals team trying to catch lightning in a bottle with Dustin May on a one-year deal, but the most likely outcome is that Chaim Bloom and St. Louis don't ultimately get the best-case scenario.
In fact, May has never pitched more than the 132.1 innings he logged a year ago, so history tells us he's going to spend a significant chunk of time on the IL at some point.
Perhaps even more problematic is that May just might not be good anymore. Since missing the entire 2024 season recovering from surgeries on his right flexor tendon and esophagus, May has a 5.54 ERA across 27 games, 25 of which have been starts. That includes his first two starts as a Cardinal, where he's given up 13 earned runs over just 7.1 innings.
Chicago Cubs: Rolling the dice on too many starters
The rotation that the Cubs entered the season with—Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon—had a high ceiling but also a low floor.
So far, Boyd, who had a career year in 2025 after years of injuries, has landed on the injured list with a strained left biceps. Horton has already been lost for the season due to season-ending elbow surgery. Meanwhile, since finishing fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting as a rookie in 2024, Imanaga has a 4.75 FIP over 27 starts. Cabrera has high-end talent, but he too is also a major injury risk.
The good news for the Cubs is that ace Justin Steele, who had surgery on his elbow last April, will be back at some point in 2026. But there's going to be immediate pressure on the former All-Star to hit the ground running if the rest of Craig Counsell's rotation doesn't stabilize in the meantime.
NL West
6 of 6
Los Angeles Dodgers: Probably nothing
One of the things about having the resources the Dodgers do is that they can afford to miss. A year ago, they won their second World Series title in a row, despite the first season Tanner Scott's four-year, $72 million deal going terrible.
It's concerning that Roki Sasaki is off to a poor start, but if the worst-case scenario is that he ends up as a weapon out of their bullpen again in the postseason, that doesn't seem to be that bad.
The major difference between the Dodgers and clubs that don't spend money is if they miss on a signing or overevaluate one of their players, ownership won't pinch pennies around the trade deadline in terms of giving president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman the resources to make corrections.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Giving Merrill Kelly a multi-year deal
This isn't revisionist history, B/R wrote in December about concerns regarding the two-year, $40 million that the Diamondbacks gave Merrill Kelly.
It wasn't that Kelly—who posted a 3.52 ERA across 184 innings between the DBacks and Rangers in 2024—hadn't pitched well enough to earn a multi-year deal. But it was still a risky investment by the Snakes considering Kelly is 37 years old.
So far, the deal hasn't gotten off to a great start, with Kelly on the injured list due to intercostal nerve irritation. He may very well return from that and pitch at a high level, but given his advanced age, it's hard to give the veteran righty the benefit of the doubt.
San Diego Padres: Not building better rotation depth
Even if Nick Pivetta rebounds from a slow start and Michael King is able to stay healthy in 2026, it's hard to feel good about the starting rotation that first-year manager Craig Stammen has at his disposal.
To be fair, Randy Vásquez has pitched well to this point, but both Walker Buehler (9.45 ERA in two starts) and Germán Márquez (4.50 ERA in second starts) have never regained their form after major elbow surgeries.
There's room in a starting rotation for taking a shot on one of those two guys, but for both to be in gives you an idea of how thin things are for the Friars right now.
The Padres let Dylan Cease walk in free agency over the winter and did not replace him. All of Griffin Canning (Achilles tear), Joe Musgrove (Tommy John surgery) and Matt Waldron (hemorrhoid surgery) could all play a role for the Padres later this season. Right now, things are bleak at the back end of their rotation.
Colorado Rockies: Paying a premium for Michael Lorenzen
On one hand, there's something refreshing about the fact that in Paul DePodesta's first winter as president of baseball operations, the Rockies spent to sign veterans Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano and Jose Quintana. They at least tried to put together an MLB rotation.
So far, though, the results for Lorenzen have been brutal, as he has a 14.73 ERA over his first two starts for the Rockies. It's mildly surprising considering how well Lorenzen pitched for Team Italy during the World Baseball Classic, although none of those games were played at Coors Field.
The reality is that the Rockies are going to have to pay a premium to attract even back-end-of-the-rotation pitchers. They gave Lorenzen $8 million to bring him to Colorado, and early returns suggest they might have more success utilizing him as an outfielder than a pitcher.
San Francisco Giants: Hiring Tony Vitello
Whether it was his bizarre questioning of reporters in Spring Training, mentioning Kanye West in the year 2026 or catching himself as he compared Rafael Devers to Tigers Woods, there have been some bizarre press conference moments from Tony Vitello so far as Giants manager.
None are impossible to overcome, but when you get a reputation early on as someone who puts their foot in their mouth, it can be difficult to overcome that. It might be even harder for Vitello, who is in his first year in any role on an MLB staff after previously serving as the head coach at the University of Tennessee.
The thing about outside-the-box hires is they rarely go just OK. Early on, it's felt like things could go south quickly for Vitello if the Giants don't perform up to expectations.
