MLB's Biggest Winners and Losers 2 Months Into 2026 Season

Believe it or not, two months of the 2026 MLB season are already done.

That doesn't mean that everything that's happened to this point is necessarily indicative of what's going to happen over the final four months of the regular season, although there's definitely enough of a sample size to make some sweeping assessments.

With that in mind, here are MLB's biggest winners and losers two months into the 2026 season.

Winner: Atlanta Braves

Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images

Between Jurickson Profar getting suspended for the entirety of the 2026 campaign and righties Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep each having to undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery, the Braves had as tumultuous a spring as you could have.

Yet, two months into the 2026 season, Walt Weiss' club leads Major League Baseball in wins. They've fully rebounded from a disappointing 76-86 campaign a year ago, and look like as serious of a threat to the two-time defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers as any team in baseball.

Matt Olson is having his best season since finishing fourth in NL MVP voting in 2023. He leads baseball in doubles, while having racked up 15 home runs and 44 RBI.

Dominic Smith is experiencing a career resurgence, as he's posted an .897 OPS against right-handed pitching.

Chris Sale continues his March towards Cooperstown, as he's got a minuscule 1.89 ERA to show for his first 10 starts of the season.

Bryce Elder is likely headed for his second career All-Star appearance, as he's pitched to a 1.97 ERA over 11 outings.

Raisel Iglesias is 9-for-9 on save attempts, having allowed just two runs over 16.2 innings pitched (1.08 ERA).

What's crazy, is the Braves are going to get Schwellenbach and Waldrep back at some point this year. Last year's NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin was hitting .303 with 13 homers before a right oblique strain sidelined him, but he'll return. Oh, and former NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. has a .704 OPS. Imagine what this team will look like when he inevitably heats up.

Loser: New York Mets

Rich Storry/Getty Images

The remade Mets entered the year with World Series aspirations. After two months, they find themselves in last place in the NL East, and with the third-worst run differential in the senior circuit at minus-31.

There are plenty of areas of concern in Flushing:

Bo Bichette—who the Mets gave a three-year, $126 million with player opt outs after each season—is hitting just .228 after batting .311 in his contract year with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Their three big external additions to the lineup—Marcus Semien, Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco—all are all below .660 in terms of OPS.

Francisco Lindor has been on the injured list with a left calf strain for more than a month, and he had just a 92 OPS+ (100 is a league average player) before landing on the IL.

Nolan McLean entered this season as a favorite for NL Rookie of the Year, but has a 4.40 ERA over 11 starts.

Closer Devin Williams—in the first season of a three-year, $51 million contract—has an unsightly 6.35 ERA in 20 appearances.

Juan Soto is having a monster season individually, which likely means he's headed for the fifth top-five MVP finish in his career. However, there's little indication, even with three wild-card spots, that the team around him is going to help him get back to October.

If the Mets miss the postseason, not only will manager Carlos Mendoza likely be looking for a new job, but president of baseball operations David Stearns future may be in jeopardy as well.

Winner: Jordan Walker

Joe Puetz/Getty Images

Jordan Walker looked like a potential star when he homered 16 times and drove in 51 runs for the St. Louis Cardinals in just 117 games as a 21-year-old rookie in 2023.

However, over the past two seasons, he looked to be on a bust trajectory. Between 2024 and 2025, he hit just .211 with a .595 OPS. It didn't help that he also graded out poorly defensively, posting minus-15 defensive runs saved and minus-eight outs above average during that span.

Walker seemingly entered the season on his last shot in St. Louis. He's responded with a campaign that will almost certainly net him his first All-Star Game selection. The former first-round pick is hitting .296 with 15 home runs, 42 RBI and a .943 OPS. He's also posted six DRS, perhaps the most improbable improvement of all.

All of a sudden, the calculation has completely changed on Walker. Rather than being on his last legs with the Cardinals, the 24-year-old seems like a building block for the RedBirds. You wonder if president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom should try to extend Walker, who will become arbitration eligible for the first time in 2027.

Loser: Tarik Skubal

Brandon Sloter/IOS/Getty Images

There's optimism that the Nanoscope procedure that Tarik Skubal underwent in May to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow will allow him to return sooner than you would typically think after having any sort of elbow surgery.

Still, having any sort of work done on your elbow in your contract year is a bad outcome for a pitcher, especially one who throws hard and already has had Tommy John surgery once.

Additionally, Skubal missing time has dashed any chance of him becoming the first pitcher to ever win the AL Cy Young Award three times in a row.

The good news for Skubal is that he's such a gifted pitcher that if he returns from the procedure and looks like himself, he's still probably going to get hundreds of millions of dollars in free agency next offseason. He's that good that teams will probably roll the dice.

The bad news is that by the time Skubal returns, we may be talking about him being dealt to another organization before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, as the Detroit Tigers are currently tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the fewest wins among junior circuit teams at 21.

Winner: Munetaka Murakami

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Expected to sign a deal in excess of $100 million at the outset of last offseason, Munetaka Murakami had to settle for two-year, $34 million deal with the Chicago White Sox amid concerns about how he would translate to the majors.

Well, he's doing just fine, thanks for asking.

Murakami leads the American League with 19 home runs and has a .917 OPS. He has struck out 77 times, the most times in the junior circuit. But you can live with a three-true-outcomes hitter if he's going to hit 45 home runs per season.

It feels like general manager Chris Getz and the White Sox would be wise to approach the 26-year-old slugger sooner rather than later about extending his contract. The price to retain Murakami is only going to go up as he gets closer to his second trip to free agency after the 2027 season.

Loser: Boston Red Sox

Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

While the Philadelphia Phillies have responded to a managerial change, the Red Sox have largely stayed the same. Boston was 10-17 when Alex Cora was fired. They are 12-14 under interim manager Chad Tracy.

There are plenty of issues at Fenway Park:

Long rumored as a trade candidate, Jarren Duran has tanked his value if the Red Sox don't get back into things. Two years after winning All-Star Game MVP, Duran is hitting .198 with a .633 OPS.

Garrett Crochet—last year's AL Cy Young Award runner-up—has been on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation since late April. He had a 6.30 ERA over his first six starts of 2026.

Brayan Bello hasn't been able to build off a strong 2025 season, as he has a 6.43 ERA and has allowed an AL-worst 67 hits across 49 innings pitched.

Roman Anthony (sprained right ring finger) and Trevor Story (sports hernia) are currently on the injured list. They are among a slew of Red Sox who have an OPS below .680, a list that also includes Duran, Carlos Narváez, Marcelo Mayer and Caleb Durbin.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow might be able to get a nice return for Aroldis Chapman if the Red Sox end up selling this summer, but there aren't a ton of other trade chips on Boston's roster right now. There need to be some internal improvements, but Breslow also needs to find a way to add some blue-chip offensive pieces.

Winner: Jacob Misiorowski

John Fisher/Getty Images

Jacob Misiorowski being named to the NL All-Star team last year felt a bit generous. It will not when he makes his second appearance in the Midsummer Classic this July.

At the time of publication, Misiorowski leads baseball in strikeouts (100), FIP (1.89), H/9 (4.8) and K/9 (14.1). It is fair to wonder how long he can continue to sit above 100 mph, but while he can, he is arguably the best show baseball has to offer from the mound:

When you factor in Cristopher Sánchez, Paul Skenes, Shohei Ohtani and Mason Miller, this year's NL Cy Young Award race is shaping up to be one of the best we've ever seen. Misiorowski is firmly in that discussion, if not leading it.

Loser: Marcell Ozuna

Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

Between Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn and Gregory Soto, the Pittsburgh Pirates have really hit on some of their external offseason additions.

However, general manager Ben Cherington would probably like a mulligan on the one-year, $12 million contract that he gave to Marcell Ozuna this offseason.

Across his first 45 games of 2026, the three-time All-Star is hitting just .185 with a .575 OPS. According to FanGraphs, Ozuna's minus-0.8 WAR is the worst mark among all qualified offensive players in baseball.

Imagine what the Pirates could look like if instead of giving Ozuna a one-year, $12 million deal, they instead signed the aforementioned Murakami to the two-year, $34 million deal the White Sox did. Even if that meant not signing O'Hearn, our view of the Pirates would be so much more positive if Murakami was part of a young core that includes Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Konnor Griffin and Braxton Ashcraft.

Winner: Luis Arráez

Eakin Howard/Getty Images

Luis Arráez is one of the most polarizing MLB players in recent memory, which is why he had to settle for a one-year, $12 million deal with the San Francisco Giants.

While it's been a woeful season for the Giants thus far, Arráez has come out smelling like roses.

The three-time batting champion is hitting .317. The .785 OPS he has would be his highest mark since 2023. Perhaps most surprising is that Arráez has two defensive runs saved and nine outs above average at second base, a position he was insistent on moving back to. Mind you, he has minus-four DRS and minus-27 OAA at second base in his career, so what he's done this year represents a dramatic improvement.

Because the Giants have been so poor, Arráez could again wind up on the move this summer. But if teams buy that he's going to keep fielding well, he's no longer just a one-tool player that hits for contact. That means there will be contending teams interested, and he could land a multi-year deal next offseason.

Loser: Zac Gallen

Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Zac Gallen declined the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks last offseason. But after his free-agent market didn't materialize like expected, he ended up back with the Snakes on a deal that's paying him $16.2 million this year and includes deferrals from 2032-2034 that bring the total up to ... $22.025 million.

In any event, it's good for Gallen that he's banked that money, because he hasn't rebounded from what was a disappointing first contract year. Over 11 starts, Gallen has a 4.80 ERA and 4.33 FIP.

From 2022-2024, Gallen was one of the best pitchers in baseball, posting a 3.20 ERA and 3.22 FIP across 93 starts. He finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2022, and third in 2023.

Since then, though, Gallen has posted a 4.82 ERA and 4.47 FIP in 44 starts. He's gone from one of the game's best starters to an expensive innings eater.