Los Angeles Dodgers
2025 record: 93-69 (1st place, NL West, World Series champions)
He gone: RHP Michael Kopech, RHP Kirby Yates, RHP Tony Gonsolin, C Austin Barnes, OF Michael Conforto, LHP Anthony Banda, OF Justin Dean, C Ben Rortvedt, OF Esteury Ruiz
New faces: OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Edwin Diaz, OF Jack Suwinski, INF Santiago Espinal, OF Michael Siani
Biggest question on Opening Day: Can Shohei Ohtani win NL MVP and Cy Young in the same season? As far as single-season individual achievements go, this is his final frontier. He’s going for his fourth straight MVP, but he’s never finished better than fourth in Cy Young voting (2022 with the Angels, when he finished second in AL MVP). But he’s going to have fewer (or zero) restrictions on his pitching, being so far removed from Tommy John surgery. It sounds far-fetched with Paul Skenes also in the league, but this is Ohtani’s best chance to do something nobody ever has done, and nobody else probably ever will.
2026 outlook: Pretty rosy. Making the playoffs would seem to be inevitable, but what could prevent the Dodgers from winning back-to-back-to-back World Series? Starting pitching injuries, a relatable factor to them. But even a season ago, the Phillies were one or two plays away from flipping their playoff series. The Blue Jays were literally inches (centimeters?) from winning the World Series. Another championship is not promised to the Dodgers.
San Diego Padres
2025 record: 90-72 (2nd place, NL West)
He gone: RHP Dylan Cease, OF/1B Ryan O’Hearn, RHP Robert Suarez, INF Luis Arraez, C Elias Diaz, INF Jose Iglesias, INF Tyler Wade, 1B Yuli Gurriel, LHP Nestor Cortes, OF Jason Heyward, C Martin Maldonado
New faces: OF/DH Miguel Andujar, OF/1B Nick Castellanos, 1B Ty France, RHP German Marquez, RHP Walker Buehler, LHP Marco Gonzales, RHP Triston McKenzie, INF Sung-Mun Song, RHP Griffin Canning, INF Jose Miranda, OF Alex Verdugo, OF/INF Nick Solak
Biggest question on Opening Day: Is star right-hander Mason Miller going to stay with them through the trade deadline? There was offseason talk of turning Miller into a starting pitcher, and it would be interesting (if risky) to see if he could sustain 102 mph over several innings. The Padres also could get a lot for him in a trade, and it might be prudent to explore those options, given their expected regression in the standings. As a group, the Padres are starting to get old and expensive, and they’ve hit a wall as far as keeping up with the best teams in the league.
2026 outlook: Projection systems don’t think the Padres will win enough games to make the playoffs for a fifth time in seven seasons. They still have two of the top 20 or so players in the league in Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, with Jackson Merrill a good bet to regain his 2024 form. The bullpen remains deep, and the starting pitching depth could be OK if one or more among Buehler, Marquez, Canning and Joe Musgrove can bounce back.
San Francisco Giants
2025 record: 81-81 (3rd place, NL West)
He gone: RHP Justin Verlander, 1B/DH Dominic Smith, C Andrew Knizner, 1B Wilmer Flores, LHP Scott Alexander, C Tom Murphy
New faces: Manager Tony Vitello, RHP Tyler Mahle, RHP Adrian Houser, 2B Luis Arraez, OF/DH Will Brennan, OF Harrison Bader, C Daniel Susac, LHP Ryan Borucki, RHP Caleb Killian, RHP Jason Foley, LHP Sam Hentges, C Eric Haase, RHP Gregory Santos, RHP Michael Fulmer
Biggest question on Opening Day: Can the new manager from Tennessee massage this roster into a viable postseason contender? The free-agent additions of Mahle, Houser, Bader and Arraez don’t seem like a group capable of adding 10 wins to the ledger. The depth is paper-thin on both sides of the ball. Slugging first-base prospect Bryce Eldridge should return from another minor league stint, but it was apparent by his strikeouts in spring training that he needed more seasoning in Triple-A.
2026 outlook: The Giants barely breaking .500 would be a little better than their 2025 results, but still gives them less than 60-40 odds of making the postseason. They look more like a team in transition that needs to get younger, and is only taking half-measures to compete in the present.
Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 record: (80-82, 4th place, NL West)
He gone: RHP Kendall Graveman, LHP Jalen Beeks, INF Blaze Alexander, OF Jake McCarthy, LHP Kyle Backhus, RHP Gus Varland
New faces: RHP Merrill Kelly, 3B Nolan Arenado, 1B Carlos Santana, RHP Michael Soroka, RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Taylor Clarke, RHP Jonathan Loaisiga, INF Luis Urias, RHP Joe Ross, RHP Grant Holman, RHP Kade Strowd
Biggest question on Opening Day: Is there a stranger collection of players among contending teams in the entire league? The D-backs return three of the best players in MLB at the top of the batting order with second baseman Ketel Marte (4.6 Fangraphs WAR), outfielder Corbin Carroll (6.5) and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (7.1). They traded for Nolan Arenado, who at nearly 35 years old has a Hall of Fame resume but has been in decline, and couldn’t push the Cardinals to contend the past two seasons. They signed near-40-year-old Carlos Santana to play first base. They’re counting on eternal prospect Jordan Lawlar to learn center field and hit major league pitching for the first time in several attempts. They brought back old ace Zac Gallen after he couldn’t attract a reasonable long-term offer in free agency. They gave a lot of money to their old No. 2 starter Merrill Kelly (who is 37), and they’re hoping Corbin Burnes will have something to give by mid-season once he recovers from Tommy John surgery. They also are trying to repair a decimated bullpen with Sewald, Clarke and Loaisiga. Roll those dice, GM Mike Hazen!
2026 outlook: Projection systems don’t like the D-backs to improve on their difficult 2025 results. Just three years ago, they reached the World Series with a lot of the same names on the roster. Two years ago, they won 89 games but missed the playoffs by one game. Will they compete this time? Don’t bet against manager Torey Lovullo.
Colorado Rockies
2025 record: 43-119 (5th place, NL West)
He gone: RHP German Marquez, INF Thairo Estrada, INF Kyle Farmer, LHP Austin Gomber, INF Orlando Arcia
New faces: Team president Paul DePodesta, GM Josh Byrnes, OF Jake McCarthy, 3B Willi Castro, 1B Troy Johnston, 2B Edouard Julien, RHP Michael Lorenzen, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, LHP Brennan Bernardino, RHP John Brebbia, RHP Keegan Thompson, INF Nicky Lopez
Biggest question on Opening Day: Can they get the humidor working again? Please? The Rockies had six pitchers make at least 10 starts and finish with an ERA over 6.00 in 2025. Only left-hander Kyle Freeland managed to squeeze his ERA under 5.00 (barely — 4.98). The new regime takes up the task of trying to make it possible for the Rockies to have effective pitching. Best of luck there. The second-biggest question for the Rox: Will Kris Bryant ever feel healthy enough to play again? Bryant’s degenerative disc disease has made his life miserable, and that’s before he even steps onto the baseball field. He’s still got three years left on his contract that pays $27 million annually, but no amount of money is likely to make him feel better physically or emotionally.
2026 outlook: The Rox project to win 60-65 games this season, which brings up the rear but would put them in position to pick at the top of the 2027 draft. Their farm system also needs all the help it can get.
