Spring training games are underway across Florida and Arizona. Regular-season games will begin before March concludes. There may be no better time than now to recap what teams did this offseason and preview some of what’s ahead for them in 2026.

Hitting cleanup, the AL East.

Baltimore finished the 2025 season with a 75-87 record (5th place in the AL East, 19.0 GB). It was a disappointing finish for an Orioles team coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. The club’s youthful roster is littered with talent, which brought high expectations into the 2025 season, only to be derailed by injuries.

Craig Albernaz was brought in to manage the team from the dugout after several seasons on Steven Vogt's staff in Cleveland. A new approach, coupled with some new faces on the roster and the return of several key players, just might be enough to right the ship again in Baltimore.

Baltimore is not lacking in potential extension candidates. Any one of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, or Colton Cowser could feasibly be in line for discussions about a long-term deal that would keep them with the Orioles for the foreseeable future. It's Jordan Westburg that seems the most likely to get a deal done first, though.

Westburg, who just turned 27 in late February, has been a valuable and versatile option for the Orioles over the last three seasons, hitting a collective .264/.312/.456 (116 OPS+) with 53 2B, 38 HR, and 127 RBI since making his debut in June 2023. The 2024 AL All-Star was the 30th-overall pick by the O’s in the 2020 Draft and will reach arbitration eligibility after the 2026 season. Westburg will miss the first month of the regular season after an elbow injury.

The Orioles brought Andrew Kittredge in as a free agent ahead of the 2025 season. With the club completely out of contention at the trade deadline, the veteran right-hander was dealt to the Cubs for the second half of the season, but Baltimore waited for an opportunity to bring him back into the fold. As soon as the offseason began, the Orioles re-acquired Kittredge from Chicago (for cash considerations) and immediately exercised a $9 million option for the 2026 season.

Kittredge will turn 36 in mid-March and heads into his 10th season in the big leagues. Kittredge has pitched to a 3.43 ERA (120 ERA+) with 337 SO (9.0 K/9, 24.2 K%) and 87 BB (2.3 BB/9, 3.2 BB%) in 338.1 IP while collecting 21 saves. The 2021 AL All-Star will likely be asked to help cover the late innings for Baltimore out of the bullpen (setting up for Ryan Helsley).

Most of Baltimore’s offseason focused on the external additions the team was making to the roster, but there are several prospects who could push their way into the picture before the season concludes. Two, in particular, stand out in outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. and right-hander Trey Gibson.

Bradfield, the 17th-overall pick in the 2023 Draft out of Vanderbilt University, may already be ready for the big leagues defensively. Some scouts view Bradfield and Arizona’s Druw Jones as two of the best defensive outfield prospects in the sport. Baltimore won’t rush Bradfield to the majors (he only has 62 PA at Triple-A), but he could be a factor this summer. The speedster has hit .264/.369/.359 as a professional, while stealing 135 bases.

The 23-year-old Gibson signed with the Orioles as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Gibson has steadily climbed up the club’s prospect rankings, being ranked at No. 3 by Baseball America on the Orioles Top 10 heading into the 2026 season. He's likely ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season (even with a dominant spring training), but could be an option for Albernaz later this year.

Tampa Bay finished the 2025 season with a 77-85 record (4th in the AL East, 17.0 GB). It was the second straight season the club finished below .500, but the year started out rough. Hurricane Milton caused so much damage to Tropicana Field that it left the stadium unusable for the 2025 season, leaving the Rays to play their home schedule at George M. Steinbrenner Field (home to the Yankees’ spring training complex and Class-A Tampa Tarpons).

Patrick Zalupski officially took over as the franchise’s owner in late September, completing his purchase from Stuart Sternberg. Zalupski has said little publicly since, though the club spent much of the offseason operating as if it were simply “business as usual”.

If Patrick Zalupski wanted to make an impression on Rays fans, he’d advise his front office to do whatever it takes to get a long-term extension completed with third baseman Junior Caminero after the 22-year-old emerged as one of the AL’s best hitters this past season. Caminero slashed .264/.311/.535 (131 OPS+) in 653 PA on the year, with 28 2B, 45 HR, and 110 RBI. He was an All-Star and finished ninth in AL MVP voting.

Caminero will play the 2025 (and 2026) season at the league minimum before he reaches arbitration for 2027. A long-term deal won’t be a small expense for the typically cost-conscious Rays, but exploring what it would take now might be prudent, as Caminero’s price will only rise with another big season.

After back-to-back subpar seasons, 2026 is something of a “make or break” year for outfielder Cedric Mullins. The 31-year-old has hit .228/.303/.404 (100 OPS+, exactly league average) with 62 2B and 50 HR over the last two seasons; not an All-Star performance, but not what you’d expect from a player with a 137 OPS+ as recent as 2021. On top of the offensive struggles, Mullins’s once-strong defense in center field has regressed.

The Rays gave Mullins a one-year, $7M deal for the 2026 season (with a mutual option for 2027 at the same rate). He’s going to need to show more at the plate than he has over the last two seasons if he wants that option exercised or another opportunity for playing time after the season.

The Mariners drafted right-hander Brody Hopkins in the 6th round of the 2023 Draft. A year later, Hopkins was traded (along with outfielder Aidan Smith) to the Rays for Randy Arozarena. The 24-year-old has only boosted his status as a top prospect since joining the Rays organization.

Hopkins has posted a 2.88 ERA over 231.0 IP since turning pro with 274 SO (10.7 K/9). He spent the 2025 season at Double-A Montgomery and could be an option in Tampa this season should the Rays need to dip into their pitching depth.

Boston finished the 2025 season with an 89-73 record (3rd in the AL East, 5.0 GB). The finish was good enough to win the final Wild Card spot, though Boston lost the Wild Card Series to the Yankees (2 games to 1). The year marked an optimistic turnaround for a team that had finished under .500 the three years prior.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was busy this offseason, adding to the team’s starting pitching depth with the additions of Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, boosting the lineup with the acquisition of Willson Contreras, and finally adding Caleb Durbin to the infield mix when his efforts to re-sign Alex Bregman fell short. Sox fans have been tough on Breslow for losing Bregman, but the sum of the club’s offseason moves should have them in line to compete for a postseason spot once again.

Roman Anthony (8 years, $130M), Kristian Campbell (8 years, $60M), and Ceddanne Rafaela (8 years, $50M) all agreed to contract extensions with Boston in the last 12 months. Next up to receive a long-term deal should be infielder Marcelo Mayer.

The Red Sox selected Mayer with the 4th overall pick in the 2021 Draft. The 23-year-old made his debut this past season, struggling to a .228/.272/.402 (85 OPS+) line in 136 PA before a wrist injury ended his year in early August. Boston spent the offseason seeking an infielder, never specifying a certain position due to Mayer’s versatility. With Caleb Durbin’s addition, Mayer will likely spend much of the upcoming season at third base (until he can slide back to shortstop once Trevor Story’s contract expires after 2027, assuming Boston declines the team option for 2028).

A case could have been made for Aroldis Chapman here, but the 38-year-old and the Red Sox agreed to a two-year extension last September that will keep the left-hander in Boston through the 2027 season. Instead, let’s focus on Sonny Gray.

Gray is technically controllable for the 2027 season after renegotiating the terms of his contract to help facilitate the trade from St. Louis to Boston. The adjusted deal shifts some of Gray’s earnings from the 2026 season to the buyout of that 2027 option, letting Boston limit the impact his addition has on this year’s competitive balance tax calculations. Still, it’s fair to wonder if the end may be near for the 36-year-old right-hander, who waived his no-trade clause to approve the deal in part because he wants a chance to win a ring before he retires. A three-time All-Star, Gray has posted a 3.58 ERA (117 ERA+) over 1918.0 IP in his 13-year career.

Much has been said about Boston’s deep infield mix throughout the offseason. The club arguably already had enough options to create a logjam for playing time, even before their pursuit of a reunion with Alex Bregman and the eventual acquisition of Caleb Durbin when Bregman signed with the Cubs instead. Often lost in the shuffle of these discussions, the Sox have another young infielder who is nearly ready for the big leagues.

Mikey Romero was the 24th overall pick in the 2022 Draft, the second straight year the team used its first selection on a Southern California high school infielder, after taking Mayer the year prior. The 22-year-old Romero has hit .255/.309/.454 in his four years as a pro, splitting the 2025 season between Double-A and Triple-A. Like Mayer, the Red Sox have moved Romero all around the infield (except first base).

New York finished the 2025 season with a 94-68 record, tied with the Blue Jays for the best mark in the American League, but Toronto won the division title by virtue of a tiebreaker. The Yankees got past the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series (2 games to 1), but fell to those same Blue Jays in the ALCS (3 games to 1).

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, the Yankees spent most of the offseason simply reassembling the same roster. Trent Grisham accepted a surprisingly extended Qualifying Offer. Cody Bellinger returned on a substantial new contract. Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn, Paul Goldschmidt, and Amed Rosario all came back on one-year deals. The only real addition to the club was left-hander Ryan Weathers, acquired in a five-player trade with the Marlins.

Brian Cashman has never had a tendency to spend big on the Yankees’ bullpens. Right or wrong, it’s just how he’s operated over his almost three decades in charge of New York’s front office. The club also doesn’t tend to sign players to long-term extensions before they reach free agency. It’s become something of an unofficial “club stance”.

David Bednar isn’t the flashiest reliever in the sport, but he’s been effective, and there’s little reason the Yankees shouldn’t consider extending him at some point this season. The 31-year-old has posted a 3.15 ERA (135 ERA+) over 317.1 IP with 389 SO (11.0 K/9, 29.5 K%) while collecting 111 saves over his seven-year career. A two-time All-Star, Bednar wasted little time fitting into the Yankees bullpen after the team acquired him last summer, with a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 IP with 10 saves over the season’s final months. Bednar will earn $9 million in 2026. Several late-inning relievers signed deals this past offseason in the $12-16M a year range, a more than reasonable sum to pay if it means keeping Bednar in town another few seasons.

Paul Goldschmidt’s name came up more throughout the offseason in connection with the Diamondbacks than the Yankees. The veteran seemed like an ideal fit for a D-backs team looking to add a right-handed bat to their first base mix, not to mention the “storybook homecoming” it would mean if the team brought the potential Hall of Famer back for one more season. Instead, it’s the Yankees with whom he chose to reunite for 2026.

Goldschmidt accepted a notable paycut (he’ll earn $4M this season after taking home $12M in 2025) and a lesser role (he’ll back up and mentor Ben Rice, instead of being penciled in as the starter at first base) to rejoin the Yankees. Over a 15-year career, the 38-year-old has slashed .288/.378/.504 (137 OPS+) with 477 2B, 372 HR, and 1232 RBI. Goldschmidt could actually reach several notable career milestones this season, as The Athletic’s Levi Weaver recently pointed out.

Spencer Jones gets most of the prospect attention when it comes to the Yankees, though some of that has been shifting this spring to a pair of right-handed pitchers in Elmer Rodriguez and Carlos Lagrange. Jones (listed at 6’7” and 240 pounds) and Lagrange (6’7”, 248) in particular stand out simply for their size. Any one of the three could conceivably find their way to New York this season.

The next player up behind that group, who may prove even more important to the Yankees’ immediate future beyond 2026, should be George Lombard Jr. The Yankees selected the infielder with the 26th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and though he’s hit only .236/.359/.358 in 1135 PA in the minors, the organization (and scouts) is very high on the 20-year-old son of a former big leaguer (George Lombard got 388 PA over parts of six seasons between 1998 and 2006; he now serves as the Tigers’ bench coach). Brian Cashman described Lombard’s defense at shortstop as “MLB-ready” over the offseason, but the club is hoping another season in the minors (likely starting back at Double-A) will help his bat take a step forward. 2027 could be when Lombard forces his way into the lineup; it’s just a question of which position he takes over.

Toronto finished the 2025 season with a 94-68 record, tied with the Yankees for the best mark in the American League. Toronto won the division thanks to a tiebreaker (a better in-season head-to-head record) and fought its way deep into the postseason. The Blue Jays beat the Yankees in the Division Series (3 games to 1), the Mariners in the ALCS (4 games to 3), and then took the Dodgers to seven games in the World Series (L.A. won 4 games to 3).

There is no question that 2025 was a successful season for the Blue Jays, but it clearly left the organization hungry to return. The Jays were one of baseball’s more aggressive teams this offseason in free agency and will enter 2026 as a favorite in the AL once again.

Outside of a failed pursuit of Kyle Tucker, the Jays didn’t put much focus on the outfield this offseason despite all of their activity (Toronto did add Jesús Sanchez, but he’s likely just a fourth outfield option). Two of the club’s three projected starters, Daulton Varsho and George Springer (who we’ll get to in a moment), will be free agents after the 2026 season. Toronto will need to address its outfield plans at some point this season.

The 29-year-old Varsho is the far likelier of the two to be retained. The six-year veteran has hit .227/.295/.430 (99 OPS+) with 102 2B, 99 HR, and 53 SB in the big leagues, while winning a Gold Glove Award in 2024. A former catcher, Varsho has been among the better defensive outfielders in the AL over the past few seasons. He’ll earn $10.75 million this season.

George Springer, meanwhile, is more likely heading into what could be the last year of his career. The 36-year-old will take home $25 million this season, the final season of a six-year deal he signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in 2021. He will head into his 13th season in the big leagues, with a .266/.353/.478 (128 OPS+) career line with 249 2B, 293 HR, and 120 SB.

Springer has enjoyed a decorated career: four All-Star appearances, three Silver Slugger Awards, a WS MVP and ring (2017 with Houston), and four seasons in which he received MVP votes (including two 7th place finishes).

Astute Blue Jays fans already know the name Ricky Tiedemann, but after missing the bulk of the last two seasons to injury (and subsequent Tommy John surgery), he’s been somewhat forgotten, considering the club’s long list of available pitchers. More concerning, Tiedemann once again felt some discomfort in his elbow just before arriving at spring training. It’s unclear when exactly he’ll get back on the mound.

When healthy, the 23-year-old left-hander has been among the most electric prospects in the sport. He’s made 41 starts since the Jays selected him in the 3rd round of the 2021 Draft, posting a 3.02 ERA over 140 IP with 226 SO (14.5 K/9). It’s possible his future is no longer in the starting rotation after multiple injuries, but there’s no reason to think Tiedemann couldn’t still contribute to the Jays, potentially as soon as this season.