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.

Up last, the AL West.

Los Angeles finished the 2025 season with a 72-90 record (5th place in the AL West, 18.0 GB). 2025 marked the 10th straight season the team finished below .500, with little to suggest that the trend will change in 2026. Ray Montgomery stepped in to manage the team after Ron Washington departed midway through the season due to medical reasons. First-time manager Kurt Suzuki was hired after the season to take over the dugout, though he curiously only signed a one-year deal.

Unfortunately, most of the Angels’ offseason focus was kept away from the roster, between the contenious wrongful death trial brought on by Tyler Skaggs’s family (the team ultimately settled for an undisclosed sum just days before a verdict was expected) and the string of idiotic “the fans don’t care about winning” comments made by owner Arte Moreno on the eve of spring training.

Mike Trout is hardly the same player he used to be after several injuries, but the long-time face of the franchise will still be under contract for four more seasons after 2026. There's no reason to think Trout will need replacing any time soon, but there’s no reason the club shouldn’t look to lock up another potential cornerstone in shortstop Zach Neto.

The Angels have long shown faith in Neto’s promise, selecting him with the 13th overall pick in the 2022 Draft and having him debut in the big leagues the next April. Neto has hit .247/.316/.440 (108 OPS+) with 80 2B, 58 HR, 173 RBI, and 61 SB over the three seasons since, including back-to-back years in which he totaled 5.1 bWAR. Neto received a one-year, $4.1 million contract this season as a Super Two, so he’ll still have three years of arbitration remaining. If Neto is willing to sign a long-term deal now, Arte Moreno should listen.

Drew Pomeranz (37). Kirby Yates (39 in late March). Jordan Romano (33 in April). Brent Suter (36). Travis d’Arnaud (37). Any one of them could be heading into their final season in the big leagues at this point, with each of the aging veterans playing on one-year deals (or, in d’Arnaud’s case, the final season of his two-year deal). None of the group is guaranteed to still be playing beyond the 2026 season.

With the Angels’ tendency to push top draft picks through the minor leagues quickly, the favorites to make their debuts this season might be 2025 draft picks Tyler Bremner (1st round) and Chase Shores (2nd round). A separate right-hander may prove to actually be “MLB ready" well before them, however.

Initially a 6th-round pick by the Phillies in 2023, George Klassen came to the Angels (along with left-hander Samuel Aldegheri) at the 2024 trade deadline in a deal for Carlos Estévez. The hard-throwing 24-year-old has a 4.24 ERA and 269 SO (12.0 K/9) over 201.2 IP since turning pro following a subpar career at the University of Minnesota. Klassen's ability to strike hitters out has long been his strongest trait, but it could bring him an opportunity in the Los Angeles rotation before the season concludes.

The Athletics finished the 2025 season with a 76-86 record (4th in the AL West, 14.0 GB). 2025 was the fifth straight season the club fell short of the playoffs, and the fourth straight in which they finished below .500. The first season in their temporary home in Sacramento featured several hiccups but also saw the emergence of a young core the team may be able to build around.

The Athletics’ big moves this offseason included a pair of seven-year contract extensions, giving left fielder Tyler Soderstrom $86M and shortstop Jacob Wilson $70M.

A year ago, the A’s extended Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker. This offseason, it has locked up Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson. The club has identified a young core to build around, and it has taken steps to keep the group together long-term. First baseman Nick Kurtz, who may prove to be the best of the bunch, should be the next to receive a new deal. Reports this spring have already suggested that the two sides have a mutual interest in talking.

The 23-year-old Kurtz was the 4th overall pick in 2024 after a stellar career at Wake Forest University. Less than a year later, Kurtz was making his debut in the Athletics’ lineup. He hit .290/.383/.619 (173 OPS+) with 26 2B, 36 HR, and 86 RBI this past season, winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Keeping him in the A’s lineup is a no-brainer decision.

There aren’t many older veterans on short-term deals on the Athletics’ roster, so there wasn’t really an obvious candidate here. Mark Leiter Jr. may not be facing the end of his career quite yet, but it’s reasonable to think that his tenure with the A’s might be short. This is the kind of free agent signing (a one-year, $2.85 million contract) that might result in the A’s having a potential asset to move at the trade deadline (though the same was said last year with Jose Leclerc, who had a terrible season and remains on the free agent market following an injury).

The 35-year-old Leiter is heading into his seventh season in the majors, with a 4.60 ERA (91 ERA+) over 352.1 IP with 396 SO (10.1 K/9, 25.6 K%).

A former two-way standout in high school who focused on pitching at LSU, Gage Jump continues to impress with his development on the field. The A’s used a 2nd-round pick in 2024 to select the 22-year-old (23 in April), and he produced solid results in his first pro season across two levels, including a 3.28 ERA and 131 SO in 112.2 IP.

Jump finished 2025 at Double-A and will likely return to that level to start the 2026 season, but the pitching-starved club could look at him as an option before long with a solid spring.

Texas finished the 2025 season with an 81-81 record (3rd in the AL West, 9.0 GB). Texas has missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after winning the 2023 World Series.

Reports emerged late in the season suggesting there was tension in the clubhouse between two of the team’s biggest stars, which ultimately contributed to the offseason decision to trade Gold Glove-winning second baseman Marcus Semien to the Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo. With Josh Smith receiving more playing time in the infield in response (after Sebastian Walcott’s season-ending elbow injury took him out of consideration) and Nimmo’s ability to improve the rest of the outfield, it’s a net win for Texas, but still something of a peculiar decision.

MacKenzie Gore spent weeks at the center of trade rumors before the Nationals finally pulled the trigger on a deal with the Rangers, acquiring five minor leaguers from Texas in return for the 27-year-old left-hander. The Rangers paid a steep price to land the former 3rd-overall pick in the 2017 Draft. Now, the club should be looking to extend him before he reaches free agency.

Gore has posted a 4.19 ERA (98 ERA+) over 532.1 IP over his four seasons in the big leagues. For the first time in his career, Gore will have other established starters (Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi) to pitch alongside and learn from. He’ll take home $5.6 million this season, with one final year of arbitration eligibility left.

Joc Pederson will earn $18.5 million in 2026, with a mutual option for 2027 at the same rate (that already looks unlikely to be exercised by both sides). After last season’s production at the plate — a .181/.285/.328 (81 OPS+) line in 306 PA with nine home runs — Texas has to be hoping for a massive turnaround from Pederson this season.

Part of the trouble is that Pederson is limited defensively; he played in 96 games in 2025, but just five of them came in the field (4 at 1B, 1 in RF) instead of DH. If the 33-year-old (34 in April) isn’t producing at the plate, it’s hard to see what value he’s providing the Rangers. It’s kind of a “make or break” season for Pederson.

Newly added to the Rangers’ 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, Winston Santos is climbing quickly up Texas’s prospect rankings. The right-hander came in 5th on MLB Pipeline’s updated rankings heading into the 2026 season.

Originally signed as an international amateur free agent in 2019 for a mere $10,000 bonus, Santos lost most of the 2025 season following a stress reaction in his back. He’d return late in the year to make a handful of starts — 5 at Double-A, 1 at Triple-A, and 18.1 IP in the Arizona Fall League. Texas might return the 23-year-old (24 in mid-April) to Double-A to start the 2026 season, but it likely won’t be long before he’s on the doorstep to joining the club in Arlington.

Houston finished the 2025 season with an 87-75 record (2nd in the AL West, 3.0 GB). It was the first time in nine seasons the franchise had fallen short of the postseason, a stretch in which they won two World Series titles (and reached the final championship series two other times).

It’s been a curious offseason for Houston. The club showed no interest in re-signing Framber Valdez, pushed into the Japanese market to land Tatsuya Imai, swung a creative trade to add Mike Burrows, and then spent all offseason fielding trade interest in Isaac Parades, only to hold onto him.

Despite Valdez’s track record at the top of the Astros’ rotation, the club was able to pass the torch, in a sense, this past season. Hunter Brown progressed from “solid no. 2” to full-fledged ace this past season, posting a 2.43 ERA (172 ERA+) over 185.1 IP with 206 SO (10.0 K/9, 28.3 K%) while making his first All-Star appearance and finishing 3rd in AL Cy Young voting.

The 27-year-old right-hander agreed to a one-year, $5.7 million contract for the 2026 season. Houston will still have two years of arbitration control remaining after this season, but there’s little reason the Astros shouldn’t look to extend him before free agency arrives.

Christian Walker was arguably among the game’s best first basemen from 2022 through 2024, slashing .250/.332/.481 (123 OPS+) while averaging 29 2B, 31 HR, and 93 RBI a year and collecting three Gold Glove Awards. Walker reached free agency after the 2024 season, and instead of remaining with the Diamondbacks, he signed a three-year, $60 million free-agent deal with Houston.

Walker’s first year with the Astros was a certain disaster. His production dipped to a .238/.297/.421 (96 OPS+) line with a career-high 177 strikeouts (27.7 SO%). Walker will be under pressure to right the ship in 2026, either so the Astros can get some value from him in the lineup or so the club can find an interested team willing to trade for him this summer.

Among Houston’s more inexpensive international amateur free agent signings, the club added the right-handed Alimber Santa for a mere $75,000 bonus in 2020. The 22-year-old took a huge step forward in 2025 with a shift to the bullpen, posting a 2.31 ERA over 70.0 IP with 82 SO and 39 BB, earning him an invitation to the All-Star Futures Game.

Santa finished the 2025 season at Triple-A and will likely start 2026 back at the level, but he could be a factor in the Houston bullpen before long and is already on the team’s 40-man roster.

Seattle finished the 2025 season with a 90-72 record, winning the AL West. The Mariners got past the Tigers in the Division Series (3 games to 2) and pushed the Blue Jays to seven games in the ALCS (losing 4 games to 3) before their season ended. It’s the closest the franchise has come to reaching the World Series, clearly leaving the organization hungry to get back again.

The Mariners were aggressive this winter. The club wasted little time in bringing back first baseman Josh Naylor on a new deal, deepened the bench with one of the few available bats who hit left-handed pitching well by signing Rob Refsnyder, and then flexed their prospect capital to bring in Brandon Donovan. They paid a high price to add left-hander Jose Ferrer to the bullpen, giving up Harry Ford, but with Cal Raleigh entrenched behind the plate, there wasn’t going to be a place for Ford to play (unless he moves to LF).

Honestly, any one of these three right-handers could (or should) be approached about a contract extension by the Mariners, and it wouldn’t be surprising. Each of the trio has become vital to the team’s success, and there’s no reason that Jerry Dipoto shouldn’t at least explore locking one or more of them up long-term.

Logan Gilbert will earn $10.9 million this season, with one more year of arbitration remaining. The 28-year-old has a 3.58 ERA (107 ERA+) and 884 SO (9.5 K/9, 26.2 K%) over 835.1 IP during his five-year career in Seattle.

George Kirby will get $6.5 million, with two years of arbitration left. The 28-year-old has a 3.58 ERA (106 ERA+) and 621 SO (9.8 K/9, 23.9 K%) over 637.2 IP during his four years in Seattle.

Bryan Woo is in his last year at the league minimum, with three arbitration years left to go. The 26-year-old has a 3.21 ERA (118 ERA+) and 392 SO (9.5 K/9, 24.9 K%) in 395.2 IP over the last three seasons.

Rob Refsnyder started out as a somewhat light-hitting middle infielder in the Yankees system, but he’s become one of the more reliable bench options in the big leagues with a move to the outfield. Some of Refsnyder’s value comes from his ability to handle left-handed pitching.

The 34-year-old (35 in late March) is a career .255/.343/.387 (101 OPS+) hitter over 10 seasons in the majors, with 73 2B and 33 HR. He’s only signed to a one-year deal (for $6.2 million) and will give the Mariners depth in each of the outfield corners.

Most of the focus on Seattle’s young infielders centers around Colt Emerson and Cole Young. Emerson, in particular, is merely biding his time until an opportunity opens in the team’s infield for him to step into a starting role (perhaps at third base this spring). The next man up behind them is 21-year-old Michael Arroyo.

Arroyo has spent the bulk of his four seasons in the minors at second base, but can likely handle the left side of the infield as well. He’s hit .275/.408/.462 in that stretch with 77 2B, 13 3B, 47 HR, 193 RBI, and 42 SB. Arroyo reached Double-A last season and will factor heavily in Columbia’s WBC lineup before likely starting 2026 back at the level once again.