25. Minnesota Twins
Biggest offseason move so far: Signing 1B/DH Josh Bell
Minnesota's probably closer to Wild Card contention than you think — Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober is a fine start to a rotation, and Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis are still around. But Twins ownership signaled at the trade deadline that they're done investing in this roster for the foreseeable future, and if that's the case, a teardown is more likely than a buildup. Will Ryan, Lopez, Buxton or others be gone before spring training? That's the bet here.
24. Tampa Bay Rays
Biggest offseason move so far: Trading RHP Shane Baz to Baltimore (for a haul of prospects)
This appears to be a year of transition for the Rays, who let Pete Fairbanks walk and then turned infielder Brandon Lowe and righty Shane Baz into a boatload of prospects under team control for the foreseeable future. There's still plenty of potential in this rotation (if health ever permits), and Tampa always finds a way to punch above its weight, but it doesn't look like contention is in the cards for 2026.
23. Miami Marlins
Biggest offseason move so far: Signing OF Christopher Morel
It's a fascinating offseason in Miami. On the one hand, this team sniffed a Wild Card spot in 2025. On the other, they significantly overachieved their underlying metrics, and this is still one of the cheapest organizations in the sport. Will they move on from Sandy Alcantara and/or Edward Cabrera to keep ahead of payroll, or will they finally add some outside talent to make a true run?
22. Arizona Diamondbacks
Biggest offseason move so far: Signing RHP Merrill Kelly
Similarly: Which way does Arizona want to go? There's still substantial talent here, but probably not quite enough to make noise in the NL barring significantly more investment. Does ownership have the stomach for that? If not, will they try to reshuffle things (say, with a Ketel Marte trade) and try to come back strong in 2027? Even after re-signing Kelly, they still don't have nearly enough pitching.
21. Athletics
Biggest offseason move so far: Acquiring INF Jeff McNeil from the Mets
Picking up McNeil for little else but money was a smart way for the A's to fill a hole for 2026, and this offense is shaping up to be one of the better ones in MLB this year. The pitching staff, however ... well, that's another matter entirely, and it remains to be seen whether this organization will spend enough to change that. (Or whether all the money in the world can convince free agents to pitch in that ballpark.)