The World Series, one of the greatest ever, is over. Free agency is underway. The GM meetings are upon us.
In other words: Itâ€s time to turn the page to a new season. Which means itâ€s time for the first Power Rankings looking ahead to 2026. This is our first chance to take stock of how all 30 teams will stack up come spring — even if so much will happen between now and then.
These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.
The Dodgers have won their two titles in a row, something that many people expected would happen, but nobody saw going down quite the way that it did. Itâ€s not like you watched the World Series and thought, “How is anyone even touching these guys?†The Dodgers are getting older and have some real roster gaps to fill. They have a tendency to find ways to fill them.
Every year that Aaron Judge gets a little older without winning a World Series is another year when the clock ticks a little louder in the Bronx. The good news is that theyâ€ll get Gerrit Cole back this year, but few teams in baseball should feel more urgency right now.
Thatâ€s about as painful a way to lose a World Series as humanly possible. The Blue Jays, and their fans, have to go about picking up the pieces now. The first order of business is figuring out whether Bo Bichette is going to stick around. But even if he doesnâ€t return, the cupboard is far from barren.
Another historic, infuriating late-season collapse shouldnâ€t obscure the fact that the Mets are still extremely talented, loaded not just with stars but a talented farm system that is starting to mature and blossom. The pitching is still an issue, but the Mets remain well-positioned … and eager to erase memories of September. Our panelâ€s ranking certainly bakes in the expectation of some aggressive offseason maneuvering here.
Speaking of young talent, the Red Sox are loaded with it as well, and itâ€s all coming to fruition at the same time. Itâ€ll be interesting to see how hard they try to keep Alex Bregman, but either way, the Red Sox seem to be moving into another prosperous era.
Some huge questions face the Phillies this offseason, most notably what theyâ€re going to do with free agents Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez. But as long as Bryce Harper is here — and he is not going anywhere — this is a team that will do everything in its power to win it all, right now.
Kyle Tucker may be on his way out of town — though thatâ€s not entirely a sure thing — but the Cubs are still serious contenders, thanks to a bunch of young talent that got a little more exciting as the year went along. Itâ€s still surprising, I must say, that our voters put them above the Brewers in these rankings.
The Brewers had the best record in baseball last season, but our voters seem to think it will be a (slight) fall back to Earth in 2026. Then again, that was the expectation before 2025, too. This is a three-time defending division champion that always seems to figure out a way, and itâ€s entirely possible they will make us look bad for doubting them — again.
The playoff streak finally ended in 2025, and theyâ€ve got lots of questions with this roster. But having a full year of Yordan Alvarez, something that would have made a huge difference this past year, is an excellent baseline with which to start.
It has already been a little bit of a tumultuous offseason for the Padres, but with this franchise, it can sort of seem like they all are. They still have all kinds of stars and a fanbase that continues to turn out for its team.
“Will they trade Tarik Skubal?†is the signature question of their offseason and maybe all of MLBâ€s offseason. What they decide to do will set the course of this franchise for a long time — and also for 2026.
It was a disastrous year for this team, with just about everything going wrong. That the Braves stayed in house to hire Walt Weiss as manager, and are essentially bringing everyone back they can, is a sign that the franchise sees 2025 more as a blip than anything else. We will find out if they are right.
Skip Schumaker feels like a coup of a hire as a manager and you get a sense that he might just be the perfect guy for a team that is talented, but seems to need just a little bit of a push. Though they might just need everyone to stay healthy.
Itâ€s put-up-or-shut-up time in Baltimore. Orioles fans have been patient for long enough. This was supposed to be the new golden age of Orioles baseball, and they are still waiting for that first playoff win since 2014 … and just had a losing season. Thereâ€s more than enough talent here for new manager Craig Albernaz to turn things around quickly, though.
That the Diamondbacks were the only team to have three Silver Slugger Award winners speaks to how much talent they have here … and how frustrating 2025 was. They should have healthier pitching in 2026. But can they get everything aligned?
The Reds finally broke their postseason drought in 2025, though they did not break their postseason win drought. The NL Central should give them some opportunities, but more than anything, they need that highly-anticipated MVP breakout season from Elly De La Cruz.
Their historic, late-season surge to the playoffs ended in a short postseason stint, but as long as they have José RamÃrez in the middle of the lineup — and as long as they call the AL Central home — this is a team that is going to have a chance to contend.
Theyâ€ll be back to the Trop in 2026, to the relief of everyone involved after a pleasant, but still awkward year at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. But this division looks like itâ€s going to be even tougher for them moving forward.
The Royals were surprisingly aggressive at the Trade Deadline, but they didnâ€t get much out of it. Bobby Witt Jr. is still the centerpiece of everything, but this team still needs more offense. Can they find it?
There may be no more fascinating offseason team than the Cardinals, who have new president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, making some big decisions to put his stamp on the team. Nolan Arenado is surely on the trade block, and Sonny Gray might be next, but could we see Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar on the way out, too?
Theyâ€ve got to find some pitching, but seriously, is there a team that has more team-controlled young hitters than the Aâ€s? Nick Kurtz is the highlight, but they have players everywhere. They only need a little pitching to make a move. But will they be able to go out and get it?
It has now been more than a decade since the Angels had a winning record, and since 2019 that Mike Trout has put up the highest bWAR on his own team. What exactly are the Angels at this point? Thatâ€s a big question for new manager Kurt Suzuki to try to answer.
The Nats have supposedly been a young team thatâ€s ready to rise for a while now, but it keeps not rising. They need more consistency from those young players, particularly James Wood, who sometimes looks like a star, but he hasn’t quite been one just yet.
The Pirates have the likely NL Cy Young Award winner, an all-time great already … and, still, not much else. Once again, there should be some more urgency this offseason to figure out a way to win while Paul Skenes is this great (and this affordable).
The White Sox were considerably better last season, which is a long way from saying they were good. But thereâ€s something to build around here, and White Sox fans have, quietly, started to notice.
Their hiring of Paul DePodesta as president of baseball operations was certainly unconventional, but “unconventional†is probably something the Rockies have been needing for a while now. A fresh set of eyes absolutely cannot hurt.
Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Jason Catania, Mark Feinsand, Daniel Feldman, Doug Gausepohl, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, Zac Vierra.
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.