The dawn of a new season is upon us with Spring Training in full swing and rosters trimming down to the 26-man Opening Day variety. The Hot Stove season provided some real heat this winter as several teams looked to revamp their rosters in a chase to surpass the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers.
Here are the initial 2025 Power Rankings that certainly will be exactly right when the season concludes.
1) Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are the example of the rich getting richer, and their offseason spending the last two seasons may drive a salary cap conversation when the collective bargaining agreement rolls back around following the 2026 season. The additions of Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, and Hyeseong Kim plus Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound is like Thanos completing his Infinity Gauntlet.
2) New York Yankees
Not many teams can lose out on Juan Soto and improve overall. It’s not like the New York Yankees are hurting for money, but not spending on Soto allowed them to add Max Fried, Devin Williams, Paul Goldschmidt, and Cody Bellinger. This might be their deepest team in quite some time, making them the clear favorites in the American League.
3) Philadelphia Phillies
Max Kepler, Jesús Luzardo, and Jordan Romano join Philadelphia’s quest for a World Series Title. Romano will replace Jeff Hoffman in the Phillies bullpen, and Kepler solidifies the outfield next to Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos. The NL East will be a gauntlet, but the Philadelphia Phillies have the pieces to make it two straight NL East titles.
4) New York Mets
On this episode of keeping up with the Joneses, the New York Mets SPENT some money this offseason. The Mets added Soto on a 15-year, $765,000,000 contract while also re-signing Pete Alonso, Jesse Winker, Ryne Stanek, and Sean Manaea. They also picked up A.J. Minter, Clay Holmes, and Frankie Montas to add to their pitching staff. After choking away the division in 2023, the Mets are in position to capture the elusive title.
5) Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves were relatively quiet in the offseason considering what they lost. Fried, Charlie Morton, and Travis d’Arnaud are all in the American League now while the Braves also moved on from Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, and Ramón Laureano. Atlanta is counting on the return of Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. from injury as well as the continued health of Chris Sale.
Young pitchers like Spencer Swellenbach, Ian Anderson, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Grant Holmes will be counted on to fill the back of the rotation. If everything clicks, the Braves could be the best team in baseball. If it doesn’t, an early playoff exit may be the ceiling.
6) Baltimore Orioles
Losing Corbin Burnes as your staff ace would be hard for anyone to replace. The O’s have attempted to fill that void by committee, bringing in Zach Eflin via trade last season and signing Morton this offseason. Grayson Rodriguez will be relied upon to anchor the staff while Baltimore will need their young trio of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Jackson Holliday to continue their ascension.
7) Arizona Diamondbacks
Speaking of Burnes, the D’Backs added the former Cy Young award winner to co-anchor the front of their rotation with Zac Gallen. One of the best 1-2 punches in baseball will be looking for young star Corbin Carroll to return to form on offense as the Arizona lineup is trending in the wrong direction after losing Christian Walker to the Astros.
8) San Diego Padres
For now, Dylan Cease remains a Padre despite being the center of trade rumors throughout the offseason. San Diego is essentially running it back but with minor additions in Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, though they’ll be without Ha-Seong Kim, who signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as a free agent. A Wild Card spot is not out of the question but five of the top seven teams reside in the National League.
9) Houston Astros
Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Justin Verlander are gone. Jose Altuve is experimenting in left field. The Houston Astros are not the same group that has made seven consecutive ALCS. Isaac Paredes and Walker join the offense, but will that be enough for an eighth straight appearance?
10) Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians season will come down to the dominance of the pitching staff. With Gavin Williams, Shane Bieber, Tanner Bibee, and John Means, Cleveland could possess the most complete rotation in all of baseball. Losing Josh Naylor at first base hurts, but the Guardians are counting on Kyle Manzardo to come into his own this year.
11) Milwaukee Brewers
Sure, the Milwaukee Brewers lost one of the best bullpen arms in baseball in Williams, but adding Nester Cortes to the rotation is a big depth boost to a pitching staff that lost Burnes before last season. The offensive core is young and a big season from one or two of them could lead to the Brewers running away with the NL Central for the second consecutive season.
12) Detroit Tigers
Perhaps the surprise team of 2024, the Detroit Tigers are poised to stick around. Tarik Skubal is for real and Jack Flaherty found himself after escaping the dumpster fire in St. Louis. The Tigers will need improved efforts out of top young players like Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson, but Gleyber Torres is poised for a turnaround after leaving the bright lights of New York.
13) Texas Rangers
Jacob deGrom is set to return to the rotation. That alone is a game changer for Texas. The rotational depth is a strength for the Rangers with Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker waiting in the wings. The offense could be one of the highest scoring in the league with the addition of Jake Burger and continued progression from Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford.
14) Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox quite clearly lost the Chris Sale trade with the Braves, however, adding Garrett Crochet from the White Sox is quite the consolation prize. If Walker Buehler can return to his pre-injury form, the top of this rotation could be lethal. There is a little drama on the infield with the addition of Bregman, but if everything clicks, Boston is looking like a potential Wild Card team or darkhorse AL East contender.
15) Chicago Cubs
The NL Central is up for grabs. The Cubs focused on improving their offense and running it back with their pitching staff. Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga form a formidable 1-2 punch, but the story for Chicago is the additions of Tucker and Justin Turner. The Cubs may be a midseason trade away from reclaiming the NL Central crown.
16) Seattle Mariners
One of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball resides in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle’s rotation has four guys that would be the ace for several other teams in Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, and George Kirby. Despite adding Randy Arozarena last July, Seattle’s offense is in danger of costing the Mariners a postseason run.
17) Kansas City Royals
The emergence of Cole Ragans was a massive development for the Royals in 2024. Guys like Kyle Wright, Alec Marsh, and Seth Lugo will need to solidify the rotation while Kansas City will be looking for any kind of production from their outfield. Bobby Witt Jr. is an MVP candidate and superstar at shortstop with plenty of talent surrounding him in the infield.
18) Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins have a nasty bullpen with Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Danny Coulombe. Pablo López, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober are a solid top three in a rotation, but the season hinges on the health of Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton. There is plenty of firepower for the Twins who could easily shoot up the Power Rankings and even win the AL Central.
19) Tampa Bay Rays
The additions of Kim and a full season of Christopher Morel will go a long way towards better offensive production. Not to mention, playing home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Rays will also get Shane McClanahan back from injury, which is better than almost any free agent acquisition. Young stars Shane Baz and Taj Bradley will need to step up in the rotation this season as the Rays continue to operate with a bottom-five payroll in all of baseball.
20) San Francisco Giants
The Giants made several moves to bolster their roster this winter. While their outfield looks the same, Willy Adames and Sam Huff join the infield while Verlander finds what could be his final stop. Unfortunately for the Giants, they compete in the same division as the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Padres.
21) Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have the best pitcher in baseball in Paul Skenes. Add Jared Jones and Mitch Keller to that rotation and you’re off to a solid start. While the pitching staff features young arms, Pittsburgh has amassed a more veteran offense. Oneil Cruz is listed as an outfielder, which is an interesting development. If the pitching does the job, can the offense follow suit?
22) Cincinnati Reds
Terry Francona did not take the job to lose, or at least that is what he will tell you. As previously mentioned, the NL Central is wide open and the Reds do have one of the most exciting players in baseball with Elly De La Cruz. With other young stars like Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene, and Matt McLain, the Reds are a potential sleeper team.
23) Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are in the midst of a youth movement with no real potential to be a threat this season. The development of guys like Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, Jacob Young, James Wood, and Robert Hassell III is the priority. The Nationals will at least be competitive with the additions of Nathaniel Lowe, Paul DeJong, and Michael Soroka but not enough to do anything significant.
24) Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are making one final push to put talent around Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before he hits free agency. Toronto added Max Scherzer, Anthony Santander, Andrés Giménez and Jeff Hoffman in an attempt to make a push in the stacked AL East. If Scherzer can give a hint of what he used to be, the Jays pitching staff could be solid, but there are too many variables with this roster to be taken seriously at the moment.
25) Los Angeles Angels
Manager Ron Washington was tasked with the impossible last season: trying to make this team relevant again. Mike Trout is moving to right field in an attempt to remain healthy. The Angels then added d’Arnaud, Soler, Yoán Moncada, Yusei Kikuchi, Kenley Jansen, and Kyle Hendricks — moves in the right direction but not enough to make a significant impact.
26) Athletics
Brent Rooker was the story for Oakland last year — well, other than their relocation that is. The team that notoriously trades away young stars still has Mason Miller and Lawrence Butler on their roster. There is enough young talent on this team to excite fans, but this group is still likely a few years away as the A’s sort out their stadium issues by playing in Sacramento.
27) St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are one of the only organizations that simply failed to do anything to improve their roster. Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman, Tyler O’Neill, and Dylan Carlson are all gone, leaving Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray as the lone impact veterans on the roster. The Cards are caught in purgatory between remaining competitive and rebuilding, a place reserved for losing teams.
28) Miami Marlins
The Marlins are only ahead of the Rockies because of pitching. Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, and Max Meyer await a midseason return of Eury Pérez to form one of the better rotations in the National League. Their lineup features almost no players that would start for other organizations. Another long season for Miami fans awaits.
29) Colorado Rockies
Brenton Doyle and Nolan Jones are legit big leaguers. Kris Bryant has not lived up to his contract and the pitching leaves everything to be desired. Maybe the Rockies can put up some runs while playing at home, but that won’t translate to wins if they can’t get reliable pitching. Bet the over on runs every night at Coors Field.
30) Chicago White Sox
If Luis Robert Jr. remains on the roster, perhaps they could rise u- … OK, no, this team just is not good. There is not much to say beyond the fact that they should attempt to bring back a massive haul of prospects for Robert and hope it pans out in a few years.
