by Jentezen Smith
After a long and eventful offseason, Major League Baseball is finally back.
With Spring Training in full swing, each roster is beginning to shape up and form an identity with the 2025 regular season right around the corner.
With that being said, here are the teams primed and ready for championship contention in 2025.
- Los Angeles Dodgers
The defending World Series champions are not only returning the same roster, but an even better one. The rich get richer they say and the Dodgers certainly have, signing Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott, providing them immense pitching depth. On top of that, Shohei Ohtani is expected to eventually make his return as a pitcher. Mix that all with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, it’s as close to perfect as a roster gets. As of now, a repeat seems inevitable.
- New York Mets
The Mets were already good enough to make a deep playoff run in 2024, falling just short to the Dodgers. Now they’ve added superstar Juan Soto along with valuable pitching additions Clay Holmes, Frankie Montas and A.J. Minter. LA’s trio is unmatched, but the Mets trio of Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Juan Soto is levels above everyone else in the league. After adding Soto and pitching depth, the Mets might just have what it takes to dethrone the champs.
- Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies only made a few minor signings of pitchers Jesus Luzardo and Jordan Romano, along with outfielder Max Kepler. If that speaks to anything, it’s the fact they already like who they have, and they should. The trio of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner lead the lineup, while Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler lead the pitching staff. They have a great bullpen and a well-rounded lineup as well. Meaning the pieces are all in place and all that’s left is to execute a championship run.
- New York Yankees
The loss of Gerrit Cole due to seasoning ending injury and Juan Soto via free agency definitely hurt the Yankees, but they’ll be just fine. Offseason acquisitions of pitchers Max Fried and Devin Williams will sooth the loss of Cole, and while they lost the bat of Soto, they gained outfielder Cody Bellinger and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The pair will not only replace needed offensive production, but also improve the Yankees defensively. While there is a decent amount of turnover, this is still the team that won the American League last year with the same core of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. Don’t be surprised if they do it again.
- Atlanta Braves
It feels wrong to put the Braves so low, but Ronald Acuna Jr.’s lack of health and their loss of starting pitching warrants concern. Acuna Jr. is coming off of another serious knee injury, while starters Max Fried and Charlie Morton signed elsewhere. The Braves still have one of the best lineups in all of baseball with Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, along with adding a valuable bat in Jurickson Profar. The Braves will have one of the best offenses in the league, which alone makes them a contender. But if they’re going to make a run, they will need the pitching staff to step up and fill the void left behind.
- Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles are built well and possess the roster to be contenders, just like the past two seasons. Everything is in place, yet Baltimore lacks postseason production. Their young duo of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson is spectacular, which could soon be a trio if Jackson Holliday pans out. They essentially swapped out Corbin Burnes for Charlie Morton, while adding Tomoyuki Sugano to an already proven pitching staff. Along with that they brought in right handed power bat Tyler O’Neill. Baltimore is primed for a deep run to the championship, they simply have to put it together.
- Arizona Diamondbacks
Last season was disappointing for Arizona after coming off a trip to the World Series in 2023. The lack of production from Corbin Carroll and injuries to countless players killed the Diamondbacks in 2024. Yet they still were able to win 89 games and barely missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker. While they lost Christian Walker at first base in free agency they replaced him immediately with Josh Naylor. Not to mention they added pitching ace Corbin Burnes and bullpen arm Justin Martinez. They already have stars Zack Gallen, Gabriel Moreno and Eugenio Suarez leading the way, supported by a deep roster. This team is more than equipped to win it all and it wouldn’t be shocking if they did.
- Texas Rangers
Coming off a World Series the year before, 2024 was shocking for the Rangers. They didn’t only miss the playoffs, but they weren’t even in the hunt. The Rangers were without Josh Jung and Evan Carter majority of the season due to injury, meanwhile Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim severely underperformed. This offseason the Rangers added power bats Joc Pederson and Jake Burger, as well as bullpen arm Chris Martin. Along with that, Jacob DeGrom is set to return to their rotation this season. The Rangers have the core of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Nathan Eovaldi, not to mention Wyatt Langford who could be a star. Texas’ roster goes toe-to-toe with any, making them a serious contender, but it’ll only matter if it translates into another postseason run on the field.
- Houston Astros
The end of the Astros run as championship contenders is coming every year it seems, yet they keep finding their way to the postseason. The losses of Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker are brutal for Houston, bringing reasonable doubt. But the Astros championship longevity alone is enough to put their name in contention, regardless of the roster. Which is a roster still containing stars Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve and Framber Valdez, as well as a pitching staff as good as any. The additions of Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes will lessen the Astros loss of offensive production, but Houston will still need players to step up and fill the voids. It likely won’t look as pretty, but come the time, the Astros will be a championship contender.
- Boston Red Sox
Boston’s last playoff appearance came in 2021 and since then they simply have been roster deficient. With the additions of star third baseman Alex Bregman, starting pitchers Walker Buehler and Garrett Crochet and bullpen arm Aroldis Chapman, the Red Sox are ready to be back in contention. They join a roster led by Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida and Triston Casas, along with a respectable pitching staff that will be returning starter Lucas Giolito and reliever Liam Hendricks from injuries. If things go right, the Red Sox should find themselves back in the postseason and championship contention, but they’ve got to make it there first.
Honorable mentions: Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers.
