Laura Albanese: MLB offseason winners and losers
Former Padres pitcher and current Blue Jays righthander Dylan Cease speaks to the media ahead of a NL Wild Card Series between the Padres and the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sep. 30, 2025 in Chicago. Credit: Getty Images/Michael Reaves
We’re only a few short days away from one of the best sounds in the world: a leather ball thwacking against an outstretched glove.
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a little more than a week, and though some very notable free agents remain on the board, teams are largely set on the players they think can net them the ultimate prize: losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS and World Series.
We kid, we kid (sort of).
With MLB’s free agent period winding down, a look at the winners and losers of this offseason:
WINNER: BLUE JAYS
For a while there, the Blue Jays, despite their billionaire ownership group, suffered from Bridesmaid Syndrome. Oh, sure, prime free agents would listen to their offers, but ultimately, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and others decided to commit elsewhere.
But a magical, if ultimately heartbreaking, postseason run can do something for a team, and players on that 2025 pennant-winning roster were very vocal about how much they enjoyed their time in Toronto. Suddenly, the Canadian tax structure didn’t seem like that big of a deal, and general manager Ross Atkins made the most of it.
Sure, they lost Bo Bichette to the Mets, but they took their middling rotation over the top by signing Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce. Their bullpen was third-best in the American League last year and only got better when they signed submariner Tyler Rogers. They also pulled off a coup by swooping in and getting slugging Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who slashed .274/.355/.501 in 11 seasons in NPB.
LOSER: PADRES
You can’t be docile when you play in the same division as the Dodgers, and the Padres were exactly that. They were able to re-sign Michael King, which is a boon, and Japanese infielder Sung-Mun Song looks intriguing, but frankly, this offseason was more about what they lost and how little they did to replace it. Cease is gone, closer Robert Suarez went to Atlanta, which had a sneaky-good offseason, and Ryan O’Hearn jumped ship for the Pirates, who also get a gold star for actually spending money. The Padres also spent years gutting their farm system via trade, meaning they don’t have a single prospect in the Top 100. General manager A.J. Preller has never been shy about the big splash, but to this point, his team's offseason hasn't caused many ripples.
WINNER: CUBS
While the Brewers did that thing where they sign absolutely no one of note and yet somehow outperform projections anyway, the Cubs went for the jugular — an all-out spending spree in the name of wresting the NL Central title from Milwaukee.
They got a power-hitting, defensively elite third baseman in Alex Bregman, brought back Shota Imanaga and snagged starter Edward Cabrera in a trade with the Marlins. Their bullpen was among the worst in the National League last year; in response, they signed five relievers. Late last week, FanGraphs had them projected to sneak past the Brewers and win the Central title for the first time since 2020.
LOSER: PHILLIES
Hear me out on this one: Yes, the Phillies landed one of the best free agents on the market in Kyle Schwarber, who led them (and all of the National League) with 56 homers last year. And yes, they brought back J.T. Realmuto. But anyone who heard David Dombrowski lamenting about losing the Bichette sweepstakes could tell that even he thinks it’s not enough.
It’s not that the Phillies are bad — far from it. It’s that they keep trotting out the same players, one year older, and falling short of success. They lost Walker Buehler and Max Kepler and have to pray that Adolis Garcia, on a one-year “show me” contract, can, in fact, show them that he can improve an outfield that underperformed last year. They also lost Ranger Suarez to the Red Sox. Bryce Harper and Co. aren’t getting younger and the window for success closes sooner than people think; this wasn’t the year to not make significant improvements.
All that being said, you probably can pencil them in to win the division . . . but maybe not to go much further than that.
WINNER: DODGERS
I know, I know — contain your shock. The Dodgers, winners of back-to-back World Series championships, again spent this offseason making you wonder if they somehow managed to barter for extra roster spots. On top of an already star-studded lineup, they managed to shore up their one true weakness: the bullpen. They swooped in and grabbed arguably the best closer in baseball in former Met Edwin Diaz, then signed the best free agent available in Kyle Tucker. Miguel Rojas was one of the best shortstops in a thin positional class, and they re-signed him, too.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
