Which Teams Haven’t Done Enough This Offseason?

Added: OF Akil Baddoo, RP Angel Zerpa, IF/OF Jett Williams, SP Brandon Sproat

Subtracted: SP Freddy Peralta, SP Tobias Myers, RP Nick Mears, OF Isaac Collins, SP Jose Quintana, 1B Rhys Hoskins

The Brewers were the best team in baseball for the vast majority of 2025. They finished with an MLB-best record of 97-65. Their playoff run brought them to the NLCS — just four wins from a trip to the World Series.

Despite their unceremonious defeat, the Brewers had a great year. With a strong core of young talent, they posted the sixth-best marks in both hitting and pitching fWAR. With that in mind, the manner in which they have proceeded this offseason has been fairly shocking.

While they have made some small additions through trades and primarily minor-league deals, they have lost or traded away several players. The most notable of these losses was Freddy Peralta, who they traded to the New York Mets with Tobias Myers for a package of Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat.

Peralta grades out among the upper echelon of starters in MLB, and he had a great year in 2025. Not to mention, his base salary in 2026 will be just $8 million. For a pitcher of his caliber to come at such a low cost makes his departure all the more strange. It is especially strange given the Brewers could easily make another run this year.

For such a successful team to trade away their ace, and fail to add in other meaningful ways, makes for a fairly disappointing offseason. While they did retain starter Brandon Woodruff, this signing would be much better as a supplemental signing.

The Brewers have been remarkably successful despite following a similar playbook in recent years. Still, fans can only hope they make greater investments in future offseasons while their contention window remains open.

New York Yankees

Added: SP Ryan Weathers, RP Angel Chivilli

Subtracted: RP Devin Williams, RP Luke Weaver, RP Jonathan Loáisiga, RP Mark Leiter Jr., OF Dillon Lewis, IF Dylan Jasso, IF Juan Matheus, OF Brendan Jones

The Yankees are an odd case, as they have not had a necessarily “bad” offseason. Still, for a team that made the World Series just one year ago, their offseason has been surprisingly quiet.

It seems like the 2026 Yankees will largely be a re-run from the year prior. They re-signed Cody Bellinger to a five-year deal, and brought back Trent Grisham and Amed Rosario. In addition, they have made a slew of minor-league deals and are rumored to be seeking a reunion with Paul Goldschmidt.

They also traded for starter Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins and reliever Angel Chivilli from the Colorado Rockies, sending away a number of prospects in return. While these are solid moves, they stand as the only major additions to the team outside various minor-league deals.

Multiple free agents have been linked to the Yankees throughout this offseason, but they ultimately did not make much noise. They were able to retain Cody Bellinger but were unable to address the loss of a sizable chunk of their bullpen. 

Not to mention, every other team in the AL East has gotten noticeably better. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Cody Bellinger are only getting older as well. While certainly not in poor shape (far from it), the Yankees could have put themselves in a better spot this winter.

Detroit Tigers

Added: RP Kenley Jansen, SP/RP Drew Anderson

Subtracted: IF Andy Ibáñez, RP Jason Foley, RP Alex Lange, SP Chris Paddack, RP Rafael Montero, RP Paul Sewald, OF Justyn-Henry Malloy, 

The Tigers were not nearly as aggressive on the market as they could have been this winter. While the team has not taken much of a step back, they have seemingly subtracted more than they added.

They were able to re-sign reliever Kyle Finnegan, and they also brought in Kenley Jansen to fortify the bullpen further. They also signed pitcher Drew Anderson after an intriguing season in the KBO. Anderson pitched to a 2.25 ERA over 171.2 innings as a starter.

Still, as they go into potentially their final year with ace Tarik Skubal, there was some expectation that the Tigers might try and go for it. Adding a bat or two while reinforcing the rotation and bullpen would have made them an awfully interesting case for the postseason.

Skubal is coming off of back-to-back Cy Young seasons, and is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. However, when extension negotiations fell apart, they could have also picked up a haul by trading him elsewhere. Instead, they’ve done neither and are set to enter a public and potentially messy arbitration case with their best player.

The Tigers have made the ALDS for two consecutive years and could have taken a major leap forward this offseason. With players like Kyle Schwarber and Alex Bregman signing deals for less than $200M, it is hard to see how the Tigers were unable to make a pitch given they seemed unlikely to extend Skubal.

In an AL Central division ripe for the taking, the Tigers may very well still finish atop the division. Still, many fans are rightfully disappointed at their lack of a splash in the free agent market this offseason. 

Cleveland Guardians

Added: RP Connor Brogdon, RP Colin Holderman, RP Shawn Armstrong, 

Subtracted: RP Kolby Allard, RP Matt Krook, SP Ben Lively, OF Will Brennan, RP Nic Enright, RP Sam Hentges, OF/1B Jhonkensy Noel, RP Zak Kent 

The Guardians had a very quiet offseason. They let go of a handful of players while signing a few bullpen arms. Other than that, the Guardians were almost entirely inactive in the player market. 

Fans can assume that this is to allow for their young prospects to have room to breathe. Additionally, they retained outfielder Steven Kwan despite wide speculation that he may be traded. They also re-structured their contract with franchise third baseman José Ramírez and re-signed catcher Austin Hedges.

At the same time, the Guardians could have used another bat, and most definitely could use another starting pitcher. After Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams, the starting rotation is a bit of a question mark. Both the rotation and lineup would benefit from another established veteran joining the fold.

This offseason was not disappointing due to regression, but rather a lack of movement at all. As is the case for the Tigers, the AL Central is wide open this year. The Guardians have also made the playoffs in consecutive years.

It would have been nice to see the Guardians establish themselves even in the periphery of the free-agent market. If not, they have plenty of prospect capital to swing a trade for a bat or starting pitcher.

All in all, the Guardians are unlikely to have gotten worse. That said, it is fair to state that they have not taken the step forward their fans may have hoped for.

Cincinnati Reds

Added: 3B Eugenio Suárez, C Ben Rortvedt, RP Caleb Ferguson, OF JJ Bleday, OF Dane Myers, RP Pierce Johnson, RP Brock Burke 

Subtracted: IF Gavin Lux, IF/OF Santiago Espinal, SP Zack Littell, IF/OF Miguel Andujar, SP Nick Martinez, SP Wade Miley, OF/IF Ryan Vilade, OF Austin Hays, RP Brent Suter, RP Scott Barlow

The case for the Reds is made a bit less extreme with the addition of third baseman Eugenio Suárez. Still, it feels like the Reds were in position to make a serious splash this offseason. 

After a trip to the playoffs, the Reds had ample opportunity to explore signing Kyle Schwarber, among others. They also had a clear need to fortify their lineup and pitching staff further.

Granted, they do have young pitchers like Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder vying to establish themselves. They also have a wide variety of position players that can slot into different spots across the diamond. Still, depth alone is unlikely to carry any team to success.

The Reds’ non-committal approach to the free-agent market has been confusing. They have simultaneously shown openness and timidity towards the free-agent market. Pairing star shortstop Elly De La Cruz with Suárez is a great move for them, but could wind up being too little, too late.

For this Reds team to take the next step and establish themselves as more regular contenders, they may need to take risks. The Suárez signing is a step in the right direction. Regardless, the Reds will need to do more to keep up with their NL Central competitors. 

The trade deadline may offer them another chance if they remain in contention. Fans can hope they take the leap of faith to push for another playoff run.

All roster moves and statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.