Note: the writing in this article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of bbfan.

+: Over .500
-: Under .500
#: Playoff Berth

AL East

Baltimore Orioles +#
Toronto Blue Jays +#
Tampa Bay Rays +#
New York Yankees -
Boston Red Sox -

BAL - The Orioles come into the season as the clear World Series favorites after a season where they finished as the best team in baseball, but an already shoddy offense cost them a chance at their first World Series championship since 2024. Those offensive concerns are all but alleviated, as P.M Ellison Jr., as well as Aristides Lovel and Benito Harris, have arrived. Alex Abercrombie, looking for a late career resurgence at 36, also looks for his first MLB ring. Aside from Nick Wallace, the entire core that got this team to game six of the ALCS last year is still around. So long as Versailles Ellison continues to put up MVP-like numbers, this team just might be close to that unstoppable force of this decade (for the first half at least).
BOS - Meanwhile, the Red Sox, now a year and a half removed from completely dismantling a dynasty team, continue to participate in the Jeffery Loria challenge and currently sit at baseball’s lowest payroll…by a country mile. This team is going nowhere, not in this division, but you knew that. The scary proposition is that, if this team has any resemblance of success with this roster and a payroll lower than their former franchise player’s superstar, the league is in a lot of trouble.
NYY - This feels like another year of kicking the can down the road for the Yankees. Sure, they added Carmen Jackson, but after a season where the Yankees rotation was among the worst in baseball despite having some pitching talent, that’s not reassuring. Ciriaco Jimenez being the team’s starting first baseman and Tom Butler likely being the starting DH is also a red flag. The Yankees could certainly sneak into the postseason as the final wild card team, but that would likely take another ridiculous season from Ivan Pavesi and a SERVICEABLE pitching staff; both happening at the same time seems unlikely.
TB - It seems like this has to be the Rays time to shine. Aside from the aforementioned Orioles and the Mariners, none of the six teams that finished ahead of the Rays last year seem to have gotten that much better. But that’s putting down the lone Florida team, because we know they have had a growing farm system for years, and we are now seeing that talent come up to the big leagues. Yes, they are still a few pieces away, but this is the team that should finally make that big step.
TOR - The Blue Jays were projected as a team that would be the best in the league, but instead finished in the wild card and was promptly sent home in the wild card round. So the response to that was…call up the entire farm system and pray? I mean, their offense is going to save them from any serious damage and should still be a playoff team, but it was a disappointing offseason for a team that had the chance to take that next step.

AL Central

Minnesota Twins +#
Chicago White Sox +
Kansas City Royals -
San Antonio Bandits -
Detroit Tigers -

CWS - In what was a very wacky AL Central, the White Sox finished fourth despite the best run differential. That was the story of the White Sox this decade, after miraculously winning the division in 2035. This isn’t a bad team by any stretch, and Caleb Ford helps that claim, but whether this is a team that would be in the postseason without winning the division remains to be seen.
DET - The Tigers looked to be on the right track, and then they participated in the Giants “trade all of the future for above average rentals for a prayer of a postseason chance” challenge. Unlike the Giants, who went to Game 6 of the NLCS against the World Champion Astros that year, the Tigers finished 80-82, missed the postseason, and don’t have a single “rental” left. So…there’s your state of the Tigers.
KC - The Royals, aided by a Vlad Cretella breakout for the ages, made the postseason last year, won a series against the Twins, and yet struggled to attract the team back and, at this point and time, are platooning Blade Bissett with Westin Bates. Good thing this team has talent!
MIN - The Twins big acquisition this offseason was signing their first franchise catcher since Dean Allison (converted third baseman Lou Cook doesn’t count). Him in between a full season of Zhancarlo Chavez and LaQuaveon Demontravous should prove to be a monster 1-2-3 at the top of the lineup. On paper, this is the makings of a really good team, especially in the AL Central, but we will have to see what the horrific backend of the bullpen will affect this team.
SA - The Bandits, after a decade of treading water, are clearly in rebuild mode. They were the worst team in the AL Central last year, and there isn’t much of a difference (aside from the TIgers) for me to believe that they’re going to turn everything around this year. There’s still promise, like Jax Buchholz and the continued ascentation of Miguelito Zima, but that competitive Bandits team is no more.

AL West

Seattle Mariners +#
Texas Rangers +#
San Jose A's +
Anaheim Angels +
Vancouver Vespers -

ANA - The Angels were expected to be one of the major contenders in the AL West with the signing of Randall Rosenthal, but instead regressed right back to what the Angels have been for a long while now: mediocre. Even worse: Wilmer Washington is gone, it was a quiet offseason, and the draft capital that this team was blessed with is no longer. There is no way the Angels could be this mediocre again, but a lack of offseason activity is going to take them out of contention.
SJ - Let’s be honest…there’s no way to properly grade the Athletics. On one hand, their defense isn’t very good, especially at the three important positions, and signing Rudo Vidal, Robby Bullock, and Mike Harrison is about to be the saving grace for this team’s bullpen. On the other hand, the Athletics lineup always has the chance to be utterly unstoppable every year, and as long as that remains a strength, they are going to be relevant in the AL postseason picture.
SEA - The Mariners entered the 2039 season with a decimated rotation and exited as the clear cut second best team in the American League. After replacing Caleb Ford with a much more established and historic shortstop in Ivone Simoes, the Mariners have become one of the premier defensive teams in the league, which has and should continue to aid new signing Anton Gage, Felix Mueller, Nursultan Vandale, and the remainder of a now solid staff. Oh, by the way, they’re still pretty young. There was a scare at the end of 2038 season, but the Mariners have retained their spot as one of the better forces in Major League Baseball.
TEX - If you had told me the Rangers would be the World Series champions last year, I would’ve made you recite the 2011 World Series Wikipedia page again. But that’s what happened, with a roster where half earned a ring and dipped from the sport. Don’t worry, they continued to spend with the additions of Ishida and Washington, and look poised to make another run. With new ownership in Flushing, the Rangers will also look to become baseball’s “smartest” organization.
VAN - The Vespers came into 2039 as the favorites to win the AL West and a sleeper AL Pennant pick, but instead fell all the way back to a bottom 10 team. Part of that was poor management, but another part was a very, very bad when it’s not supposed to be bad rotation. With the talent this team has, they shouldn’t be in this place now — and much like we have done with the Lions over the years, we’ll leave the caveat of a breakout — and it is possible they finish dead last in the division with 80 wins, but it’s hard to set the sights high after a disappointing season like that.

NL East

New York Mets +#
Washington Nationals +#
London Lions +
Philadelphia Phillies -
Atlanta Braves -

ATL - And so we head to a division where there were two contrasting offseasons, and the Braves are on the wrong end of that. They spent their offseason taking the Lions’ scraps, not doing much of anything on the free agent market until the last hour, and not exactly committing to either a rebuild or a last ditch push to a postseason. It’s not a disastrous roster — oh, we’ll get to some of those — but it’s not a good roster, not in this NL East, and I would expect a basement finish.
LON - The GC Group has to be some sort of voodoo, because a year after the franchise’s first postseason appearance since 2011, nearly the same exact roster missed the postseason…by a lot. But it was a good offseason, sending a dump to Atlanta, locking up what should be their core, and getting Adrian Larson. And remember that youth that was once the top farm system in baseball? Here comes Calum as the fifth starter and Brixton Buxton as a starter! I would expect a rebound season for the Lions.
NYM - For the first time in a minute, the Mets had an offseason that could quite only be described as disastrous. After signing Blair Morgan to an extension, the Mets did nothing else. Even worse, the ownership that brought them to this level sold. The result: the rotation, assuming age actually catches up to Miguel Rodriguez Jr. and Andrew Rashad, is one of the worst this team has had in years, and, while still elite even without the infield that got them there, defense has taken a step back. It’s hard to bet against the Mets at this point, but I wouldn’t be shocked if a near decade of dominance stops here.
PHI - Good news: the Phillies proved that the nightmare 2038 season to end their postseason streak was a fluke. The bad news: this roster is secretly on life support. Emmett Wilburn might have to carry the team on his back, because after that offensively and defensively, this is nothing more than a mediocre to well below average squad. You might look at the Phillies roster and see a pretty damn good rotation and bullpen, but look at Western Pennsylvania to see how that combination has worked out.
WAS - The Nationals came the closest they have gotten to the postseason in the past two decades, and the front office thankfully didn’t respond the way that they have in the past. Instead, they got the other Teixeira brother and landed one of the big prizes of the offseason in George Savage. After two years of making more transactions than Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed executive orders and an extra year of trying to catch their breath, this finally looks like the Nationals team that can make some noise, and the only thing in their way in this division is whatever the Mets end up doing.

NL Central

St. Louis Cardinals +#
Cincinnati Reds +#
Houston Astros +
Pittsburgh Pirates -
Chicago Cubs -

CHC - After watching the whole “Wrigley Field” argument explode in their face, the Cubs spent this offseason spending money on two relief pitchers (after losing one) and acquiring Ju-Won Lee, the latter currently slated to split time with…Eric Breiner. Oh yeah, their offense is still absolutely abysmal. The Chicago Way!
CIN - The Reds’ postseason appearance was almost a one hit wonder with the amount of free agents that were set to hit the market, but they ended up securing a large majority of them while getting Channing Hightower up. Their off-season was quiet after that, but when the smoke cleared, this was still one of the better teams in the National League. Better than the Cardinals? Maybe in volume, but no. However, expect them in one of those higher Wild Card spots.
HOU - It has been a year and a half and one missed postseason since the bean 7 scandal, and the Astros are still the only team in which nobody has a clue WHAT they’re doing. George Savage, who they traded Egan Kelly and Bonifacio Esparza for, is gone, so is most of their offense, and so is most of their youth, major leagues or minor leagues. The only thing left to save this team is their rotation and still rather great defense…and themselves, because if Harper Lane is pinch hit religiously again, I might launch a chair into a wall.
PIT - The Pirates finally got new (and I mean NEW) ownership for the first time since 2015, and…kinda sorta went with the same philosophy of signing as many pitchers as possible. With the absence of Sammie Fay, the defense is back to absolutely abysmal (although that didn’t affect Honda). The good news? It’s a breath of fresh air for Pirates and there’s no telling where this team will go in the next few years.
STL - The Cardinals went from baseball’s most hated team by players to a team that was very close to life altering debt. Baseball’s best (and charismatic) outfield is here to stay, with Nikolai taking a monster step at age 20 and Martin, despite injuries, still being one of the league’s best players. Should we be concerned that the roster size is low, the bullpen is going from a death wish to Neal Ward and a slightly better than death wish, and their number five starter is guaranteed to be a Rule 5 pick? Sure. But the way I look at it, the Cardinals should still be one of the elite teams in baseball.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers +#
Las Vegas Gamblers +#
Arizona Diamondbacks -
San Diego Padres -
San Francisco Giants -

ARI - It is very rare that a team trades their franchise player in the offseason and then turns around and gets BETTER in the offseason, but that’s what the Diamondbacks did. P.M. Ellison Jr. is now playing with his brother in Baltimore, but they have been replaced with two stars in Jeremy Hernandez and Sammie Fay, and a lot of the future has arrived. They won’t be a great team — there’s still a few flaws on this team that need to be ironed out — but the future is much brighter in Arizona than it was a year ago.
LAD - The Dodgers broke through and won the division - and nearly beat the Cardinals in the NLDS - in 2039 with a team full of one-year players, and they improved this offseason by…trading their two best players and signing Aiden Russell and a slightly better offense version of who was expected to be their starting catcher? Well then…it’s going to work out for them, but dear lord, it’s very unlikely that this way of building a roster is sustainable.
LV - After years of being in the shadows of the Padres, then the Diamondbacks, then just being a plain bad team, the Gamblers finally broke into a wild card and NL West appearance in 2039. They bring back a majority of the same roster in 2040 (although making their bed with one player at the end of the offseason could cost them), and it feels like they could improve on last year’s output to start the beginning of the new decade.
SD - The Padres’ random late spree on the market is going to be enough to push them out of god awful territory, but is not enough to really think about competing. In somewhat lighter news, Padres’ ownership and a lot of their front office has a year to think about an actual plan for this team. Who knows, maybe this is their ‘90s George Steinbrenner-Gene Michael moment!
SF - Unfortunately for the Giants, the Padres late surge means that this team is finishing dead last…again…by a lot.

Postseason

AL

1. Seattle Mariners
2. Baltimore Orioles
3. Minnesota Twins
WC #1: Texas Rangers
WC #2: Toronto Blue Jays
WC #3: Tampa Bay Rays

NL

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. New York Mets
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
WC #1: Washington Nationals
WC #2: Cincinnati Reds
WC #3: Las Vegas Gamblers

WC Series:

AL: TB @ MIN → TB
TOR @ TEX → TOR
NL: LV @ LAD → LAD
CIN @ WAS → WAS

Reseeding: SEA, BAL, TOR, TB/STL, NYM, WAS, LAD

ALDS: TB @ SEA → SEA
TOR @ BAL → BAL

NLDS: LAD @ STL → STL
WAS @ NYM → WAS

LCS

ALCS: BAL @ SEA → BAL

NLCS: WAS @ STL → STL

World Series: BAL @ STL → STL

Sometimes you have to take a look at two different teams and say “this is the year” for both. And for the Orioles and Cardinals, this is their year. Both of them seem to be the early favorites in their respective leagues with all of the talent both teams employ. For the actual series, this would be the Cardinals’ third appearance in the last four years, and unlike the Bills, I fully believe this is the year they finally get the job done. Again, the whole issue with the bullpen and a lack of depth is a legitimate problem, one that might have cost them a World Series title in 2038 and certainly cost them a chance to get back there last year, but it would be insane of St. Louis to run out that type of pitching staff AGAIN on the big stage. The Orioles are an exceptional team, both on paper and on the field, and they will make this a classic series, but I fully expect the Cardinals to win this series in 7.

(Annual Cubs Lack of Championship Counter: 132 years, good lord)

(Indians/Bandits Championship drought is also 92 years old)