Philadelphia Phillies
2025 record: 96-66 (1st place, NL East)
He gone: LHP Ranger Suarez, OF Nick Castellanos, LHP Matt Strahm, OF Harrison Bader, OF Max Kepler
New faces: OF Adolis Garcia, RHP Brad Keller, OF Justin Crawford, RHP Andrew Painter, INF/OF Dylan Moore
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Will their aging star players perform well enough to overcome questionable depth in the lineup and bullpen? The Phillies’ roster has several of the best players in the game — Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler and Jhoan Duran among them. But they also plan on Alec Bohm hitting cleanup, and they’re hoping Garcia can bounce back at 33 after two poor seasons at the plate. Harper, also 33, hit well last year, but wasn’t close to his career best. Wheeler, soon to be 36, is coming off thoracic outlet syndrome surgery that included a celebrated rib removal. He’s getting a late start on the season. Righty Aaron Nola (who looked great for Italy in the World Baseball Classic) needs to do better than his 6.01 ERA in 17 starts a season ago. Duran is a great stopper, but the bullpen as a unit was mediocre in ‘25 — although lefty Jose Alvarado is back after throwing just 25 innings a season ago because of a PED suspension.
2026 outlook: They should be a playoff team again, but the Phillies want more than a mere appearance in the postseason. Having a full complement of healthy starting pitching, a return to elite status by Harper and an 80th-percentile performance by the bullpen just might get a World Series championship done.
New York Mets
2025 record: 83-79 (2nd place, NL East)
He gone: RHP Edwin Diaz, 1B Pete Alonso, OF Brandon Nimmo, 2B/OF Jeff McNeil, OF/DH Starling Marte
New faces: RHP Freddy Peralta, 3B Bo Bichette, 2B Marcus Semien, OF Luis Robert Jr., RHP Devin Williams
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Are they good enough to win in the postseason (assuming they get there) after letting go of two club icons? Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns made some savvy additions in the offseason, notably bringing in Peralta for the top of the rotation. Bichette and Jorge Polanco should cover Alonso’s bat in the lineup. Robert is a fair gamble to bounce back in center. Williams and Luke Weaver are solid bets to have strong seasons in high-leverage relief situations. But losing Alonso and Diaz is like getting a soul transplant, and it’s not like they were the ones keeping the team from success in ‘25. Most of all: The starting pitching depth after Peralta and Nolan McLean seems very iffy.
2026 outlook: The Phillies would have to significantly regress (not impossible, but unlikely) for the Mets to pass them in the division. The Braves are wounded already. The Nationals are bottoming out. The Marlins are more irritating than dangerous. The Mets seem like a sure bet for second place.
Miami Marlins
2025 record: 79-83 (3rd place, NL East)
He gone: RHP Edward Cabrera, LHP Ryan Weathers, OF Dane Myers, INF Eric Wagaman
New faces: OF Owen Caissie, RHP Pete Fairbanks, RHP Chris Paddack, INF/OF Christopher Morel
Biggest question entering Opening Day: How can they tap into the mojo that rocked LoanDepot Park during the World Baseball Classic? The Miami area obviously has baseball fans, and they clearly know where the stadium is. It’s just a matter of giving them a reason to enter the ballpark for Marlins home games. The Fish have some talented pitchers (Eury Perez, Sandy Alcantara, Max Meyer) and intriguing pitching prospects (Thomas White, Robby Snelling). They’re hoping that Caissie develops like Kyle Stowers did in ‘25, and that Jakob Marsee performs all season like he did in August (but not September). If it all comes together, they could form the best young outfield in the majors. But it likely won’t spark a wave of enthusiasm like we saw from Team Venezuela, the Dominican Republic or even Italy in the WBC. A sustainably great young Marlins team would be great for the league. If only.
2026 outlook: President of baseball ops Peter Bendix and manager Clayton McCullough appear to be the right guys to run an organization. If Alcantara returns to All-Star form, and Perez fully finishes his recovery from Tommy John, the Marlins have a chance to repeat as third-place champs. Actual contention remains only vaguely on the horizon.
Atlanta Braves
2025 record 76-86 (4th place, NL East)
He gone: DH Marcell Ozuna, RHP Charlie Morton, RHP Pierce Johnson, OF Alex Verdugo, manager Brian Snitker
New faces: RHP Robert Suarez, OF Mike Yastrzemski, SS Mauricio Dubon, 1B/DH Dominic Smith, C Jonah Heim
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Will they stop having injuries long enough to have their best chance to rejoin the playoff hunt? Few if any teams have been affected by major injuries over the past two seasons more than the Braves. They’re still nicked up, with Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, Joe Jimenez, Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim among those set to start the season on the injured list. Jurickson Profar isn’t hurt, but won’t play this season after getting popped for PEDs again. The good news: superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. is healthy and ready to get 600-plus plate appearances for the first time since 2023. The Braves also need bounce-back seasons from other key players who’ve been limited by injuries — notably sluggers Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies, and righty Reynaldo Lopez. Michael Harris II regaining his former form, as he showed signs of doing in the second half of ‘25, also will be key. Most of all, can Spencer Strider become the ace was in 2023? Regardless, some think Didier Fuentes, a rookie who is beginning in the bullpen, can make an impact like Strider did as a younger player.
2026 outlook: Walt Weiss takes over as manager, promoted from bench coach after Snitker retired. Even if the Braves can regain contending form, a goal like the World Series seems out of their grasp right now.
Washington Nationals
2025 record: 66-96 (5th place, NL East)
He gone: LHP MacKenzie Gore, 1B/DH Josh Bell, INF Paul DeJong, LHP Jose A. Ferrer
New faces: RHP Zack Littell, LHP Foster Griffin, RHP Miles Mikolas, manager Blake Butera, president of baseball ops Paul Toboni
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Is it a good or bad sign that top prospect Dylan Crews won’t make the Opening Day roster? It’s probably bad and reflects more on Crews’ struggles, because the Nats don’t have a lot of depth that projects to perform well. CJ Abrams and James Wood, even with their imperfections, are a strong way to start a lineup. After that, it gets really iffy, really fast. Be optimistic about Brady House, who didn’t hit a season ago as a rookie, but still has the potential to be an effective third baseman. Outfielder Daylen Lile probably over-performed as a rookie, so beware the regression monster. Keibert Ruiz has been a disappointment since coming over in an earlier rebuild, posting a career slash line of .248/.293/.372. Maybe he can get hot enough to be traded so prospect Harry Ford can come up and play. Luis Garcia Jr. didn’t build on his breakout 2024 season, but his peripheral numbers still indicate All-Star potential (partially because second base is a relatively weak position league-wide). The starting pitching is weak, but at least they signed Littell, who probably will be traded by the deadline.
2026 outlook: A consensus of projection systems (for example, PECOTA) says the Nationals are likely to go 66-96 or so in 2026. That seems optimistic. Very. If everything goes right, they’ll avoid losing 100 games, but there’s a nonzero chance they’ll lose 110.
