MLB Power Rankings: Where All 30 Teams Stand at the Start of 2023 Spring Training (2024)

Spring training is here!

Pitchers and catchers who have committed to play in the World Baseball Classic have already begun reporting to their teams various spring training sites, and by the beginning of next week, most players across baseball will have made their yearly migration to either Arizona or Florida.

With that, it's time for an updated version of our MLB power rankings, taking into account a busy offseason of free-agent signings and trades. Teams are ranked based on their outlook for the upcoming season, taking into account how complete their roster is and how well they are expected to perform.

There is still plenty to be sorted out before Opening Day on March 30, and the inevitable injury or late blockbuster trade could still shake things up. As things stand, this should give an idea of how all 30 teams stack up for the 2023 season.

30. Oakland Athletics

After trading Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt last offseason and Frankie Montas over the summer, the Athletics front office has continued slashing the roster to bits this winter by dealing Sean Murphy, Cole Irvin and A.J. Puk.

At this point, the cost-cutting measures have turned this into a mediocre Triple-A roster, and it's an absolute joke that reliever Trevor May is going to be the highest-paid player on the team with a $7 million salary. This squad could legitimately lose 120 games.

29. Washington Nationals

There is a real chance that Patrick Corbin—the same guy who went 6-19 with a 6.31 ERA in 152.2 innings last season—is going to be the Opening Day starter for the Nationals. That should be all you need to know about where expectations belong for the upcoming season.

At the least, the continued development of guys like CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Cade Cavalli and Keibert Ruiz will provide a glimmer of hope for the future, but it will be an upset if they avoid 100 losses.

28. Detroit Tigers

A year after aggressively spending in free agency with the additions of Javier Báez and Eduardo Rodriguez, the Tigers have a new front office and appear to be prepared to take a step backward in hopes of two steps forward down the line.

Success will not be measured in wins and losses. Instead, it will hinge on whether young players like Spencer Torkelson (age 23), Riley Greene (22), Matt Manning (25) and Casey Mize (25) once he returns from Tommy John surgery can take a step forward in their development and provide a foundation to build around.

27. Cincinnati Reds

It is quickly becoming an annual tradition for Reds team president Phil Castellini to emerge from his winter slumber and promptly place his foot directly in his mouth the first opportunity he has to speak in front of fans.

With offseason additions like Wil Myers, Luke Weaver and Chad Pinder doing little to move the needle for a team that finished 62-100 last year, it's likely going to be another long season. There is a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of one of the best farm systems in baseball, but that tunnel stretches well beyond 2023.

26. Colorado Rockies

What is a realistic best-case scenario for the Rockies?

Kris Bryant stays healthy for a full season; Ezequiel Tovar is this year's version of Jeremy Peña in the starting shortstop role as a rookie; Kyle Freeland and Germán Márquez anchor a starting rotation that exceeds expectations; and they finish 30 games back in the NL West standings instead of 43 games back like they did in 2022.

They won't be the worst team in baseball, but they might be the most directionless.

25. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates made some nice additions this offseason, bringing back Andrew McCutchen along with Ji-Man Choi and Carlos Santana to bolster the offense. They also signed Rich Hill, Vince Velasquez and defensive-minded catcher Austin Hedges to help support a young pitching staff.

It's still hard to envision this team contending in 2023 with its projected starting rotation, but the continued development of Ke'Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz and Roansy Contreras should be fun to watch, and there is more young talent on the way. If you don't know the name Endy Rodriguez, you will soon enough.

24. Kansas City Royals

The Royals cleared a path for some of their young talent by trading Michael A. Taylor and Adalberto Mondesi, which will open up playing time for Drew Waters in center field and Michael Massey on the infield.

That duo could join the young core of Bobby Witt Jr., Brady Singer, MJ Melendez, Vinnie Pasquantino and Daniel Lynch as the Royals look for homegrown, sustainable success once again. In the meantime, they did well to plug some veteran pieces into the starting rotation by re-signing Zack Greinke and also adding Jordan Lyles and Ryan Yarbrough in free agency.

A double-digit win improvement on last year's 65-97 finish seems doable.

23. Miami Marlins

The Marlins have a new-look top of the lineup after adding Luis Arraez and Jean Segura this offseason, but there is still the question of who will drive them in. A healthy Jazz Chisholm Jr. could be a 30/30 threat, but the trio of Garrett Cooper, Avisaíl Garcia and Jorge Soler behind him is middling at best.

The starting rotation will again help keep them in games, especially if Jesús Luzardo and Edward Cabrera can build off last year's success, but not enough was done to improve an offense that ranked near the bottom in runs scored (586, 28th) and team OPS (.657, 27th).

22. San Francisco Giants

The Giants were expected to make a major splash in free agency, and after nearly reeling in both Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, they ended up walking away with a consolation prize of Mitch Haniger, Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling.

When you consider they lost Carlos Rodón in free agency, there's a case to be made that the pitching staff actually got worse, and little was done to improve a middle-of-the-road bullpen. A lot is now riding on top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison making an impact and the oft-injured duo of Haniger and Conforto staying healthy and productive.

Matching last year's 81-81 finish could be tough.

21. Arizona Diamondbacks

The D-backs are my dark-horse pick to contend for a wild-card spot.

The one-two punch of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly was quietly one of the best in baseball in 2022, and the starting rotation could be a major strength if Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson build off terrific September debuts.

Offensively, they will benefit greatly from full seasons of Corbin Carroll and Jake McCarthy, and the under-the-radar additions of Gabriel Moreno and Kyle Lewis give the team two more young pieces with impact potential. This squad is far more talented than last year's 74-88 finish might indicate.

20. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox finished in the AL East cellar last season, and after losing Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez in free agency, that could be where they're headed once again in 2023.

It's hard to get too excited about the offseason additions of Justin Turner, Corey Kluber, Kenley Jansen and Adam Duvall when those guys have an average age of nearly 36 years old. Those signings feel more like a means of appeasing the fanbase than an actual push to contend, and while there is enough talent here for a .500 record, legitimate contention might be out of reach.

19. Chicago Cubs

The big splash of the offseason for the Cubs was the addition of shortstop Dansby Swanson on a seven-year, $177 million deal, but he is far from the only new face in the clubhouse, as Jameson Taillon, Trey Mancini, Michael Fulmer, Cody Bellinger, Brad Boxberger, Eric Hosmer and Tucker Barnhart were also added in free agency.

The result is some serious boom-or-bust potential, but also a high enough talent floor to be a safe bet to improve on last year's 74-88 finish. It's easy to overlook the fact that they went 39-31 after the All-Star break last year, and they could surprise some people in 2023.

18. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles were the biggest surprise of the 2022 season, finishing 83-79 just one year after they lost 110 games. The arrival of catcher Adley Rutschman felt like a turning point for the franchise, and more dynamic young talent is on the way.

Top prospect Gunnar Henderson got his feet wet in September and looks like the AL Rookie of the Year front-runner, while top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall will both get a long look this spring. The big question is the starting rotation, and while the additions of Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin will help stabilize things, they are still lacking a bona fide ace.

17. Texas Rangers

With Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney added to the incumbent duo of Martin Pérez and Jon Gray, the 2023 Rangers could have the best starting rotation in franchise history. They also have Jake Odorizzi and Danny Duffy as potential depth should one of those starters go down with an injury.

Offensively, the lineup is still top-heavy behind Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis García. Can Josh Jung make a major impact at third base? Will someone step forward for the starting left field and center field jobs? Those are the questions that will need to be answered.

16. Chicago White Sox

In 2021, the White Sox won their first AL Central title in 13 years and looked poised to be a perennial contender with an exciting young core of talent in place.

With Luis Robert, Eloy Jiménez, Yasmani Grandal and Tim Anderson all playing fewer than 100 games while battling injury and a clueless Tony La Russa steering the ship, they settled for an 81-81 record last season. Now they'll look to get back on track with mostly the same roster, minus José Abreu and plus Andrew Benintendi and new manager Pedro Grifol.

15. Milwaukee Brewers

Does adding William Contreras and Jesse Winker to the middle of the lineup do enough to push the Brewers over the top?

They still have one of the best rotations in baseball led by Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff, and a healthy season from Freddy Peralta would again give them a three-headed monster, but that has not been enough for them to make a title push. The question is whether they have done enough to improve, or if they are just the same good-not-great team we've seen the last several years.

14. Minnesota Twins

With a full season of Tyler Mahle, a healthy Kenta Maeda and newcomer Pablo López slotted alongside Sonny Gray and rookie standout Joe Ryan, the Twins suddenly have one of the deepest starting rotations in baseball.

Meanwhile, getting Carlos Correa back in the fold is a huge boost for the offense, and buying low on Joey Gallo could pay dividends in a post-shift world. They even found a viable replacement for Byron Buxton if he misses time again in Michael A. Taylor. This team looks poised to give Cleveland a run for its money in the AL Central.

13. Los Angeles Angels

The Angels did a nice job adding versatile veterans Brandon Drury and Gio Urshela, which should help them better weather injuries on the infield. They also signed 2022 All-Star Tyler Anderson to join a sneaky good rotation that includes Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, José Suárez and Reid Detmers.

Throw in a trade for slugger Hunter Renfroe and a new catcher-of-the-future in Logan O'Hoppe who was acquired at the deadline last year, and this looks like the most complete roster the Angels have trotted out in years. Does that mean we'll finally see Mike Trout's long-awaited return to the postseason?

12. Tampa Bay Rays

With no notable additions made on the position-player side of things, the Rays will once again go as far as their pitching can carry them. That could be a risky proposition after Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs all put together career years in 2022.

Then again, it's tough to bet against this organization finding the right combination of pieces to contend. Healthy seasons from Brandon Lowe and Tyler Glasnow should provide a major in-house boost, and don't sleep on Curtis Mead in the AL Rookie of the Year race.

11. St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are loaded offensively with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado once again anchoring a lineup that features a ton of versatility and multiple young hitters on the rise vying for playing time.

The question is starting pitching.

Will a rotation of Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz allow this team to contend? The upside of that group is high, but so is the risk. Flaherty will be the X-factor as he enters a contract year looking to rebound from a pair of injury-plagued seasons that saw him pitch a combined 114.1 innings.

10. Seattle Mariners

After reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2001, the Mariners will now look to establish themselves as a sustainable contender.

Kolten Wong plugs a hole at second base, Teoscar Hernández gives the lineup a middle-of-the-order run producer, and the pitching pipeline is still going strong with top prospects Taylor Dollard, Bryce Miller and Emerson Hanco*ck all likely headed to Triple-A to open the year.

Can they bridge the gap to the Houston Astros in the AL West after finishing 16 games back in 2022?

9. Cleveland Guardians

There is some regression risk with the Guardians after Andrés Giménez, Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, Steven Kwan, Óscar González and Josh Naylor all put together career years, but I'm a believer in their young, scrappy roster.

Slugger Josh Bell was a great free-agent signing to provide protection for José Ramírez in the middle of the lineup, Mike Zunino was a nice buy-low pickup to give prospect Bo Naylor more time to develop, and few organizations in baseball do a better job developing pitching talent than Cleveland, so expect more new faces to make an impact on the mound.

8. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays added some much-needed balance to their righty-heavy lineup by adding left-handed hitters Daulton Varsho, Brandon Belt and Kevin Kiermaier, and they also added Chris Bassitt and Erik Swanson on the pitching side of things. A bounce-back season from José Berrios would go a long way in making them a serious threat to win the AL pennant.

Looking for a dark-horse AL MVP pick? How about Bo Bichette, who hit an absurd .406/.444/.662 with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 27 RBI over the final month of the 2022 season.

7. Los Angeles Dodgers

Not many teams can lose Trea Turner, Tyler Anderson, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Andrew Heaney, Chris Martin and others and still be considered a World Series contender, but that speaks to how much talent is still on the Dodgers roster.

That said, they will be relying more heavily on young players this year, and the trio of Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Noah Syndergaard in the starting rotation could make or break their season.

Can someone from the prospect MLB-ready group of Miguel Vargas, James Outman, Michael Busch, Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove emerge as the team's next homegrown star?

6. Philadelphia Phillies

After their surprise run to the NL pennant, the Phillies added Trea Turner on a massive 11-year, $300 million deal while also signing Taijuan Walker to shore up the starting rotation and bolstering the relief corps with Gregory Soto, Craig Kimbrel and Matt Strahm.

Even with Bryce Harper sidelined to start the year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, this is a stacked roster, and he could be back by the All-Star break. The X-factor for the Phillies is top prospect Andrew Painter, who could give the team another top-of-the-rotation arm alongside Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, if his rapid rise through the system is any indication.

5. San Diego Padres

I was a bit harsh on the Padres in my previous rankings, keeping them out of the top 10 because of a significant hole at the back of the starting rotation. That has been addressed with the additions of Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, and they could potentially go with a six-man rotation to start the year with Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Nick Martinez also in the rotation mix.

They will need to sort out who starts in right field for the first 20 games of the season while Fernando Tatis Jr. finishes out his PED suspension, but it's easy to dream of what an offense of Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth could do once they are at full strength.

4. New York Yankees

Bringing back Aaron Judge was obviously priority No. 1 for the Yankees this offseason, but the addition of Carlos Rodón as a second ace alongside Gerrit Cole could potentially have an even greater impact on the team's success.

The bullpen is a bit of a question mark, though not without some talented arms, and they still need to figure out how young guys like Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera and eventually Anthony Volpe fit into the 2023 picture, but this looks like the team to beat in the AL East and the biggest competition to the Houston Astros for the AL pennant.

3. New York Mets

The Mets are pinning their World Series hopes on the right arms of 38-year-old Max Scherzer and 39-year-old Justin Verlander, who will earn a combined $86.6 million in 2023—more than the entire projected payroll of nine different teams.

It's a risky play, but it's also hard to bet against that duo, as they've shown zero signs of slowing down. They also added veteran Jose Quintana and Japanese League standout Kodai Senga to the starting staff, while David Robertson and Brooks Raley will bolster the relief corps.

Equally important to the outside additions they made was re-signing Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Díaz and Adam Ottavino, and it speaks volumes that this team is talented enough that top prospects Francisco Álvarez and Brett Baty will likely open the year in the minors.

2. Atlanta Braves

The Braves had a quiet offseason relative to their top NL East rival, but healthy seasons from Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies, the return of Mike Soroka, and a full season of Raisel Iglesias at the back of the bullpen should provide some in-house improvement.

Catcher Sean Murphy was a great pickup who has a greater all-around impact on the game than offensive-minded William Contreras, and entrusting Vaughn Grissom with the starting shortstop job rather than paying Dansby Swanson gives them far greater financial flexibility and the potential for another homegrown star.

It's hard to poke holes in the Atlanta roster, and even with all the money the Mets spent this offseason, they are still the team to beat in the NL East.

1. Houston Astros

How many teams can let the reigning AL Cy Young winner walk and still have arguably the best rotation in baseball?

The Astros still have six starters in the mix for five spots, with Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers locks for the rotation and some combination of Luis García, José Urquidy and rookie Hunter Brown rounding things out behind them.

Offensively, they added first baseman José Abreu to an already stacked lineup, with projected No. 8 hitter Chas McCormick coming off a 110 OPS+ season.

This is the team to beat in 2023.

Complete Rankings

1. Houston Astros
2. Atlanta Braves
3. New York Mets
4. New York Yankees
5. San Diego Padres
6. Philadelphia Phillies
7. Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Toronto Blue Jays
9. Cleveland Guardians
10. Seattle Mariners
11. St. Louis Cardinals
12. Tampa Bay Rays
13. Los Angeles Angels
14. Minnesota Twins
15. Milwaukee Brewers
16. Chicago White Sox
17. Texas Rangers
18. Baltimore Orioles
19. Chicago Cubs
20. Boston Red Sox
21. Arizona Diamondbacks
22. San Francisco Giants
23. Miami Marlins
24. Kansas City Royals
25. Pittsburgh Pirates
26. Colorado Rockies
27. Cincinnati Reds
28. Detroit Tigers
29. Washington Nationals
30. Oakland Athletics