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Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.
It’s been 139 days since the New York Yankees fumbled Game 5 of the World Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers were crowned champions. Offseason transactions transformed the look of several contenders. The Dodgers loaded up for a title defense. The Yankees lost a superstar and an ace. The Mets spent big in free agency. The Red Sox ponied up, too. And the Diamondbacks gave a Cy Young Award winner 210,000,000 reasons to stay home in Arizona.
With the curtain rising on the 2025 MLB season Tuesday in Tokyo, and as offseason projections give way to real wins and losses, it’s time for our first crack at The Athletic’s MLB Power Rankings. We’ll refresh the rankings each week during the regular season.
If I had bought The Athletic before the New York Times did, I would have started a running gag where the Dodgers finished second or third in every power ranking. It would have been a constant stream of “Yes, they’re good, but I need to see more,” while picking the tiniest of nits. Like, get this, they optioned Hyeseong Kim to the minors after signing him to a three-year, $12.5 million deal. The best team in baseball can’t make scouting mistakes like that! Season over.
As is, the Dodgers are obviously the best team in baseball, and they’re the best team I’ve seen in the 30 years I’ve been following the sport closely. Of course they’re in the top spot. — Grant Brisbee
If you’re surprised by their showing here — they did miss the postseason last year, after all — ask yourself who deserves the spot more. The Phillies, maybe. The Mets and Red Sox after their nine-figure additions, perhaps. But the Diamondbacks had the best offense in baseball by several metrics last season, and they added a legitimate ace in Corbin Burnes.
A majority of voters in this exercise said they were the third-best team in baseball, and the math checks out from here. Just imagine if Jordan Montgomery is the pitcher he was in every season except the last one. — Brisbee
The projection systems love the Braves, in part because it’s so difficult to project the number of injuries the team absorbed last season. As Atlanta awaits the return of star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and budding ace Spencer Strider, the club expects bounce-back seasons from former All-Stars such as first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Austin Riley. The team will be fortunate if new addition Jurickson Profar can catalyze the lineup as he did for San Diego last season. Profar was the biggest expenditure for a team that still believes in the talent on its roster and the production of its farm system. — Andy McCullough
If you’re surprised by their showing here — they did miss the postseason last year, after all — ask yourself who deserves the spot more. The Phillies, maybe. The Mets and Red Sox after their nine-figure additions, perhaps. But the Diamondbacks had the best offense in baseball by several metrics last season, and they added a legitimate ace in Corbin Burnes.
A majority of voters in this exercise said they were the third-best team in baseball, and the math checks out from here. Just imagine if Jordan Montgomery is the pitcher he was in every season except the last one. — Brisbee
Despite owner John Middleton advocating for changes after an early October exit, the Phillies didn’t do much this winter. And that might not be a problem. Unable to trade away third baseman Alec Bohm, Philadelphia will hope he can replicate his first-half production from 2024. The team has the best starting rotation in the National League, with Grapefruit League observers chattering about Cristopher Sánchez potentially joining Zack Wheeler as a co-ace this season. If former Marlin Jesús Luzardo can stay healthy, the rotation will be even stronger. — McCullough
The Juan Soto Era can now commence in Queens. The superlatively talented slugger aided the Yankees to the American League pennant last season. Can he do the same for the Mets this year? The club will not be able to replicate the exact magic of their “OMG” summer, not with José Quintana on the Brewers and Sean Manaea opening the season on the injured list. But most of the gang from last year’s N.L.C.S. squad is back. The two biggest additions came from across town: Soto and former Yankees closer Clay Holmes, who has converted to starting. The three-team race in the National League East should be fierce. — McCullough
After an offseason defined by what they didn’t do, the Cardinals are stuck in between. Feels familiar. Last year, St. Louis had a minus-47 run differential but finished 83-79. Pretty bad. Not all the way there. They still have Nolan Arenado and Ryan Helsley — for now — and so you look at this roster and see a lot of bonafide big leaguers — former top prospects, former All-Stars. The odds that it all clicks in unison this time are vanishingly low. It’s far more likely to be another so-so season as John Mozeliak prepares to hand the reins to Chaim Bloom. — Stephen J. Nesbitt
