ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the LA Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the LA Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\nIn luxury tax payments alone, the Los Angeles Dodgers shelled out nearly $170 million last season — more than the combined totals of second- and third-place New York Mets and New York Yankees. The gap between what the Dodgers and others are capable of moving forward is widening, and that’s especially evident in the National League West, a division LA has won 12 of the last 13 years.<\/p>\n
While the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres are suddenly grappling with their salaries, the Colorado Rockies are expanding what was already a rebuild and the Arizona Diamondbacks are continuing to feel the limitations of their market, the Dodgers are working without limits in their quest for a three-peat World Series. Moving forward requires the kind of creativity that continues to outshine their opponents.<\/p>\n
With spring training coming up next month, we take a look at each team’s offseason work and what might be next, continuing with the NL West. Additionally, we’ve given each team an Urgency Rating from 1 to 5, based on how much they still need to accomplish before reporting to camp:<\/p>\n
1 – The job is done (basically).<\/em><\/p>\n2 — The team has a strong winter but more can help.<\/em><\/p>\n3 — We will judge the winter from where it originates.<\/em><\/p>\n4 — Thank you…<\/em><\/p>\n5 — It was a disaster. Can the team change it?<\/em><\/p>\n
Important additions<\/strong><\/p>\n3B Nolan Arenado
What they have achieved so far: <\/strong>After scooping up All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte in the trade market and passing on Alex Bregman in free agency, the D-backs made a surprising trade for Arenado, who fills a hole at third base. Given Zac Gallen’s expected departure and Corbin Burnes’ recovery from Tommy John surgery, the club filled a starting void by bringing back Kelly and taking a chance on Soroka.<\/p>\n\nEditor’s Choice<\/h2>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n
What they have yet to do<\/strong>: Arenado may not be the player Bregman is — and adding the former Cardinal can’t be the same as Marte’s deal-breaker — but team officials believe he’ll make a big impact in the clubhouse and hope he can rebound offensively in his age-35 season. The D-backs believe they can compete in 2026, but need to be good enough to keep themselves around while Burnes, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Justin Martinez and AJ Puk spend nearly half the season rehabbing.<\/p>\nArenado services the cause, but the D-backs still need something else: bullpen help.<\/p>\n
In Martinez and Puk, they will be without their two most important shortstops for possibly the All-Star break. The club agreed to a minor league deal with Jonathan Lo\u00e1isiga on Tuesday but could not add another. The D-backs blew 29 saves last season, tied for second most. Their bullpen ERA (4.82) was fourth highest. Given the lingering questions over their rotation, strengthening the bullpen is a must.<\/p>\n
Emergency Rating<\/strong>: 3<\/p>\n
Important additions<\/strong><\/p>\nBy Jake McCarthy
What they have achieved so far: <\/strong>The Rockies are in the embryonic stages of their next phase, led by new head of baseball operations Paul DePodesta. Much of this year will be about internal testing. That said, they are looking for starters who can eat up innings and outfielders who can play a big role in the wide field of Coors Field. Lorenzen and McCarthy check those boxes, respectively.<\/p>\nWhat they have yet to do<\/strong>: Rockies starters finished last season with a 6.65 ERA, the highest history<\/em>. Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez is gone, to sign elsewhere, and Kyle Freeland and Ryan Feltner are the only experienced starters returning. Lorenzen was a necessary addition, but the new front office would love to sign one veteran arm. The challenge, of course, is persuading proven pitchers to sign free agent deals at miles high.<\/p>\nSimilarly, the Rockies have expressed interest in adding another veteran to complement a group of quality players led by Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle and Hunter Goodman. Last season, players like Kyle Karros, Ryan Ritter and Yanquiel Fern\u00e1ndez came up short. They needed more seasoning. Adding at least one player with useful experience would help ensure that.<\/p>\n
Emergency Rating<\/strong>: 3<\/p>\n
Important additions<\/strong><\/p>\nRHP Edwin Diaz
What they have achieved so far: <\/strong>The Dodgers’ biggest hole heading into the offseason was the ninth inning, and they filled it with one of the most decorated shutouts of the game, signing D\u00edaz to a three-year, $69 million contract. With Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez and Rojas, they give themselves depth in the field behind Tommy Edman, who will undergo ankle surgery and may be needed on the field.<\/p>\n\nTop MLB predictions for 2026<\/h2>\n
World champion Orioles? The Skubal trade? Here’s how next year could play out.
What they have yet to do<\/strong>: The Dodgers will likely be looking for more bullpen depth, and the expectation is that, despite signing Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez and Rojas, they will eventually bring back Enrique Hern\u00e1ndez, who is coming off elbow surgery. But all that pales in comparison to what’s left on the to-do list this winter: The Dodgers want another bat, a better one. They are always on the edge of Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, ready to pounce if a short-term deal with a high average annual value is anywhere near appealing. And they will enter the trade market if not.<\/p>\nThe Dodgers won the championship last fall despite a combined slash of .213\/.303\/.364 over the final three rounds of the postseason. And while their roster is still stacked with stars and arguably the deepest unit in the sport, they’ve proven they’ll do whatever it takes to rack up championships. Securing another bat — preferably a lefty who can pitch and make regular contact — is a definite way to improve a team that is already a World Series favorite.<\/p>\n
Emergency Rating<\/strong>: 2<\/p>\n
Important additions<\/strong><\/p>\nRHP Michael King
What they have achieved so far: <\/strong>With Yu Darvish set to spend all of 2026 recovering from elbow surgery and Dylan Cease now in Toronto, the Padres desperately needed to address their rotation. Returning the Lord was great. The song itself provides flexibility and depth. However, the hope is that Padres has done enough this winter to start playing on the bench.<\/p>\n\nA statistic that will define 2026 for all MLB teams<\/h2>\n
Here are the numbers that could make — or break — your favorite team in the new year.
What they have yet to do<\/strong>: With King back, joining Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, the Padres have a formidable top three in their rotation. But the depth behind them is questionable, especially with the team opting to keep Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon in the fold. And both King and Pivetta could be out after the 2026 season. The Padres need more in their rotation. They also need at least one bat, especially at first base.<\/p>\nHow they get that, though, is the big question. Money has also strengthened in San Diego. The family of the late Peter Seidler is evaluating the sale of the team, and the team’s 2026 tax is already where it ended last year: between $260 million and $270 million, it is on the verge of exceeding the luxury tax threshold for the second time in a row.<\/p>\n
The consensus around the industry is that Padres general manager AJ Preller will have to get creative if he wants to fill his remaining needs without weakening other areas of his team.<\/p>\n
Emergency Rating<\/strong>: 3<\/p>\n
Important additions<\/strong><\/p>\nRHP Tyler Mahle
What they have achieved so far: <\/strong>It’s been a very successful offseason for a Giants team that signed shortstop Willy Adames last winter and traded for Rafael Devers last summer. But the team believes it has addressed its depth by trading Mahle and Houser, who signed deals totaling $32 million in guaranteed money. New recruits Jason Foley and Sam Hentges, on the other hand, will make a combined $3.4 million in one year.<\/p>\nWhat they have yet to do<\/strong>: The Giants have been aggressively chasing a second baseman since Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. On their radar were Nico Hoerner, whose name has been floating around in rumors since the Chicago Cubs signed Bregman, and Brendan Donovan, who has drawn a lot of interest from the St. Louis team.<\/p>\nSecond base, where the Giants had just a .616 OPS last season, is a clear area for improvement. Overall, Adames, Devers and Matt Chapman remain in the lead. There is a strong case to be made that they will never be better than they will be in 2026. That’s why the Giants must do everything they can to maximize this window — and why their pitching system has left so much to be desired.<\/p>\n
Emergency Rating<\/strong>: 4<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alden GonzalezJan 15, 2026, 07:00 AM ET Shut up ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the LA Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the LA Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016. In luxury tax payments alone, the Los Angeles Dodgers shelled out nearly $170 million last season — more than the combined totals of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2045,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2043\/revisions\/2045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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