MLB 2025 National League Preview
2025 American League Preview
NL East
2024 Record: 89-73
The biggest deal of the offseason was the Mets' signing of Juan Soto. Dissatisfied with the Yankees, Soto chose to move across town and into the National League, where his skills are well-suited. Along with the re-signing of slugger, Pete Alonso, the Mets will have a formidable lineup. The biggest deal in professional sports history, the agreement is a 15-year, $765 million contract.
Soto will likely bat second in a lineup that has Francisco Lindor leading off, Pete Alonso, third, Brandon Nimmo, cleanup and third baseman Mark Vientos fifth. Second baseman Jeff McNeil and DH Sterling Marte add to the appeal.
Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, and Clay Holmes all return as starters. The Mets made the playoffs last year in a three-way tie-breaker between themselves, Atlanta, and Arizona, but hope the addition of Soto makes the 2025 run a little less dramatic.
2024 Record: 95-67
After reaching the playoffs three straight years as a wild card, the Phillies finally got past the Braves and won the NL East outright, cruising by six games.
Loaded top to bottom with the likes of Bryce Harper (.285, 30, 87), Kyle Schwarber (.248, 38, 104) Alec Bohm (.280, 15, 97), and Trea Turner (.295, 21, 62), the Phillis will not be lacking for offense.
The starting trio off Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez figures to be dominant again in 2025. They had 42 wins between them in 2024. Middle and late relief remain open questions, with Jordan Romano and Matt Strahm battling for the closer role.
2024 Record: 89-73
Atlanta nabbed outfielder Jurickson Profar from the Padres in the off-season. He should produce for the Braves as he swatted 24 homers and drove in 85 runs last season. Getting Ronald Acuna Jr. back after a year missed due to injury will provide more offense to a team that struggled last year with injuries to key players and down years from others. Usually in the top three in batting stats, the Braves fell to 9th with a .243 average
Despite swatting 213 home runs (2nd), they had trouble pushing runs across. Their 674 RBI was only 8th league-wide.
Especially if Spencer Strider returns to form after missing all of last year the Braves' pitching will be all right. Chris Sale leads the rotation and is a Cy Young candidate as always, but Max Fried and Charlie Morton left via free agency, leaving the rotation in questionable hands.
The Braves have plenty of pop. If the pitching holds up, they'll make the playoffs but the Phillies and Mets appear to be better situated.
2024 Record: 62-100
Miami got off to a horrible 0-9 start last year and never recovered. They were 7-24 by the end of April and hit the All-Star break at 33-63. The second half was better, 29-37, offering some hope for improvement in 2025.
The Marlins have some young talent with Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers, and Edward Cabrera top starters, but the regulars are fairly lackluster. Miami batted .244 as a team last season, but were dead last in RBI (611) and second-last in home runs (150).
They're still rebuilding, but a better beginning may provide a spark.
2024 Record: 71-91
On June 23, the Nationals were 38-39, but then lost seven of eight and the lights went out. Right after the All-Star break they won three straight, but then lost eight of their last 10 and lost touch with the division leaders.
Struggling to find winning formulas, Washington floundered through August and September, closing out the season by losing 10 of their last 13. The Nationals hit the fewest home runs in the majors (135). To remedy that condition, they acquired Josh Bell from Arizona and Nathaniel Lowe from Texas.
That pair should help, but the pitching staff, which was 12th in the NL last season with a 4.30 ERA, was not upgraded. Last place is in sight.
NL Central
2024 Record: 83-79
Finishing tied for second place with St. Louis, the Cubs made some serious moves in the off-season in hopes of taking the division from the Brewers and appear to be the only serious contender.
Chicago will benefit from a winter deal for Houston closer Ryan Pressly and they picked up reliever Eli Morgan from Cleveland. The biggest deal was getting Matthew Boyd from Cleveland to fill out the rotation. Shota Imanaga went 15-3 in his first NL season and may be looking for a Cy Young award this year.
Outfielder Kyle Tucker from Houston adds to a lineup that needed some extra offense. The Cubs were near the bottom of the league in batting (.242), homers (170), but were 7th in runs (736). The significant changes to the pitching staff and a deeper bench should land the Cubs back atop the division.
2024 Record: 93-69
Milwaukee won the NL Central for the second straight season and look to be on track for a three-peat. The winning formula for the Brewers last year was to dominate the division (32-20), hold their own against the East and West (30-34) and pound the American League in inter-league play (31-15). Whether they can successfully repeat is likely not a question of if, but of by how much. Milwaukee had the largest winning margin of any division winner - 10 games.
The Brewers were fifth in batting (.248) and fourth in runs and RBI. They were second to the Braves in team ERA, at 3.65, behind solid starts from Freddie Peralta, Nestor Cortes, and Aaron Civale. Brandon Woodruff may return to the rotation if he comes back well from shoulder surgery. Trevor Mcgill will close.
They lose the bat of Willy Adames, but have plenty of punch from Rhys Hoskins (26 HR, 82 RBI), Jackson Chourio (21 HR, 71 RBI) and William Contreras (23 HR).
2024 Record: 77-85
Cincinnati has been knocking on the playoff door for the past few years, but has yet to break through. They ranked mid-pack in batting and pitching overall last season, but didn't make any significant improvements in either department.
Shortstop Elly De la Cruz (.259, 25 HR, 76 RBI, 67 SB) has the makings of the next superstar and Spencer Steer looks solid in left field (20 HR, 92 RBI), but the lineup needs more players who can hit for average and a bona-fide power stroker would help.
Infielder Gavin Lux, from the Dodgers should contribute in the middle of the order.
2024 Record: 83-79
The Cardinals let slugger Paul Goldschmidt go, and will rely on Nolan Arenado and Brandon Donovan, Nolan Gorman, and Alec Burleson to carry the offense. Those four had a total of 70 home runs between them. Masyn Winn was a nice discovery as a rookie and should set the table well from the leadoff spot.
St. Louis didn't make many deals in the off-season that would lead one to believe they're serious about competing in the division.
The rotation of Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikols, Andre Pallante, and Steven Matz is serviceable and unspectacular. Closer Ryan Helsley is one of the best in either league, but one wonders how long the front office will stock with manager Oliver Marmol, who is 247-239 over three seasons and has failed to make the playoffs the past two years.
2024 Record: 76-86
A study in futility, the Pirates last won a division title in 1992, when they were part of the NL East. they're 0-for-31 (since 1994) in the Central. Fan favorite Andrew McCutchen returns this season but at 38, he's well past his prime and will exclusively DH.
One bright spot is starting pitcher Paul Skenes, who was 11-3, with a 1.96 ERA and 170 Ks as a rookie and may be close to a Cy Young award.
NL West
2024 Record: 98-64
Even though they won the World Series, the Dodgers aren't sitting on their hands. They paid up for reliever Tanner Scott in a four-year deal worth $72 million. Scott had 22 saves last year with the Padres, fanned 84 in 72 innings with an ERA of 1.75 and a 1.13 WHIP. LA also picked up closer Kirby Yates (33 saves, 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP) from Texas, signed to a one-year deal.
Blake Snell joins the rotation which already includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and a possible return of Clayton Kershaw.
LA also picked up catcher Travis d'Arnaud from the Angels and Michael Conforto from the Giants to bolster an already potent offense.
The Dodgers won their third straight NL West title, though the margin was only five games over the onrushing Padres. Those two, and possibly Arizona, will vie for top honors in the division.
2024 Record: 93-69
San Diego didn't do much in the off-season, standing pat on after a very successful 2024 campaign and looking at overhauling the Dodgers in the division.
The Padres were fifth in team ERA and tied for first in batting (.263) with Arizona. They were sixth in home runs and RBI (190, 726). San Diego has one of the better rotations in the majors, with ace Dylan Cease, Michael King, You Darvish, Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart. Robert Suarez, closer, has 36 saves last season.
San Diego's lineup is loaded with Luis Arraez at first base, Manny Machado at third, Xander Bogaerts at short, Fernando Tatis Jr. in right field and Yuli Gurriel as DH. They have a deep bench and are projected to stay right with the Dodgers all season.
2024 Record: 89-73
Arizona nabbed Corbin Burnes in free agency from the Orioles and signed him to a six-year deal. He'll anchor a rotation that made vast improvement in 2024. Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt had solid seasons and should continue making progress.
The offense is led by third baseman Eugenio Suarez (30 HR, 101 Rbi) and Ketel Marte (36, 95). Big contributions are expected from Cormin Carroll (22, 74) and Josh Naylor, who returns after five seasons in Cleveland. Along with San Diego, the Diamondbacks led the league in batting (.263).
Having won the NL crown in 2023 and lost to the Rangers in the World Series, the Diamondbacks found themselves on the wrong end of a three-team tie-breaker with the Mets and Braves, missing the post-season by the narrowest of margins.
The Diamondbacks were 49-48 at the All-Star break, got hot in July and August and looked like a lock for the playoffs in late September, but they dropped five of their last seven games and just missed. They're in the toughest division in baseball, so making the playoffs is far from a lock.
2024 Record: 80-82
San Francisco, which was on the fringes throughout 2024, picked up shortstop Willy Adames and hurler Justin Verlander in off-season moves. Eventually finishing 80-82, 18 games off the pace of the Dodgers, the Giants hope for better performances from key players this year.
Considering the competition, it's hard to see San Francisco finishing any better than fourth. The Giants won the division in 2021, with a record of 107-55, but that seems like decades ago. They've been barely a .500 team in the three seasons since.
2024 Record: 61-101
It's easy to pick the Rockies for last place every season because they're so competent at losing more games than any other NL West team.
The past three years, they've lost 94, 103, and 101 games, finishing anywhere from 37 to 43 games off the pace. Looks like more of the same this year.
New York Mets
Projected 2025 Record: 102-60
Philadelphia Phillies
Projected 2025 Record: 93-69
Atlanta Braves
Projected 2025 Record: 85-77
Miami Marlins
Projected 2025 Record: 76-86
Washington Nationals
Projected 2025 Record: 68-94
Chicago Cubs
Projected 2025 Record: 90-72
Milwaukee Brewers
Projected 2025 Record: 88-74
Cincinnati Reds
Projected 2025 Record: 81-81
St. Louis Cardinals
Projected 2025 Record: 74-88
Pittsburgh Pirates
Projected 2025 Record: 71-91
Los Angeles Dodgers
Projected 2025 Record: 104-58
San Diego Padres
Projected 2025 Record: 98-64
Arizona Diamondbacks
Projected 2025 Record: 90-62
San Francisco Giants
Projected 2025 Record: 74-88
Colorado Rockies
Projected 2025 Record: 60-102
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