Opening Day is today, which means the return of Major League Baseball. Fresh off an incredible World Baseball Classic that saw Venezuela take down the United States, a chaotic offseason and one of the best World Series in recent history, this 2026 MLB campaign has a lot of hype around it. While every team will begin the season at 0-0, there is clearly one team from the west that stands out from the rest.
The Dodgers are looking to become the third team ever to three-peat. After a game 7 of the ages that saw Miguel Rojas become a Dodger hero, the back-to-back defending champs became that much better in the offseason with the acquisitions of Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker which makes the Dodgers stand out as one of the best teams of all time on paper.
Beyond that, it is a fairly open National League, with what looks to be little competition for the Dodgers. Teams like the Mets, Phillies and Padres can all be considered for the second-best team in the conference. But, it is doubtful that any of these teams will be in serious competition against the Dodgers earning another Pennant.
The Mets, after a disappointment in 2025, addressed their starting pitching with the addition of Freddy Peralta and added Bo Bichette. They did lose Pete Alonso, one of the best power hitters in the game which does hurt the potential of this lineup. It remains to be seen what version of the Mets we will get, but it is clear that owner Steve Cohen loves to be aggressive and we could see the Mets make in-season moves if the club feels that they have a real chance to get past Los Angeles.
The Phillies and Padres seem to be in a similar position. Both of these teams have challenged the Dodgers for years, but it seems as if their windows are rapidly closing. With both these teams constantly losing pieces and tying up a lot of money over the next couple of seasons to star players, this may be the last chance for these two teams to raise the trophy.
In a very similar spot, the American League looks to be wide open.
Obviously, everyone wants to consider the Yankees, but after a rough 2025 postseason and a very un-Yankee like quiet offseason, the Yankees might have a better chance of missing the playoffs than making the World Series.
Teams like the Tigers and Mariners who made noise last year look to be the favorites to win their division. The Tigers have one of the best top of the rotation arms with 2-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and new addition Framber Valdez. The Mariners have had great rotation for the last couple of years, but last year the lineup, led by Cal Raleigh, really came together and had them on the doorstep of their first World Series appearance. While these two teams have playoff hopes, it’s hard for me to envision a team outside of the AL East making the October Classic.
The Toronto Blue Jays seem to be everyone’s favorite team, which makes sense as they got there a season ago. While they lost Bo Bichette, Toronto still has a very solid lineup and the acquisition of Dylan Cease gives them a big time arm to help the rotation. While this team was just a few outs from knocking off the Dodgers last season, I could see Toronto having a bit of regression this year.
To me, I think the best team in the American League resides in Boston. With one of the best starting rotations in baseball, led by Garrett Crochet and followed by new additions in Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez, the Red Sox look to be built for October. The bullpen makes that case strong as well, with great guys who can pitch down the stretch including the great Aroldis Chapman. While some have questions about the lineup, especially in regards to the lack of a power bat, the Red Sox have a lot of guys who can simply play good ball and they expect Roman Anthony to take a step forward and become the difference maker for that lineup.
As you can see there are a lot of teams who are hopeful for the 2026 season, but as we get closer to first pitch the one question remains: Can anyone knock off the Dodgers?
