LAS VEGAS — With the GM meetings underway and Major League Baseball’s winter off to its typically slow start, a deluge of moves is coming between now and the new year. Plenty of players will sign. A few trades will happen. And rosters will look very different.
In that spirit, we’re looking at the dozen 2025 MLB playoff teams and nine more clubs that could be busy this winter to determine the single best move for each. Now, there are caveats. Each team gets one pick, and after that the player can’t be paired with another club.
Certainly, at least one team on this list will sign multiple players, but the purpose of this exercise is as much to highlight needs as it is to try to guess every move correctly. Some fits are a stretch because of budgets. And some players who could be on here — soon-to-be two-time American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, for example — aren’t mentioned because their likelihood of being traded at this point remains minimal.
Here are the best fits for each team starting with the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who, contrary to popular belief, are likely to go in a different direction from the one that has them outspending everyone by a wide margin.
2025 results: 93-69, first place NL West, World Series champions
The perfect transaction: The team that has everything — the stars, the rings, the money — doesn’t need more. That’s not how the Dodgers operate, though. Los Angeles is always hunting for improvements, and this winter they are unlikely to come via a massive financial splash.
The Dodgers are not inclined to go 10-plus years on Kyle Tucker, they don’t need Kyle Schwarber and their starting pitching, with the return of seven pitchers who contributed in 2025 along with River Ryan and Gavin Stone coming back from major surgeries, is a strength. While they have plenty of room to maneuver for a trade, the most obvious move is to hope the second time’s a charm in spending big money on a closer after Tanner Scott’s disappearing act this year. Sign free agent closer Edwin Diaz.
2025 results: 94-68, first place AL East, lost in World Series
The perfect transaction: Even with a number of players from the team that pushed the Dodgers to their limit headed to free agency, Toronto returns an excellent core that could use another big bat — particularly if Bo Bichette departs.
Toronto has plenty of money, a clubhouse teeming with good vibes, a jewel of a stadium for players and the perfect opportunity for players who love big-city baseball without the typical big-city trappings of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.
After trying in free agency for Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with no luck in recent years, this is precisely the time for the Blue Jays to make the biggest move of the winter by giving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. his left-handed complement. Sign free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker.
2025 results: 90-72, first place AL West, lost in ALCS
The perfect transaction: Seattle found something very good in 2025, and while 60-homer seasons from catchers are black swan events, Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez, plus the Mariners’ rotation, is a tremendous foundation.
With holes at first, second and third base, Seattle enters the winter with something of a daunting to-do list. As much as they want to get the band back together, the Mariners’ budget might not allow that. Which leaves them having to make a choice. And if that choice pits any of their players against one another, the choice is pretty clear. Sign free agent first baseman Josh Naylor.
2025 results: 98-64, first place NL Central, lost in NLCS
The perfect transaction: The Brewers are notoriously frugal in the winter, rarely awarding multiyear pacts and even more infrequently giving out big-dollar deals. Their budget doesn’t allow them to operate in that market, so they need to be creative.
The reality is that their perfect transaction would probably be to trade Freddy Peralta, a free agent-to-be who’s likely to be priced out of Milwaukee’s range come next offseason. But the Brewers, after posting the best record in MLB, should add, not subtract. And with a loaded farm system that’s redundant in certain areas, they can dangle prospects and target high-end players, particularly with teams whose systems need depth as much as they do top-100 types. Trade for Washington left-hander MacKenzie Gore.
2025 results: 94-68, second place AL East, lost in ALDS
The perfect transaction: The Yankees have the makings of a very good team in 2026. A full season of Cam Schlittler, most of a season of Gerrit Cole joining the returning Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and either Luis Gil or Will Warren is a whale of a rotation. Ben Rice can get full-time first-base at-bats, and while the left side of their infield is spotty, not even the Yankees need world beaters at every position. While the bullpen unquestionably needs an overhaul, the biggest hole — particularly if Trent Grisham doesn’t accept the qualifying offer — is center field. And there’s someone who has proven his New York bona fides just waiting to take the position full-time. Re-sign free agent outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger.
2025 results: 96-66, first place NL East, lost in NLDS
The perfect transaction: The Phillies have a minuscule needle to thread as they try to transition from the recent incarnation of excellence — but no championship — to a new generation. And while re-signing Kyle Schwarber is clearly a priority, plenty of other teams will be in that market, too, because of the shorter-term deal he’ll command.
The Phillies don’t need to skimp, though. They need an impact bat for the middle of the lineup and an impact person to lead the next generation. Considering the work he did in Boston this past season, one player checks all the boxes and offers precisely what the Phillies could use in every regard. Sign free agent third baseman Alex Bregman.
2025 results: 87-75, second place AL Central, lost in ALDS
The perfect transaction: If the Tigers aren’t going to sign Tarik Skubal to a long-term extension, they have to consider dealing him this winter. The asking price for one year of Skubal is bound to be exorbitant, though, big enough that the better play for the Tigers might be pushing in for this year.
As good as Detroit’s farm system is — infielder Kevin McGonigle is going to be a star, and he could debut in 2026, with center fielder Max Clark and slugger Josue Briceño not far behind — adding a long-term, middle-of-the-order, impact bat is never a bad idea. There happens to be one who can spend a year or two at shortstop if necessary and then pivot to second base long term. Sign free agent infielder Bo Bichette.
2025 results: 92-70, second place NL Central, lost in NLDS
The perfect transaction: Even with Tucker expected to leave, the Cubs still have plenty of thump in their lineup. They will win or lose based on pitching, and their starting rotation needs help. The Cubs aren’t the sort of team inclined to pay pitchers for past-their-prime years, and while that tends to be the sort of thing that’s incompatible with free agency, there happens to be a 27-year-old available this winter who won’t even cost a draft pick to sign. It’s just money, and seeing as the Cubs don’t spend a whole lot of that — their current projected payroll is around $150 million — now seems the right time to splurge a little. Sign free agent right-hander Tatsuya Imai.
2025 results: 90-72, second place NL West, lost in NL wild card
The perfect transaction: San Diego remains in financial limbo, limiting its options. The obvious area of need, however, is the rotation. Dylan Cease and Michael King are free agents. Yu Darvish will miss all of 2026 after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery. And one year after striking gold with Nick Pivetta, the Padres would love to do it again.
The highest-ceiling low-cost starter might be an unfamiliar name, having spent the past four years in Asia, but the size and stuff are both big. And whoever gets him could reap the best return to America from Korea since Merrill Kelly. Sign free agent right-hander Cody Ponce.
2025 results: 89-73, third place AL East, lost in AL wild card
The perfect transaction: At the trade deadline this past season, the Red Sox believed they were close to landing Joe Ryan, an elite arm who had his best year yet for the Twins in 2025. As long as Red Sox ownership keeps the financial clamps on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, he’ll need to get creative in improving a Red Sox team that’s already quite good. Revisiting what he missed at the deadline is the simplest way to do so, and as much as the Twins say they want to win in 2026, they understand: Now is the time to strike and dealing Boston another front-line starter to pair alongside Garrett Crochet is the way to do it. Trade for Minnesota right-hander Joe Ryan.
2025 results: 83-79, third place NL Central, lost in NL wild card
The perfect transaction: Currently the Reds are carrying a projected payroll of around $75 million. They have run year-end payrolls as high as $135 million. Even if Cincinnati has indicated it doesn’t plan to increase payroll much over $116 million this year, there is room for a big swing. And the fact that the Reds have a glaring need for offense and that the best available free agent hitter grew up on the outskirts of the city is screaming for the Reds to throw caution to the wind and supercharge a team with plenty of potential to contend. Will they? Probably not. It’s the Reds. But it’s too obvious not to try to speak it into existence. Sign free agent DH Kyle Schwarber.
2025 results: 88-74, first place AL Central, lost in AL wild card
The perfect transaction: Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Cleveland needs offense. And with the Guardians rarely dipping significantly into the free agent market, that makes a trade a tantalizing option. Cleveland’s minor league system has plenty of talent, and few know it as well as Rob Cerfolio, the St. Louis Cardinals assistant GM who was previously the Guardians’ farm director. It just so happens the Cardinals, who will spend the winter in trade mode, have a player who can handle second base until Travis Bazzana is ready and then shift to a corner outfielder or even spend some time at shortstop. Trade for St. Louis super utilityman Brendan Donovan.
2025 results: 83-79, second place NL East
The perfect transaction: The Mets have plenty of options to recover from their collapse in 2025 — and it starts with pitching. Bringing back Edwin Díaz makes sense, yes, but the more pressing issue is in the rotation. As reticent as president of baseball operations David Stearns is to sign starting pitchers to long-term deals, the alternative is to dip into their farm system and trade for them. And while that remains a possibility, one thing owner Steve Cohen has is money, and free agency is the optimal vessel to utilize it. So who better to go after than the most consistent starter available to join a rotation that is anything but consistent? Sign free agent left-hander Framber Valdez.
2025 results: 75-87, last place AL East
The perfect transaction: The Orioles cratered this year, the consequence of a pitching staff that didn’t replace the departed Corbin Burnes and still needs arms. With David Rubenstein entering his second season as owner, now is the time to open the checkbook and play in the big-arm sandbox.
Baltimore is a few moves away from contending in the AL East, but those moves need to be significant, not stopgap. There is a clear top tier of starters with Tatsuya Imai, Framber Valdez and the pitcher the Orioles should sign, particularly if they don’t want to dip into their system like they did to acquire Burnes. Sign free agent right-hander Dylan Cease.
2025 results: 81-81, third place NL West
The perfect transaction: The Giants have plenty of options. They’ve got money to spend, and while their lineup is mostly set, their rotation and bullpen are in flux. San Francisco is among the most attractive pitchers’ parks in baseball, which is the sort of thing that plays at the top and bottom of markets.
As many live arms as the Giants have in their bullpen, Randy Rodriguez’s Tommy John surgery leaves them thin enough at the back end that prioritizing a dependable ninth-inning option makes sense. And even if the best non-Díaz reliever in free agency struggled at times this past season, his stuff did not tick backward, and the underlying numbers continue to say he’s elite. Sign free agent closer Devin Williams.
2025 results: 76-86, fourth place NL East
The perfect transaction: Just how aggressive the Braves plan to be this winter is one of the biggest questions of the offseason. Like the Orioles, they bottomed out this year and return a core that with a tweak here and there could be championship caliber. Shortstop is the most glaring need for Atlanta, though beyond Bichette — whose defense there is fringy — there are few good options. Which leaves Atlanta needing to address the other of its deficiencies: pitching.
The emergence of Hurston Waldrep shores up their potential rotation this season, but the back end of the bullpen is insufficient. The Braves have shown a willingness to spend on a closer, and for a team that could find itself in close games, the most valuable fastball among all relievers in 2025 is a good place to start. Sign free agent closer Robert Suarez.
2025 results: 82-80, third place AL Central
The perfect transaction: The Royals need bats to surround Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Salvador Perez and a pair of young hitters with immense promise, Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. The outfield is a clear area of improvement, though Kyle Tucker isn’t happening and Cody Bellinger is a stretch. They could opt for Trent Grisham or bring back Mike Yastrzemski.
The biggest impact, though, could come via what they tried to do last year in trading for Jonathan India: get a high-on-base second baseman who can lead off with professional at-bats — presumably with Version 2.0 of the idea working better than the first. Sign free agent second baseman Gleyber Torres.
2025 results: 87-75, second place AL West
The perfect transaction: Following the acquisition of Carlos Correa, the Astros’ lineup is quite imposing, even if their outfield could use some slug. Houston’s bullpen is deep enough that the shoulder capsule injury that shut down Josh Hader for the final two months isn’t entirely debilitating.
Starting pitching, on the other hand, is a problem. Plenty of options exist for the Astros, but owner Jim Crane’s reticence to offer long-term deals could take them out of the running for the highest-end pitchers. Targeting one with high-end talent but coming off an injury-pocked 2025 is the ideal way to get ceiling outside of that paradigm. Sign free agent right-hander Michael King.
2025 results: 81-81, third place AL West
The perfect transaction: The bones of a very good team remain in Texas, and the Rangers’ need for offense remains acute. Texas could run back what it has and hope things break more like 2023 than they did 2024 or 2025. Or the Rangers could get bold and pursue a high-end bat. With their payroll likely to stay beneath the competitive balance tax threshold, it’s something of a juggling act that takes them out on Tucker and perhaps Schwarber. Dipping into the relative unknown, with a player who can help address the question marks in a number of places — third base, first base, DH — would be a perfectly reasonable, if not risky, solution. It’s also the best. Sign free agent corner infielder Munetaka Murakami.
2025 results: 80-82, fourth place NL West
The perfect transaction: The Diamondbacks’ core is enviable, with Corbin Carroll in the outfield and Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo up the middle. Arizona could trade Marte and consider a soft reboot, or it can add to what it has already.
As much as the instinct is to target pitching — and, no question, the Diamondbacks need more of that — putting a bopper behind Perdomo, Marte and Carroll to take advantage of the trio’s excellent on-base skills would give Arizona one of the scariest lineups in the NL. Seeing as one particular bopper can play first base or DH, two areas of need for Arizona, the fit feels strong. Sign free agent first baseman Pete Alonso.
2025 results: 76-86, fourth place AL West
The perfect transaction: Nobody can question the A’s lineup. Anchored by star-in-the-making Nick Kurtz, featuring Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers, Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom and others, the A’s are really going to hit next year.
Now they need pitching. Badly. Starters, relievers — whatever. While it’s not in owner John Fisher’s nature to spend on players, bringing in a high-groundball, low-homer southpaw whose stuff would play even in the nightmare pitchers’ environment in Sacramento would be the sort of move that could push the A’s that much closer to their first playoff spot since 2020. Sign free agent left-hander Ranger Suarez.