3 MLB teams that need to choose a path for the 2025 season and beyond

I recently wrote about the pretenders and surprises for the upcoming 2025 season. Now, we will dive into the teams that need to get off the fence and choose a path, whether it be rebuilding or going all-in on contending for a postseason spot.

Tampa Bay Rays

Next season, the Rays may have one of the best young starting rotations, with every projected starter 29 years old or younger.

Shane McClanahan missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Drew Rasmussen only threw 28.2 innings before missing the rest of the season due to a flexor strain in his right elbow. Still, both have shown they can dominate on the mound in only a few seasons. In 2022, they each threw more than 140 innings and had a 2.84 or lower ERA and McClanahan drew some CY Young votes.

Shane Baz missed a majority of the first half of last season, but he threw 69 innings in the second half, posting a 2.74 ERA and allowing hitters only to have a .182 batting average off him. Ryan Pepiot and Zack Littell threw over 130 innings with sub-three ERAs, and the team also has Taj Bradley if they decide to use a six-man rotation to help reduce the workload on the young pitchers.

With a starting rotation loaded with talent, one would think the front office would want to put together an offense that could put up runs. However, they have done nothing to improve a lineup that ranked 27th in batting average (.230), 29th in RBIs (564), and 28th in HRs (147) last season.

Four rookies, based on service time, contributed to these struggles. Jonathan Aranda (.234, 6 HRs, and 14 RBIs), Jonny DeLuca (.217, 6 HRs, and 31 RBIs), José Caballero (.227, 9 HRs, and 44 RBIs), and Richie Palacious (.223, 5 HRs, and 21 RBIs) all spent a substantial amount of time in the starting lineup.

Both Christopher Morel, acquired from the Chicago Cubs at last season's trade deadline, and Taylor Walls hit under .200 for the Rays. Tampa Bay needs all of them to have a bounce-back seasons, as they are banking massively on these young players to lengthen their lineup.

Danny Jansen, Eloy Jiménez, and Ha-Seong Kim (who will start the season on the injured list) are the only additions from this offseason, and they all come with too many questions to assume they will improve the offense significantly. Yandy Díaz and Brandon Lowe have had their names brought up in trade rumors as the team looked to dump salaries, but luckily for fans, it does not look to be happening.

The Rays are known for building their team through the farm system and not paying for top-tier free-agent talent even though they have the fourth-most Competitive Balance Tax Space ($153 million) available to spend, and 13 players are signed through 2026 or later.

Littell is the only player in his final year ahead of free agency. He will command a significant contract, but the Rays have plenty of space to add talent to supplement one of the best pitching staffs as they look to return to the postseason after missing it last season.

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners also have incredibly talented young starting pitchers. Luis Castillo (32) is the veteran of a pitching staff that has four starters who are 27 years old or younger.

Logan Gilbert and George Kirby threw over 190 innings, posting 3.23 and 3.53 ERAs, respectively, in 2024. Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo impressively completed their full rookie seasons, throwing 180.1 and 121.1 innings, respectively, and posting sub-3.00 ERAs.

Like the Rays, the Mariners did not help their exceptional starting rotation by improving their abysmal 2024 offense. They ranked 29th in batting average (.224), 22nd in RBIs (642), and first in strikeouts (1,625) and return the same nine hitters who started the majority of last season.

2022's AL Rookie of the Year, Julio Rodriguez, took a step back last season with the worst batting average (.273), HRs (20), and RBIs (68) in his short three-year career, and Randy Arozarena did very little after coming over from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, hitting just .231, five homers, and 23 RBIs. Six of the returning starters hit .220 or lower.

The Mariners rank 14th in Competitive Balance Tax Space with $89 million and have 14 players under contract through 2026 or later. Mitch Haniger, Dylan Moore, and free agent addition Donovan Solano are in the last year of their contracts, so the Mariners have room to pursue a power bat as none of the three will command a massive contract if re-signed.

Fans were excited to hear rumors about the team potentially adding Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, or Alex Bregman this offseason, but the front office chose to sit on their wallet. Bregman is still available as of this writing, but the buzz on him going to Seattle is dying down.

If the Mariners are going to significantly improve their offense before the season begins, they'll likely have to swing a blockbuster trade involving one of their star young pitchers.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates' 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year, Paul Skenes, put together one of the best rookie seasons in MLB history, throwing 133 innings and recording a 1.93 ERA, and 170 strikeouts.

The starting rotation ranked 15th in baseball in ERA (3.95), but Skenes heavily skewed that. Returning starters Mitch Keller, Jared Jones, and Bailey Falter each had ERAs over 4.00. Their potential is huge, but the rotation is not currently a formidable juggernaut.

The offense is not much better. Last season, they ranked 23rd in batting average (.234), 25th in HRs (160), and 21st in RBIs (643), but the Pirates have not done much to improve their production this winter.

This offseason, Pittsburgh did acquire Spencer Horwitz from the Cleveland Guardians, who acquired him in a separate trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, and also added Tommy Pham in free agency. However, they aren't blockbuster additions that will fundamentally change a lineup led by Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds.

The team has the fifth-most Competitive Balance Tax Space with $146 million. Six veterans are in their final year, but none will draw a massive contract next offseason if re-signed.

There was plenty of opportunity to pursue top-tier offensive talent to supplement one of the greatest young pitchers in MLB history, but the front office chose to be quiet. The Pirates need to take advantage of having Skenes and build around him because that type of talent comes around once in a generation, lest they want to risk alienating him in the coming seasons.

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