7 Bold MLB Predictions For 2026-27 Offseason

Major League Baseball's offseason won't officially begin until this small-market extravaganza between the Brewers and Rays comes to an end, but it's never too early to venture some guesses at what this winter's biggest stunners will be.

There are always a few eyebrow-raisers that even the boldest of predictions didn't see coming.

We won't bore you with a faux "bold" prediction of Tarik Skubal signing with the Mets or Dodgers, but having him land pretty much anywhere aside from those two options would be a bold suggestion, right?

Could the A's trade away their All-Star catcher?

Will the O's trade for one year of an ace like they did a few years ago with Corbin Burnes?

Or how about the Pirates and Royals each signing one of the biggest free agents available?

We've got a total of seven bold offseason predictions here: one for each of MLB's six divisions, plus a bonus prognostication about the inevitable lockout.

AL East: Baltimore Trades for an Ace-Caliber Rental (Again)

During the 2023-24 offseason, the Baltimore Orioles traded two tantalizing prospects (Joey Ortiz and DL Hall) to the Milwaukee Brewers for one year of Corbin Burnes.

It's a trade that stings today, as Hall and Ortiz both ranked top 10 in bWAR among Brewers en route to the World Series. But in that one year in Baltimore, Burnes made 32 starts with a sub-3.00 ERA, finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young vote and giving the O's an eight-inning gem in their postseason opener. They frankly couldn't have asked for more than what they got.

There's no time like the present for them to go back to that well.

In Shane Baz, Brandon Young and Kyle Bradish (provided he makes a full recovery from sports hernia surgery), Baltimore has three certainties in its starting rotation for 2027. And the future of this rotation is bright, with Anthony Eyanson, Joseph Dzierwa and Caden Hunter all ending the year at Double-A Chesapeake as top 100 overall prospects, per MLB.com's pipeline .

For 2027, though, the rotation is looking mighty suspect.

Whether it's Baz or Bradish starting on Opening Day, let's just say Baltimore isn't projected for a top-10 spot in any sort of "Ranking the 30 Opening Day Starting Pitchers" article. There's also ample room for improvement in the combination of Trey Gibson, Cade Povich, Michael Forret and Luis De León for the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the rotation.

Basically, Baltimore could really use one, maybe two years of an ace-caliber pitcher to hold down the fort until at least one of those top prospects is ready to shine.

Of course, the catch is they would almost certainly need to part with one of those pitching prospects—and more—to acquire a Logan Gilbert, Drew Rasmussen, Joe Ryan, Nathan Eovaldi or Sandy Alcantara, each of whom could become a free agent after the 2027 season.

They've got to do something big, though.

They didn't sign Pete Alonso for $155M so he could work on his golf game every October.

When the Kansas City Royals had their time in the sun back in 2014-15, the outfield tandem of Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain carried that offense. Even reserve outfielder Jarrod Dyson was a major X-factor with his speed on the basepaths.

Over the past four years, however, Kansas City's outfield situation has been all sorts of bleak.

By a considerable margin, Kyle Isbel has been their most valuable outfielder since the beginning of 2023, but only because of his defense in center. There are 203 players with at least 1,400 plate appearances over the past four seasons, and Isbel's .642 OPS ranks 200th.

Jac Caglianone arrived in a big way in 2026, though, primarily playing right field. And if the Royals could land a legitimate asset in left, they could be in business.

"Top free agent hitter" and "Kansas City Royals" don't typically go hand-in-hand. In fact, outside of re-signing Gordon on a four-year, $72M deal the winter after winning the 2015 World Series, they've never spent more than $36M on a hitter in free agency. And Arozarena (who turns 32 in February) has a projected market of 4-5 years at a bit north of $20M per year.

If they're not aggressively trying to win a World Series in 2027 or 2028, though, they might as well just embrace a rebuild now, right?

Next year will presumably be Salvador Perez's last ride, and the Royals also have a long and noteworthy list of players who could reach free agency over the next two offseasons, including Vinnie Pasquantino, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans and Michael Massey.

While they do have Bobby Witt Jr. locked up through at least 2030, it's only going to become tougher to build a contender around him, as his cash salary climbs from $13M in 2026 to $19M next year to $30M in 2028 and $35M in both 2029 and 2030.

We don't often encourage a team to go all-in the offseason after suffering 93 losses, but now's the time for Kansas City. The Royals also went straight from 106 losses in 2023 to the postseason in 2024. Throw in what the White Sox accomplished this year and who's to say we couldn't be headed for a third case in four years of an AL Central team going from the basement to the playoffs?

AL West: Athletics Trade Away Shea Langeliers

Over the past two seasons, Shea Langeliers has been one of the five most valuable catchers in baseball.

He doesn't draw many walks, but he's batting .270 and slugging .507, trailing only Hunter Goodman in the latter department. He averaged 38 home runs per 162 games played between 2025-26.

Langeliers also made big strides as a catcher in 2026, throwing out 32 percent of would-be base-stealers after teams ran all over him in 2025.

But Langeliers has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining and an agent (Scott Boras) whose clients rarely sign extensions before reaching free agency for the first time. As a result, the A's—who have averaged 98.2 losses over the past five seasons—are probably going to put him on the trade block this offseason.

Frankly, it's so likely that the A's are at least willing to discuss a Langeliers trade that we need to make this an even bolder prediction.

So how about this: The Athletics trade Langeliers to the Yankees for a pair of young pitchers.

It won't be Cam Schlittler. I haven't completely lost my mind. But the Yankees have four more years of Will Warren, three years left on Luis Gil and a farm system in which nine of the top 10 players are pitchers, per MLB.com's pipeline . The pair of young pitchers heading to West Sacramento will come from that pool of 11 arms.

The Yankees could very much use another catcher and right-handed bat while the A's kind of need to trade their way to a competent pitching staff, as free agents are understandably reluctant to make half of their starts at the warm-weather launching pad that is Sutter Health Park.

New York will simultaneously pursue a similar trade with Colorado for Hunter Goodman, but the A's are more likely to make it happen.

Ranking Every Player in the 2026 World Series 🔢

NL East: New York Mets Replace Bo Bichette with Teruaki Sato

We're giving you a little two-for-one action on this bold prediction, with the first half of it being that Bo Bichette opts out of the latter two seasons of the 3-year, $126M contract he signed last winter.

Notably, Bichette gets a $5M buyout if he opts out, so he'd actually be leaving two years and $79M on the table. Even that might sound slightly insane after the disappointing first year that he had in Queens. At any rate, there's no realistic chance he fares better than a $39.5M AAV if he re-enters free agency.

However, in a year where Jazz Chisholm Jr. is arguably the second-most or third-most coveted free agent hitter available, a 28-year-old Bichette who has been worth more than 20 WAR in his career could probably fetch another nine-figure contract.

If he does leave, the Mets could simply hand the third-base reins to top prospect Jefferson Rojas, hoping for results similar to what Carson Benge and AJ Ewing gave them as rookies in 2026. Alternatively, they could give Brett Baty and/or Mark Vientos yet another chance to prove they can cut the mustard as an everyday third baseman.

Going after prized Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato is more their speed, though.

Whether Sato's glove is good enough for the hot corner is a concern that most teams will grapple with while trying to determine how much he's worth, but, heck, the Mets signed Bichette to be their primary third baseman when he had zero professional experience at the position.

The potential for 25 errors might not bother them if they believe Sato has the potential for 45 home runs.

The Mets also don't have a dedicated designated hitter, nor a particularly sure thing at first base, so they could try Sato out at 3B before going to a backup plan of Rojas, Baty or Vientos if it turns out they need to move the 2026 NPB Triple Crown winner to 1B or DH.

NL Central: Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Jazz Chisholm Jr.

The time has come for Pittsburgh to put its money where its mouth is.

The Pirates reportedly tried to sign both Josh Naylor and Kyle Schwarber last offseason, which would have cost more than double their previous record for money spent on a single free agent. In the end, both players re-signed with their former teams (as most expected would be the case) and the Pirates settled for short-term deals with Ryan O'Hearn, Marcell Ozuna and Gregory Soto as their "big" swings in free agency.

Thanks in large part to their one-year acquisition of Brandon Lowe, though, they turned a corner, posting a winning record for the first time since 2018 and a positive run differential for the first time since 2015—this despite Paul Skenes becoming mortal on the mound while rookie phenom Konnor Griffin and key slugger Oneil Cruz missed a combined total of 147 games.

With Lowe now headed for free agency, they need to add an infielder if they're going to chase this sudden surge of competence.

Maybe they give Lowe a qualifying offer and he returns for one year at $23.15M.

If he declines, perhaps they go the trade route again, pursuing Isaac Paredes from Houston or Ozzie Albies from Atlanta.

Or maybe *record scratch* the Pirates sign one of the best free agents available in Jazz Chisholm Jr.

It wouldn't be a long-term, nine-figure monster of a deal. Pittsburgh extended both Griffin and Bryan Reynolds for north of $100M, but they don't play that game in free agency.

But what if Dec. 1 (AKA Lockout Eve) rolls around and Chisholm—after discovering the market doesn't think he's nearly as valuable as he thinks he is—gets a phone call from a 412 area code with an offer for $30M for one season?

Come smash some home runs and pierogies on a "prove it" deal before re-entering free agency (during a normal offseason) at the age of 29?

It could be a perfect fit, and it sure would be fun to watch Cruz and Chisholm each try to get to 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases as teammates.

NL West: San Diego Padres Win Tarik Skubal Sweepstakes

Picking the Dodgers, the Mets or even the Tigers as the team that signs Tarik Skubal this winter wouldn't be bold. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand had those three, the Phillies, the Blue Jays and the Cubs among the six potential, realistic suitors who could give Skubal an historic contract.

Why aren't the Padres on that list, though, especially under new ownership?

When Steve Cohen became the Mets' principal owner in 2020, their payroll pretty much immediately skyrocketed. Same goes for when Mark Walter and the Guggenheim group bought the Dodgers back in 2012. And one kind of has to assume the group headed by Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano is going to be aggressively trying to win right away.

And they sure do have work to do on this pitching staff.

Assuming Michael King opts out, the Padres are going to lose six of the seven pitchers who made at least nine starts for them in 2026. They also can't possibly know what they are going to get out of Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish in 2027, at which point the starting rotation becomes Nick Pivetta, Randy Vásquez and three big question marks.

Even though they do have a ton of money tied up in Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill through 2033 and beyond, they simply have to swing big for arguably the best pitcher in the sport today.

For what it's worth, the San Francisco Giants are in a similar boat, minus the new ownership factor. That rotation gets weak in a hurry beyond Logan Webb, and they are on the hook for at least $23.5M to each of Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and Willy Adames through at least 2030. But if they can find the room in the budget for Skubal, their outlook instantly and drastically changes.

MLB: There Will Be Baseball in 2027...But Not Initially

When the current collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, there is going to be a lockout.

In theory, they could get a new deal done before then, but we've known for more than a year at this point that is quite unlikely to happen. The owners are pushing for a salary cap harder than at any point in the past three decades, which the players adamantly do not want. And that's merely the biggest issue on a long list of negotiations that need to take place.

As the war of words between the millionaires and billionaires plays out, though, most baseball fans are only going to care about one thing: Will the regular season go off without a hitch?

The last time a new CBA needed to be ratified during the 2021-22 offseason, that lockout lasted 99 days. But they still managed to have a full 162-game schedule, albeit slightly delayed.

If the players hold their ground and refuse to accept a salary cap, though, this one has the potential to be so much worse.

The big line in the sand on the calendar that many have cited will be in late May at the 60 games missed (per team) threshold.

Per The Athletic , if that much of the season gets canceled, that's when an additional year gets tacked onto broadcast-rights contracts, throwing quite a wrench into Rob Manfred's grand plan to gather all the streaming rights back under one umbrella after 2028. (And maybe finally getting rid of all these nonsensical blackouts that fans have had to endure/work around for years?)

If that happens, that's when this lockout would really start to hit the owners' wallets for years to come—and both sides know it.

The players are going to prepare to miss upwards of 60 games, expecting that the owners will cave before it gets that far.

My complete dart throw of a guess is that the new CBA will be ratified on April 15, there will not be a salary cap and after an abridged spring training, we'll miss 33 games per team in a season that begins on May 3. A 129-game season is far from ideal, but it would leave room for six games per league opponent and three games per interleague foe.