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Six teams on the hot seat heading into the 2025 season
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Veronica Chung
Jan 2, 2025, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 2, 2025, 08:57 EST
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As the offseason reaches is set to turn over into the new year, teams around MLB are addressing their weaknesses and strengths either by signing the best free agents or trading from their roster and farm system.
But there are inevitably a few teams that will garner more attention for their efforts given their respective shortcomings during the 2024 season. Heading into the new year, these five teams will have a lot to prove – all eyes will be on their bid to become a successful contender once again.

1. Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles were wildly successful in 2024 with a 91-71 win-loss record. The team even made it to the playoffs after finishing second in the AL East and in the first AL Wild Card spot. Unfortunately, that glory only lasted for a couple of days as the resurgent Kansas City Royals swept the series at Camden Yards in October. For Baltimore, this was widely considered a failure given the team’s inability to win any playoff games in the past two seasons despite its surging young core. 
The biggest issue the Orioles will have to address is building a sustainable starting rotation that can support its effective bullpen and potent offence. The team recently lost elite starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Arizona Diamondbacks and attempted to rejig the rotation by signing Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano. The club does have Grayson Rodriguez able to lead the charge but alongside Sugano, Zach Eflin, and Trevor Rogers, there is some work to be done. 
The Orioles’ rotation is still a work in progress and the team is set to lose Anthony Santander in free agency, one of their biggest power bats in the lineup last year, although they pivoted well early in the winter to add Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill. Still, he can opt of his deal following next season which could leave a bit of a hole along with potentially losing Cedric Mullins, who is FA eligible next winter as well. The club boasts a lot of young talent in Gunanr Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser (among others) who can help fix these potential roster spots but the team has yet to find playoff success as each of these players continues to inch towards arbitration and free agency over the next few seasons. 
Pitching will be their biggest question mark entering the year, especially after division rivals such as the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox added onto their respective rosters. Baltimore won’t certainly be able to avoid attention from the baseball world in the new year, and they have high expectations to live up to as the young core keeps aging and gains further experience in the majors. 

2. Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have been a disappointment for the past few seasons as the team has struggled to find success during the regular season while also losing some top players in Mookie Betts and Chris Sale in recent memory. Even so, despite the continued subpar performance, the Red Sox has shown a sign of hope in 2024 as their offence punched above its weight for the first half of the season and its starting rotation stabilized with young pitchers like Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, and Kutter Crawford.  
To combat this recent lacklustre performance, the team is attempting to flip the script by investing more in the free-agent market this offseason. So far, the team has added Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval (who will be on the IL for most of the year) this offseason through free agency and traded for Chicago White Sox’s ace pitcher Garret Crochet for a package headlined by prospect catcher Kyle Teel. To strengthen its relief pitching, the team also signed Aroldis Chapman. It’s most likely that the Red Sox are seeking to add more position players to round out the roster this offseason to supplement third baseman Rafael Devers and Jarren Duran but some younger players could be a factor on the 2025 roster as well like Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer. 
After much frustration, the Red Sox fan base will clamour for a more competent team that can compete against their hated rival, the New York Yankees. If Boston can’t reach its potential once again in 2025, fans will likely be looking for change sooner rather than later.

3. Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs also have struggled to find postseason success since their NLDS appearance back in 2020 and tried to turn the tides last winter by bringing on Craig Counsell as a manager from the Brewers and bringing back Cody Bellinger on a three-year deal. The Cubs posted a lacklustre 74-88 record in 2022 and narrowly missed out on the playoffs with an 83-79 record in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, respectively. Chicago couldn’t fulfill their mission of playing October baseball over the past few seasons and kept falling to its division rival Milwaukee.
For the 2025 season, the team will be under more pressure to become a legitimate contender after much of its failure. Thus far, the team has worked to address its flaws by trading away Bellinger to the Yankees as a cash dump and acquired All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros. The Tucker trade signified that the Cubs haven’t given up on their playoff dreams and their intention to ignite the fanbase’s passion but with his impending free agency, the title run may be short-lived barring an extension.
In addition, the team also managed to sign pitcher Matthew Boyd and catcher Carson Kelly and traded for infielder Vidal Bruján from the Miami Marlins. Furthermore, Chicago already has great starting pitchers like Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele and Jordan Wicks and a power bat in Seiya Suzuki while boasting some strong younger players in Owen Caissie, Matt Shaw, Kevin Alcantara, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. 
Given that the team didn’t have a pronounced weakness in its roster that stood out amongst the rest, the Cubs’ path to the playoffs shouldn’t be a tall task in 2025 with the recent additions and prospect talent looking to make headwind. However, if the team misses the playoffs again this season, there might be some changes coming in the new year. 

4. Minnesota Twins

Before the start of the 2024 season, the Twins were projected to be at the top of the American League (AL) Central Division along with the Cleveland Guardians. The only problem was that Minnesota performed consistently well for most of the season until the team fell apart in September. Ultimately, the Twins missed the playoff in a gut-wrenching fashion while the Guardians, the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers in the division got their chances to compete in the playoffs for what has normally been an underwhelming division. 
It was the worst possible outcome for the Twins: they kept the hope alive until the very last second only to realize there wasn’t much of it. This offseason, the Twins are in a tough position as other teams in the AL Central keep improving and making moves while the team has stalled for much of the winter. 
This offseason, the Twins already lost many players to free agency: Anthony DeSclafani, Kyle Farmer, Max Kepler, Manuel Margot, Carlos Santana and Caleb Thielbar are free agents this winter. Kepler has already signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and Santana joined the Guardians in a division rival move.
But if Minnesota intends to become a contender in 2025, there isn’t much room for error. By and large, the team’s roster doesn’t have the most glaring flaw heading into the 2025 season but with other teams getting better, it will be tough to stand out. Should the team stick to the status quo, their upcoming season will look even bleaker in a more competitive division. 

5. San Francisco Giants

Even after a mindblowing 2021 season with a 107-55 record, the San Francisco Giants haven’t found postseason success since winning it all in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Since winning the pennant over three years ago, the team has struggled to post above .500, which put the president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in the hot seat heading into last year. In a shocking reveal, the Giants replaced Zaidi by appointing former catcher Buster Posey to take over late into the season. 
Posey’s job isn’t the easiest as the National League (NL) West division becomes much more competitive as the days wear on. The Los Angeles Dodgers have become a powerhouse within the league with its seemingly perfect roster and explosive farm system and rising stars like the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres have raised the bar with their own savvy signings and trades throughout the past few seasons. 
San Francisco is under a lot of pressure as Los Angeles signed Blake Snell to a five-year deal while bringing back outfielder Teoscar Hernández and infielder Tommy Edman. Moreover, Arizona also remains active this offseason by trading for first baseman Josh Naylor from Cleveland and signing starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to a six-year contract. 
Amid a busier NL West transaction season, the Giants have fought back in their own way. In early December, the team announced a seven-year deal with shortstop Willy Adames to signal its intention to contend. The team hasn’t made any other impactful signings or trades at this time but it is expected that the Giants will aggressively pursue remaining free agents to try and put forward a roster that can contend this season. They were linked to Burnes before he pivoted to the desert and their name has come up in other rumours this winter. 
If there is any sign of hope along with the Adames signing this offseason, it would be third baseman Matt Chapman’s extension with the team during the 2024 season and acquiring Robbie Ray before the 2024 campaign. This extension and trade ended up being parting gifts by Zaidi before Posey came into the picture (although Buster played a big part in the Chapman extension) but it keeps the hot corner occupied in the Bay Area for the considerable future and if Ray can find his Cy Young form, he and Logan Webb alongside up and comers in Kyle Harrison and Keaton Winn could form a decent rotation core. Tack on some solid bullpen pieces in Jordan Hicks, Tyler Rogers, and Camilo Doval, and the Giants pitching doesn’t appear to be the problem heading into the new year. 
With tougher competition within the division and around the league, San Francisco is in a difficult position for the 2025 season. Posey’s job isn’t necessarily on the hot seat given his newness but after missing out on Aaron Judge a few years back and the lack of playoff success since the early 2010’s, Giants fans are hoping the team can find a way to win in what is becoming one of the toughest division’s in all of baseball. 

6. Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays headed into the 2024 season with aspirations of a core that could hopefully rebound after an average 2023 season. This came at the heels of losing out on superstar Shohei Ohtani during the offseason and pivoting to veteran players like Kevin Kiermaier, Justin Turner, and infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa to fill the roster gaps. The Blue Jays roster was far from perfect in 2024 and certainly was concerning for a team that wanted to defend its contender status in the hope that the pitching would remain dominant and the bats would find a way to compete.
In turn, the team massively underperformed as its starting and relief pitching all took a step back on top of the struggling offensive core, who put up low numbers early and often. Simply put, Toronto’s best-performing player was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and no one else came close to his success. Stumbling into the trade deadline, the club sold off veteran assets and expiring contracts and bolstered their farm system while floundering to the basement of the AL East. 
For the 2025 season, the Blue Jays maintain their aspirations for the playoffs but have yet to make a splashy addition. It won’t be easy for the Blue Jays to fight for a playoff spot as most of the AL East division continues to enhance their rosters through free-agent signings and trades. The Yankees have added Max Fried to their starting rotation and brought in outfielder Cody Bellinger and closer Devin Williams through trades. The Red Sox have mostly rounded out their starting pitching core with trading for Crochet and signing Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval. The Orioles added O’Neill and Sugano while the Rays brought in a familiar face to Jays fans, signing Danny Jansen to a one-year deal. 
While the Blue Jays showed interest in Brunes, Fried, Juan Soto, and Gleyber Torres, the team has only traded for infielder Andrés Giménez and right-handed reliever Nick Sandlin and signed Yimi García to a two-year pact. The Jays have also moved on from Genesis Cabrera and Jordan Romano, adding some more holes that need to be filled in the bullpen while also missing that power bat the club desperately needs.
Toronto now faces much-improved New York and Boston squads in 2025 and has to sign or trade for a few more talents to remain competitive. The Blue Jays still have their offensive power and pitching depth to address and a core group that is on expiring deals. If the team isn’t successful at signing or trading for any players, the team may be bound for another dreadful season devoid of playoffs and a potential rebuild on the horizon. 

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