After a long, cold winter, we’ve finally made it: It’s time for Spring Training. Okay, so pitchers and catchers only begin reporting to camps around MLB on Tuesday, and that long, cold winter is still ongoing in many parts of the country, but still. The sky will be blue, the grass will be green and there will be real, organized baseball activities happening on your social media feeds.
And besides, what begins this week can wind up having a major impact on which teams make it all the way to October — and maybe even who’s hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy at season’s end. Every team has at least one pressing question that needs answering this spring.
Each team’s biggest question at Spring Training
- AL East
- AL Central
- AL West
- NL East
- NL Central
- NL West
AL East
Baltimore Orioles: Can Adley Rutschman get back to being an All-Star?
The questions around this starting rotation are real, and have been discussed at length. But even if Kyle Bradish breaks out and Shane Baz finally puts it all together, it won’t matter if Baltimore’s homegrown stars don’t hit like stars. Rutschman is coming off of a second straight injury-plagued season, and he’s now just two years away from hitting free agency. Is an MVP candidate still in here somewhere? Or is Samuel Basallo the O’s real catcher of the future? It’s hard to imagine this team getting where it wants to go without him at his peak.
Boston Red Sox: Are Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell ready?
Craig Breslow finally added an infielder on Monday, and yet I somehow have more questions about this infield than I did already. The picture remains muddled at both second and third base, and it just so happens that Boston has former top prospects available to play both positions. Not long ago it seemed like both Mayer and Campbell were ticketed for stardom; were their rookie struggles just the usual growing pains, or something more? The answer could determine the Red Sox’ fate.
New York Yankees: What happens with Jasson Dominguez?
It sure seems like the Yankees no longer consider Dominguez a meaningful part of their future. His defense remains a huge question mark (to put it charitably), and his inability to hit lefties means he’ll have a hard time seeing any playing time this season barring injury or further development. The bottom line: If Dominguez can’t take real steps forward this spring, it’s probably over for him in New York, and Brian Cashman might just have to bite the bullet and sell low rather than burning a bench spot on a duplicative player.
Tampa Bay Rays: What can we expect from Shane McClanahan?
This appears to be something of a transition season for the Rays, who subtracted some big names and mostly fiddled on the margins. The biggest priority is figuring out what this team will look like in 2027, and the most pressing question to that end is whether McClanahan can be relied on. He hasn’t thrown a single pitch since 2023, but he looked like a future Cy Young winner before injuries wreaked havoc on his career. He’s reportedly healthy and ready for spring; can he look like the guy we used to know? If so, Tampa’s future becomes very interesting.
Toronto Blue Jays: Was last year a fluke for Anthony Santander?
The Blue Jays’ failed pursuit of both Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker has left them feeling one big bat short. Sure, there are a lot of good hitters here, but there aren’t a ton of impactful ones, middle-of-the-order boppers who can do damage at a moment’s notice. Except it’s easy to forget that they still have a guy who hit 44 homers just two years ago: Santander’s debut season in Toronto could hardly have gone worse, but he’s still only 31 years old, and he should hopefully be healthier this time around. Getting back to his prior form would go a long way to elevating this Jays offense.
AL Central
Chicago White Sox: What do they have in Munetaka Murakami?
Most of the attention at White Sox camp will likely be paid to the team’s army of young, up-and-coming prospects. But the single biggest question mark might be Murakami, the team’s lone free agent splash this winter who comes over from Japan with light-tower power and real questions as to whether he can access it against MLB pitching. If he can, his contract could become one of the bigger bargains around, and he could at the very least fetch Chicago a nice haul to help further the rebuild. Either way, there might not be a player with more variance this season.
Cleveland Guardians: Are young bats ready to carry the load?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the Guardians didn’t do a whole lot this offseason. Sure, Jose Ramirez isn’t going anywhere, but something significant needs to change with this Cleveland lineup in order to become something more than a plucky, feel-good story. And it seems like that something is going to have to come internally, from a pair of top prospects: outfielder Chase DeLauter, who made his MLB debut during last season’s Wild Card loss to the Tigers, and former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana. If those two are ready to be stars, or at least above-average hitters, right away, the Guards might have something. If not, expect more of the same.
Detroit Tigers: How soon will Kevin McGonigle arrive?
Landing Framber Valdez sure helps, but the Tigers still feel one bat short after failing to mount a serious run at either Bichette or Alex Bregman this winter. That script could flip in a hurry, however, if their top prospects is ready to hit the ground running: McGonigle is one of the best young talents in the Minors, maybe the best, and he’ll have a real shot at earning an Opening Day job despite not having been to Triple-A yet. He could answer a lot of questions for this Detroit infield; then again, he could still be a year (at least) away, with Tarik Skubal’s clock ticking.
Kansas City Royals: Was 2025 just a blip for Jac Caglianone?
The Royals added some much-needed new blood to their outfield this winter, but neither Isaac Collins nor Lane Thomas come with particularly high ceilings. If Kansas City’s offense is going to make the leap it needs, the most likely path involves a breakout year from Caglianone — a former two-way phenom at Florida who absolutely tore through the Minor Leagues but flopped in his first taste of big-league pitching. If Caglianone can live up to his pedigree (and his prior performance), the Royals really might have something here.
Minnesota Twins: Who on Earth will step up in this bullpen?
The only questions that really matter as far as the Twins are concerned are what their ownership situation looks like moving forward and whether they’ll be committed to winning. But since we won’t get an answer to that at Spring Training, let’s set our sights a little lower: This Minnesota bullpen is a disaster zone after being decimated at last year’s trade deadline. If they can find some answers there, hey, the AL Central is wide open and this rotation could still be pretty good (for as long as it’s intact).
AL West
Athletics: Which young starters will step up?
The A’s are one functional pitching staff away from a legit path to a Wild Card spot. And while they were nowhere close to that last season, there are at least some glimmers of hope coming through the pipeline, especially young righty Luis Morales (3.14 ERA across nine starts last year). If Morales, Jacob Lopez, Jack Perkins and top-100 prospects like Jamie Arnold can step up, Sacramento might see some postseason baseball.
Houston Astros: What role is best for Tatsuya Imai?
I have so many questions about the way Houston has chosen to build its lineup, with literally too many infielders to fit on one diamond and a severe lack of both outfielders and left-handed hitters. Barring an unexpected trade, though, that figures to follow them into the regular season. The biggest thing I’ll be watching for this spring concerns Imai, whom the Astros were able to swoop in for after he put up monster numbers in Japan. Will his stuff translate to the Majors? And is he better suited to being a starter or a reliever? If he can fit in the rotation, Houston might have solved its biggest need.
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