A week ago, we took a look at the Mets' prospects for 2026. Now, it's time to turn our attention to the rest of the NL East.
After being thwarted in the playoffs the last two seasons, Philadelphia made some moves to try to correct whatever flaws exist. For starters, they pried outfielder and World Series hero Adolis Garcia away from Texas. A combination of Garcia with Brandon Marsh & Johan Rojas, with Kyle Schwarber likely used exclusively as a designated hitter, will cover a lot of ground.
The problem, however, is pitching. Zack Wheeler starts the season on the IL recovering from thorasic outlet surgery, and won't be back until summer at the earliest. The Phillies stupidly let Ranger Suarez walk (Boston), replacing him with Brad Keller (Cubs) as part of a rotation that will be fronted by Jesus Luzardo & Aaron Nola, with Christopher Sanchez and the oft-erratic Taijuan Walker. This means the Phils will have to hope to deliver the one thing Bryce Harper doesn't have--a championship. Yeah, good luck with that.
In Atlanta, the Braves have retooled as well, especially in the infield, where Austin Riley has some new playmates in Mauricio Dubon (Houston), Ha-Seong Kim (Tampa Bay), & Jorge Mateo (Baltimore), plus the returning Ozzie Albies. Jonah Heim came over from Texas to back up Sean Murphy, as Drake Baldwin will continue to learn on the job behind the plate.
New manager Walt Weiss poached a pair of coaches from the Mets in Jeremy Hefner & Antoan Richardson, the latter to help improve the running game, plus reliever Danny Young. Robert Suarez came east from San Diego, likely as the heir apparent to Raisel Iglesias as the closer. Ex-Met Carlos Carrasco was invited to camp, but will he stick? We'll know next week.
Miami surprised a lot of people last year with a 3rd place finish. The biggest name to arrive in the offseason is first baseman-outfielder Christopher Morel, who returns to the National League after spending some time in Tampa Bay. Pete Fairbanks came over in the same deal, and will be in the rotation behind Sandy Alcantara. Other than that, this team of obscurities won't sneak up on anyone again.
Like Atlanta, Washington has a new manager in Blake Butera, and while there's been some buzz over catcher Harry Ford, who represented the UK in the World Baseball Classic, he'll be challenging for playing time behind Keibert Ruiz. There are some changes in the rotation, with Zack Littell, who finished 2025 in Cincinnati, and Miles Mikolas (St. Louis) providing some veteran aid for younger starters Josiah Gray & Jake Irvin. Still, the Nats are a year at best away from contending.
Projected order of finish:
1. Atlanta.
2. Mets.
3. Philadelphia.
4. Washington.
5. Miami.
Of course, I could be wrong.
Tomorrow: The AL East.
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