The political guide to the 2026 MLB season
Everything you need to know to be a good and just fan
On this weekend last year, I posted the political guide to the 2025 MLB season and wrote this in the intro:
Donald Trump is running the country by fiat, Elon Musk has my Social Security Number, and the Philadelphia Eagles started a dynasty against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. This means it is finally baseball season.
It’s amazing how quickly things change. The Eagles do not own a dynasty, for they haven’t completed a forward pass since that Super Bowl. DOGE blew up on launch, like most of Musk’s actual rockets. And, after a disastrous federal occupation of Minneapolis, Congressional Democrats were able to wrangle the votes to impeach Donald Trump and remove him from office.
[puts hand to earpiece]
Wait.
[listens intently]
Yes, okay. I’m receiving reports that Congressional Democrats have done next to nothing to stop the Trump administration’s attacks on democracy, civil liberties, and separations of power, let alone enact an agenda that helps non-rich people. I’m sorry for the confusion. Some things, in fact, do not change.
Thank God baseball is one of them. It’s February, and so pitchers and catchers have reported and soon we will be at the ballpark drinking cans of Bud Light the size of grenade launchers. So badly do I miss baseball that I watched a video of Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler leisurely warming up, if it can be called that, dozens of times.
There are plenty of power rankings out in the world, and they will all say the same thing: The good teams will be good, the bad teams will be bad. But there is only one political guide to the baseball season. It is here at Out in Left.
Baseball is the sport that most reflects every day life, so the best way to understand the upcoming season is through politics. As I did last season, I ask a question about (almost) every team that I think you, the reader, would ask to get caught up.
N.L. East
Are the Philadelphia Phillies the most MAGA team in baseball?
In 2022, catcher J.T. Realmuto, pitcher Aaron Nola, and infielder Alec Bohm couldn’t travel with the team to Toronto because they failed to meet Canada’s vaccine requirements. First baseman Bryce Harper drinks raw milk, and this offseason he received an unapproved blood treatment from a quack doctor. Shortstop Trea Turner wants to meet Elon Musk. I count no less than six players on the roster from either Florida or Georgia (with several others from Louisiana, Indiana, and the Carolinas.) Finally, during their run to the 2022 World Series, the team chose as its rally song Calum Scott’s far inferior version of “Dancing On My Own.” Robyn should have sued for damages. Will the Phillies aging roster contend for the World Series? I have no idea, but I do know how they’ll be voting at the midterms.
What craven thing did New York Mets owner Steve Cohen do this time?
Honestly, nothing really. Last year, Cohen publicly bashed club legend Pete Alonso during contract negotiations in attempt to gain leverage, but this offseason baseball’s single-richest owner has been on his best behavior. Maybe he wanted no drama while New York considered his $8 billion casino project at Citi Field. Maybe he is still smarting from the Mets epic second-half collapse. Maybe he was hiding from scrutiny for letting Alonso and closer Edwin Diaz walk. In any case, I’m looking forward to the Mets coming up short again.
How much does Miami still owe for the Marlins ballpark?
In 2009, then-Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria convinced public authorities to fund most of the cost of a $634 million ballpark. Thanks to interest, the total hit to Miami taxpayers is estimated at $2.4 billion. The first payment is scheduled this year. The last is scheduled for 2049. Loria sold the Marlins in 2017 for $1.2 billion. The Marlins unironically call their ballpark loanDepot Field. The team stinks.
I will be able to copy-paste the above blurb for the next 23 years and it will be accurate. Indeed, I copy-pasted it from last year’s season preview.
Why have the Atlanta Braves been so quiet?
In 2021, the Braves won the World Series, and in the ensuing years they signed the following young players to expensive, long-term deals:
Austin Riley, 3B
Matt Olsen, 1B
Spencer Strider, SP
Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
Sean Murphy, C
Michael Harris, CF
Ozzie Albies, 2B
They formed a core that won more than 100 games in both 2022 and 2023, but the Braves have underwhelmed since. They even finished below the Marlins last year. Most of the aforementioned players have either have been hurt or have underperformed, exposing the risk of the Braves’ payroll gamble. They don’t really have roster flexibility, so they’ve nibbled around the edges and swung some trades, to varying levels of success.
Oh, and the team’s owner, Liberty Media, spent over $3 million on campaign contributions in 2024, nearly all of it going to Republicans. Why field a winning ball club when you can “buy” illogical trade restrictions, net-zero immigration, and incompetent governance?
Years after trading away Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, and Juan Soto, the Washington Nationals are finally ready to emerge from their rebuild, right? Right???
(Here’s a great video summarizing the plight of the Nationals.)
N.L. Central
Why did the Milwaukee Brewers trade their best pitcher?
Freddy Peralta posted 2.70 ERA last season across 33 starts, cementing him as one of the game’s best starting pitchers. The Brewers, coming off a 97-win season and with a solid core intact, traded him to the Mets. Competitively, it makes no sense, but this is American sports we’re talking about. Winning doesn’t matter. Peralta is due $8 million in 2026, then he’s a free agent. It’s particularly frustrating because, in 2023, Wisconsin committed $500 million to improve the Brewers’ ballpark. Taxpayers are subsidizing the Brewers’ stinginess.
Will you beat up on the Chicago Cubs owner again?
Yes. The New Yorker called Cubs owner Todd Ricketts the president’s “fundraiser-in-chief,” and it came out in April that the Ricketts family spent $1.6 million on Trump’s 2024 inauguration. Since then, ICE agents descended on Chicago, leaving lasting impact on the city and its immigrant communities. While federal agents patrolled the streets, ICE broadcasted recruitment ads, including, according to intrepid Redditors, on Marquee Sports Network during Cubs games. Half of Marquee is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group, an arch-conservative conglomerate. The other half is owned by the Cubs. Am I alleging that, through the ICE ads, Ricketts received a kickback paid with taxpayer funds? No, not at all.
Did the Cincinnati Reds just get a new owner?
This week, MLB owners approved the transfer of the Reds from Bob Castellini to his son, Phil. (Don’t let anyone tell you that the U.S. isn’t a meritocracy.) In 2022, Phil infamously said “Well, where are you gonna go?” in response to fans complaining about the team trading away its best players. He followed that up the next year by bemoaning guaranteed contracts in baseball. The team will never win anything while the Castellini’s are in charge.
What is there to say about St. Louis Cardinals?
Not much. The Cards traded away their best players, and their owner is seeking subsidies for stadium renovations and calling for a salary cap. Standard fare.
Are the Pittsburgh Pirates actually trying?
Well, in signing first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, the Pirates did ink their first multi-year free agency deal since Barack Obama was president. They also tried to sign several top free agents, including the Phillies’ designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, and the team made some solid trades. Trevor May’s newsletter Mayday thinks the Pirates are contenders in the weak N.L. Central. It’s easy to be jaded, what with team owner Rob Nutting being among the worst owners in American sports, but I’m down for some Postseason Pirates.
N.L. West
Are the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that forcibly removed a Mexican-American community from Chavez Ravine to build their stadium and a team supported by millions of people of color and a team that employs many immigrants — superstar Shohei Ohtani being one of them —actually going to the White House to commemorate their World Series victory with Donald Trump?
Yes.
What have the San Diego Padres been up to lately?
In the past year or so, the team has:
Opposed a minimum wage increase in San Diego;
Opposed the increase of public parking rates, a move meant to close budget holes and avoid slashing public services;
Privatized the management of public streets near Petco Park;
Increased season tickets prices by 7%, on average, marking the fifth straight year of increases;
Announced the team is for sale, which will almost certainly net the owners billions (a few decades ago, the Padres could have been a public asset); and
Amid ownership uncertainty, refuse to give president of baseball operations A.J. Preller a new contract.
Preller, of course, is the man responsible for the Padres current golden era. But why let competitiveness and the well-being of your fans get in the way of making money?
Is San Francisco Giants chairman Greg Johnson one of the few in baseball who isn’t crying about the Dodgers?
Yes, thankfully. In the NLDS, the Phillies outscored the Dodgers, had more hits and home runs, posted a lower ERA, and, until the very last play of the series, committed fewer errors. The Dodgers won the series 3-1. The Toronto Blue Jays took the Dodgers to seven games in the World Series, and they could have won the championship, like, 37 different times, if not for bad luck and insane plays. We do not need to change the rules for the Dodgers, and a salary cap will not bring about parity.
Last year, you said the Arizona state legislature was on the verge of allocating tens of millions of dollars to renovate Chase Field at the behest of the Diamondbacks owner. Did that come to fruition?
Yes, but I misspoke. It turned out to be hundreds of millions, not tens of millions. $500 million, to be exact. There’s nothing like taxpayers footing the bill for a new roof and HVAC system to ensure your team finishes in fourth place in their division every year.
Why do the Colorado Rockies exist?
I don’t know, but to be fair: Coors Field is criminally underrated, Rockies fans show up even when their team stinks, as it will this year, and owner Dick Monfort isn’t afraid to spend money. Now, he might spend it terribly, but it’s something.
Intermission
Dodgers fans can have their free agents and their World Series. I will always have this:
A.L. East
How do the Toronto Blue Jays recover from losing what was arguably the greatest World Series ever?
By reimposing vaccine mandates.
Did New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner cry poor AGAIN this offseason?
Yes. Last year, Steinbrenner said, "It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that [the Dodgers are] doing. Payrolls at levels we’re at right now are simply not sustainable for us financially.”
After the season, Steinbrenner said, “Everybody wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including the $100 million expense to the city of New York that we have to pay every Feb. 1, including the COVID year. It all starts to add up in a hurry.” (For the record, that payment to the city is for rent, because the Yankees got taxpayers to pay for their mausoleum of a ballpark.)
The Yankees are worth over $7 billion, and in 2024 they generated a record $412 million in ticket sales. That’s just one of their revenue streams. And yet, this year, they’re running back the same team. As I said last year, Steinbrenner being cheap is far worse for baseball than the Dodgers paying for good players. I will die on this hill.
Can you remind me of the incompetence of the Boston Red Sox?
Happily. In 2020, the Sox traded a prime Mookie Betts because they didn't want to resign him to a long-term deal. Betts has since won two World Series with the Dodgers and is playing himself into Hall of Fame contention. The last vestige of that trade, catcher Connor Wong, posted a -0.6 bWAR last season for the Sox.
In 2023, the Sox signed third baseman Rafael Devers to a mega-contract. Two years later, they signed third baseman Alex Bregman to a mega-contract. Team executives leaked to the media a bunch of garbage about Devers after he, understandably, refused to change his position to accommodate Bregman. The Sox then traded Devers to the Giants, getting almost nothing in return because they offloaded the entire contract onto San Francisco. The Sox missed the playoffs.
In the offseason, Bergman opted out of his deal and signed with the Cubs. The Sox’ hopes for the playoffs in 2026 now rests on a bunch of rookies, when they could have had a lineup featuring Betts, Devers, and Bregman. Nice work.
Was ultra-billionaire and Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein named in the Epstein Files?
Yes.
What’s the latest on Tampa Bay Rays ballpark saga?
In 2024, Hurricane Milton ravaged the Tampa area and significantly damaged the Rays’ Tropicana Field. It threw a wrench into the Rays’ plans for a new ballpark—local jurisdictions could no longer afford to subsidize a new facility—and it ultimately led to the sale of the team to billionaire developer Patrick Zalupski.
Last week, we got renderings for yet another iteration of a new Rays ballpark. To make it come to fruition, the team is asking public authorities for a mere $2.25 billion in taxpayer subsidies. Local elected officials are considering raiding a community infrastructure fund to make it happen. In the meantime, the Rays’ return to the moribund Tropicana Field.
A.L. Central
Did the Detroit Tigers, with MLB’s concurrence, try to lowball all-world starting pitcher Tarik Skubal in salary arbitration, but instead stepped on a rake and set a precedent that could lead to players getting paid more?
Yes.
Do I need to know anything about the rest of the teams in this division?
No.
A.L. West
Did you forget to include the Seattle Mariners in your preview last year?
Yes. I will make up for it by not saying anything poorly about the team or its management and by linking to a 40-minute compilation of their late-inning magic last season.
Are the Houston Astros cheaters?
Are the Texas Rangers still the only MLB team that doesn’t celebrate the LGBTQ community?
Yes.
What’s the latest on the [redacted] Athletics?
The Athletics’ departure from Oakland and its residency in West Sacramento are disgraceful episodes in MLB history. I went to a game at Sutter Health Park and it’s simply an unserious operation. That said, the Athletics signed much of its young, exciting core to long-term deals, and the club’s ballpark in Las Vegas is under construction. I won’t be upset watching Nick Kurtz hit bombs into the MGM Grand marquee.
The Anaheim Angeles are a dumpster fire.
That’s not a question, but I agree. Here’s a list of recent key events:
2019 - Mike Trout has his last great season.
2020 - the team signs third baseman Anthony Rendon, which would become one of, if not the worst contract in North American sports history.
2021 - Albert Pujols’ 10-year, $210-million contract elapses. The team would make the playoffs just once in his tenure.
2022 - the team gets ensnarled in an FBI investigation involving the redevelopment of the Angels’ ballpark site.
2023 - Shohei Ohtani’s contract elapses, ensuring the Angels waste the labor of probably the most talented baseball player to ever live.
2024 - Angels hire veteran manager Ron Washington, who would later require heart surgery and end his tenure prematurely.
2025 - they finish last in the AL West, then hire Kurt Suzuki as their new manager, though on a peculiar one-year deal.
Arte Moreno needs to sell the team.
Yep. They don't get a penny from me....but somehow I still watch any game I want.
Brilliant. You are the H.L. Mencken of baseball, which is to say the most incisive commentator of American baseball and therefore American culture in this drab season of our nation’s 250th anniversary. Laughed until I cried.