2023 MLB Power Rankings: Where do teams stand with ST approaching?

30. Washington Nationals
29. Oakland Athletics
28. Cincinnati Reds
27. Pittsburgh Pirates
26. Kansas City Royals

In a league full of teams not putting their best foot forward, the Nationals project to be the worst team in baseball this upcoming season. They won just 55 games a season ago, and that was despite employing Juan Soto and Josh Bell for a portion of the season. C.J. Abrams is an intriguing young player, and Joey Meneses could prove to be a late-blooming star. But Dave Martinez and the Nationals may very well end up with the No. 1 overall pick for the second consecutive season.

25. Detroit Tigers
24. Colorado Rockies
23. Miami Marlins
22. Los Angeles Angels
21. Arizona Diamondbacks

Mike Trout may spend his entire career with the Angels, but as Shohei Ohtani enters a contract year, it feels increasingly like his time with the Halos is winding down. So too is Arte Moreno's time as owner of the franchise. Some day there will be a documentary made about how the Angels managed to land two of the best players in MLB history, and absolutely squander the chance to have success as a team while both were in their primes.

20. Boston Red Sox
19. Chicago Cubs
18. San Francisco Giants
17. Texas Rangers
16. Minnesota Twins

If you thought signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien for a combined $500 million last offseason wasn't for the risk averse, the Rangers doubled down on the strategy this offseason. Jacob deGrom might have the greatest arsenal of any pitcher in league history, but he'll turn 35 in June and has made 26 total starts over the last two seasons. Nathan Eovaldi finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2021, but regressed to a 4.30 FIP in 2022 and has a lengthy injury history of his own. It's not that we can't see the best-case scenario for the Rangers, but there sure are a lot of "ifs".

15. Baltimore Orioles
14. Chicago White Sox
13. Milwaukee Brewers
12. St. Louis Cardinals
11. Tampa Bay Rays

The White Sox were far too talented to finish at .500 in 2022. Of course, when Yoán Moncada, Luis Robert, Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal and Eloy Jiménez all play less than 105 games, that's not going to be a formula for success in the South Side. In 2023, the White Sox are due for better health, and probably more stability under new manager Pedro Grifol. If Lucas Giolito bounces back, the White Sox could very well compete for the AL Central title.

10. Seattle Mariners
9. Cleveland Guardians
8. Philadelphia Phillies
7. Toronto Blue Jays
6. New York Yankees

The formula that the Phillies used to get to the World Series in 2022 -- overcome a 21-29 start, sneak in as the final Wild Card representative in the NL -- isn't a sustainable one. But while the defending NL Champions will be without Bryce Harper to open the season, they signed Trea Turner to an 11-year/$300 million deal this winter. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has bolstered the bullpen with the additions of Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto. It's hard to think Nick Castellanos won't bounce back to some degree after a disappointing first season with the Phillies. Unquestionably, the 2023 Phillies should win more games than the 87 that they did a season ago. The only problem is they are in a division with two teams that won over 100 games this past season.