Lead Story - 4/12/2026

2054 MLB Season Preview

Note: the writing in this article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of bbfan.

+++: 100+ wins
++: 90-99 wins
+: 81-89 wins
-: 71-80 wins
--: 61-70 wins
---: <= 60 wins
#: Playoff Berth

AL East

Baltimore Orioles +++#
New York Yankees +
Boston Red Sox -
Tampa Bay Rays -

BAL - After a lull in 2052, the Orioles returned to dominance in 2053, tied for the best record in baseball, and went to Game 7 of the World Series against the champion Cardinals. Nothing seems to halt a new wave of momentum for the group: Tamayo is aboard, the lineup is great (if you pretend baseball is played with seven-man lineups), they play good defense at all the important positions, and the pitching staff is quite good. All that with a weakened division, and you have the Orioles running away with the division.
BOS - The Red Sox missed the postseason for the first time since 2043 and didn’t come particularly close to it either. The roster itself heading into 2054 isn’t bad, but bringing in 78-year-old David Ortiz to DH Ji-U Saito and putting Dzhozef Cretella in the cleanup spot is already an ominous sign at best for how new ownership will handle things. I can be proven wrong entirely, but until I see it, I cannot be high on the Boston Red Sox (and even if I see it, I can’t be too optimistic, do y’all not remember the 2022 Orioles?!)
NYY - The biggest fear of the Yankees’ dream 2052 season was if it was real or not, and if 2053 was any indication, it certainly was not. The good news? Previous ownership locked Yidel Obama in before departing. The bad news? Big contracts are expiring in the next few years, and none of them is the albatross Ihejirika contract. A rebound is in play for the Bombers in 2054, but the real question is how long it will last.
TB - Tampa Bay entered a rebuild as soon as its current ownership purchased the team, and it looks like it is finally paying dividends. The veterans that it brought in this offseason are enough to supplement the talent coming up through the system this season, so this will be the last first overall pick (and a good one) that the Rays will spend for a while. All that with a lot of money coming off the books, and there’s hope for the future. There is still work to be done, but a competitive 2054 and a big 2055 are in the cards.

AL North

Toronto Blue Jays ++#
Detroit Tigers +
Chicago White Sox -
Minnesota Twins ---

CWS - The White Sox have been stuck in perpetual mediocrity, if not worse, for years now, so this offseason, they decided “let’s just go for it”. Indeed, they did, signing Adeoye as a long-term piece, acquiring Mack and Canm for a run now, and were in it until the very end for Gye. On paper, there are still a few holes, but if there is one thing the White Sox are known for, it is being unpredictable, so a run at the postseason can’t be out of the question.
DET - Speaking of unpredictable, Detroit was so lucky last year that they became unlucky. “What in the world does that mean?” you ask? It had a run differential of +45 and finished nine games above its PYTH record in 2053, yet still missed the postseason by two wins. Not to say that the Tigers are a bad team, but begging Fonatine to come back is the big move in a small offseason; it’s a little hard to say they’re world beaters.
MIN - The Twins finished two games behind in the division two years ago and virtually did nothing, then followed with an even worse season and did absolutely nothing until it was time to get to the salary floor again. This is a bad baseball team, and there’s nothing much else to say. Enjoy the Demontraveous retirement tour though!
TOR - When you spend the previous three seasons signing and trading for everyone and anyone on long-term contracts, there’s going to be a season where you decide to just run it back. That’s what the Blue Jays are doing, and they have earned the luxury to do so after appearing in the ALCS last season. Real breakouts from a coming-of-age rotation alongside continued production from their two future Hall of Famers will make the Blue Jays World Series contenders.

AL South

Texas Rangers +++#
San Antonio Bandits ++#
Music City Stars +
Kansas City Royals -

KC - Some are starting to believe that the current Royals’ ownership is just trolling us at this point. They have been the worst spenders each year since the beginning of the Super Cap era, and their biggest (and maybe only big) move has been extending Tristan Cook to do nothing with him on the roster. If they’re waiting for the division to magically get easier, that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so it’s time to start playing with the big boys.
MC - On the other hand, Music City seems to be in over its head on how much quality is on its roster each year, but this looks like a team that can make actual noise. Eremenko taking most of the DH ABs, a full season of Hank McDaniel, and a follow-up of the Angel Hobbs breakout should be enough excitement. Spending $100 million on a non-lights-out reliever is alarming, but the rest of the offseason is enough to overlook those concerns.
SA - The Bandits returned to the postseason in 2053. Great! The problem is that most of the performances that got them there came from guys on the extreme side of 30. Not great, especially in a lineup that’s approaching the end of its prime. They do have a bona fide ace in Dillard, and it’s possible that the aging curve doesn’t hit atomically hard, but if the Bandits miss the postseason and slip in the standings, that’s probably a good reason why.
TEX - Quite frankly, I don’t know how much I need to say about the Rangers that hasn’t been said already: it’s a phenomenally (albeit rigorously) built roster with a high chance of going to the World Series (other than last year’s nonsense) every single year. The tone stays the same: it’s hard to call a team “World Series or bust” in this sport, but the Rangers are the closest team to that philosophy.

AL West

Vancouver Vespers ++#
Anaheim Angels +#
San Jose A's +
Seattle Mariners --

ANA - This is usually the part where I tell you that the Angels are mid at best, but I’m actually excited to see what Anaheim has to offer this year. A go-for-it offseason included acquiring Greg Bradley, Kumar Alleyne, Dace Foote, and Jaydon Frank (which, by the way, we’ll get to the Dodgers on this…) and starting top prospect Robt McGuire on the big league club. Competing with the Vespers and others for the top spot in the AL is impractical, but being a firm wild-card contender is a real possibility.
SJ - San Jose spent so much time on its pursuit to retain Gye that you almost forgot that there were 27 other men on the roster. Minus Xaryus Clarke, the Athletics are running back the roster that has won a division and won a playoff series the past two seasons. Although they overperformed expectations in those years, the bats should continue to outweigh the determinants that pitching at Cisco Field bring.
SEA - At least the previous two seasons, the Mariners tried to build a lineup directly around Corbin Ray Jenson. This offseason, after the pursuit of Tamayo failed, it’s like they said “well, let’s try again next year!” Let’s be honest: this isn’t a very good roster around Jenson and its three youngsters, and that doesn’t even include the $36 million being paid for guys to NOT play in Seattle (not that it’s an excuse, it's one of the richest organizations in baseball). At some point, losing is going to get tiring, and knowing what he can bring to the table, the opt-out Jenson possesses looks lucrative.
VAN - Maybe there is a curse on the MLB Cup lately? Vancouver missed the postseason in 2052 despite a healthy run differential, then proceeded to tie for the best record in baseball in 2053. We know enough about them to know 2053 is the real team, especially when No Hard Contact FC is the strategy in the rotation. No major moves were made, but George plays second base, and Kikuchi does not, and that might be enough of an upgrade for the whole team. All that to say the Vespers are a pretty good ballclub, and that’s expected to continue in 2054.

National League

NL East

Philadelphia Phillies ++#
New York Mets -
London Lions -
Washington Nationals ---

LON - Whatever luck the Lions were running on the last few years ran out. No postseason for the first time this decade, and not an offseason that inspires a 2054 re-tool. Younghoe Lee is 39 years old and showing signs of age, so the hourglass is really pouring now. His protection in the lineup is fine, but the staff he’s protecting at short is not. Carr and Hanrahan do a lot of heavy lifting for this staff, and it’s unknown how much they can do that. It’s not going to be a pretty season for the Lions; the only real question is how much damage it will cause.
NYM - Last year, the Mets spent money and went right back to winning the division like we were accustomed to. This offseason, the entire front office said it’s my day off, or at least the accountants did. Currently under the salary floor, it said, “here’s Irving-Hamilton and four innings a start unless I’m throwing a no-hitter Kingsley,” and called it an offseason. Of course, there is young talent developing in the farm, so the Mets aren’t out of it for too long, but they have not maximized what could be Inoue’s final season.
PHI - There is no doubt in my mind that the Phillies will return to the postseason this year, considering their current division. The question is, how strong are they after yet another monster acquisition in Shimomura? They have two aces, a proven starter in Greene, and another youngster who has shown signs in Buchanan. Lineup has holes in it, but Ashton Leaf takes away most of them with the glove, and Charlie Booth is the straw that brings everything together. Oh, by the way, it still has incoming developments in the farm. A good postseason seed is in the cards, and I wouldn’t be entirely shocked by a deep run.
WAS - The positive is that it’s a robust farm system. Our partners at Tripwire Sports haven’t released their top prospect list as of this writing just yet, but you’re bound to see a lot of Nationals on it. Maybe as many prospects as wins by the big league team, because goodness, it is BAD, and losing Shimomura does NOT help either section of the rebuild whatsoever.

NL North

Chicago Cubs +#
Montreal Expos -
Pittsburgh Pirates -
Cincinnati Reds --

CHC - I’d really hate for the Cubs to come out of all of this without a pennant, and it seems like ownership agrees. Last time they got this close, they didn’t pull the trigger hard enough, but this time around, they immediately went and got an ace from their division rival and acquired solid depth. While it still lags behind other rosters in the National League, it’s enough to secure the NL North, and it’s enough to give them a shot against the elites like last season.
CIN - Let’s start with the obvious: the 2054 Reds roster is still not good. However, the best development story has come from the front office, and a killer 2054-55 offseason (or once they get their loan back from Toronto) might be the first step towards building a real contender in Cincinnati.
MON - Whoever comes in to run this team is going to have some tough decisions to make. Personally, I believe it’s still a good enough roster to say “maybe we take a couple more wins from the Cubs and competitive teams”, but not much else. On top of being “mid”, it’s also aging, with no real farm system built because the previous two ownerships pushed all the chips into igniting the franchise. Despite attempts to push it back, a rebuild is likely coming in Montreal.
PIT - (RIP Waller) Well, they found the money for Shimomura. The problem is that by the time he signed, there was no one to spend the money on. What did they do instead? Lay the groundwork for a potential retool around Albinson. This will be the first season since 2040 that Dace Foote will not suit up in black and gold, and they received a lot for Phunphoem. Any postseason hopes will have to be put on hold, but the Pirates are in a better position than they were a year ago.

NL South

St. Louis Cardinals ++#
Atlanta Braves ++#
Houston Astros -
Arizona Diamondbacks --

ARI - It feels like I’ve seen the same roster for the last 13 years, especially because the Diamondbacks refuse to accept that it’s not a very good roster. Even though they improved by 15 wins, the organization followed that by re-signing Solanke and calling it an offseason. It’s an unimpressive roster, which will fulfill the annual mediocre season in Phoenix.
ATL - Atlanta’s seeming desire to fully operate as a small-market team means that they are volatile in terms of season-to-season records. But enough about that, a return to winning ways for the Braves should be expected in 2054. They can hit, that’s for sure, aided by the acquisitions of Jim Druhot and Phenomenal Strickland. Kip Bird and Ronald Mercado give them four good starters in a loaded rotation, and despite age not treating Merrill well, he no longer has to be the best arm to go to in the bullpen. The Braves are a very good team, only held back by a sheer desire to stay within the lines.
HOU - The Astros won the MLB Cup and then called it a season with a 68-94 record. You would think an MVP-level bat would help, but the pitching staff was just flat-out bad. Only the Nationals allowed more runs than the Astros last season, which no amount of offense can offset. Ramjohn, a resurgence from Son and Rugrite, and the addition of Marsh and Davidson into the bullpen should help to offset that, as the lineup looks similar, but Houston has been so unpredictable that it’s a wait-and-see and project within the middle of the last two seasons.
STL - The World Series Champion Cardinals bring back a lot of the same roster, mostly because it’s an expensive roster pushing up against their budget. I still believe they can compete for a World Series, but the one thing that does give me pause is that their two aces are in their mid-30s, and if they fall off, it’s up to Milano to pick up quite a bit of slack. I would say it doesn’t matter because of the park factors of MPG House, but I’ve also watched Tae Reese play baseball here for the last three and a half seasons, so who knows.

NL West

San Francisco Giants ++#
Los Angeles Dodgers ++#
Las Vegas Gamblers +
San Diego Padres ---

LV - The most impressive thing you’ll see in baseball lately is a team that loses both of its super sluggers, following with back to back high-80 win seasons and postseason appearances. The Gamblers have done more than make it work, and look to continue to do so in 2055. Their biggest competition is their own division and the Braves, so a similar tough challenge exists for them. They have proven they are up for it, though.
LAD - Gonna be honest, there wasn’t much to say about the Dodgers all the way up until the final month of the offseason. It was the usual for them, re-sign the obvious because they can, sign some depth, trade some excess…then they traded Jaydon Frank for reasons beyond comprehension. They are still a very good team and should continue to be contenders, but boy, that’s a head scratcher, especially when it’s rumored that they’re looking for outfield help…Also, who keeps trading the Dodgers first round picks? This is ridiculous!
SD - We are entering year seven of the Du-Ri Park era, the Padres still haven’t found a way to build a damn thing around him, and now I’m just copying and pasting from the previous season previews. That should tell you all you need to know.
SF - You want to know how good the Giants are? They convinced a starting-caliber shortstop in Iglesias to join the team and be on the bench all season. On a serious note, expect more of the same in San Francisco: exceptional offense, a battle for the NL West, and serious World Series hopes that the city looks to cash in on.

Postseason

AL

1. Texas Rangers
2. Baltimore Orioles
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Vancouver Vespers
WC #1. San Antonio Bandits
WC #2. Anaheim Angels

NL

1. San Francisco Giants
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Chicago Cubs
WC #1. Los Angeles Dodgers
WC #2. Atlanta Braves

WC Series:

AL: ANA @ TOR → TOR (in 2)
SA @ VAN → SA (in 3)

Re-seed: (1) TEX, (2) BAL, (3) TOR, (4) SA

NL: ATL @ PHI → ATL (in 2)
LAD @ CHC → LAD (in 2)

Re-seed: (1) SF, (2) LAD, (3) STL, (4) ATL

ALDS: SA @ TEX → TEX (in 4)
TOR @ BAL → BAL (in 5)

NLDS: ATL @ SF → ATL (in 4)
STL @ LAD → LAD (in 5)

LCS

ALCS: BAL @ TEX → TEX (in 6)

NLCS: STL @ LAD → LAD (in 7)

World Series: LAD @ TEX → LAD (in 7)

Because at some point, it has to happen, right?!

(Annual Cubs Lack of Championship Counter: 146 years…)

League Chat Box

7/24/2025

Budget Premier and Future Traded $$$

Future Traded $$$ (NOTE: payback year is the year in which the offseason falls. ex. paid back 2025 means paid back before the 2025-2026 offseason):

CIN Trades $20M loan to TOR (2055)
WAS Trades $20M loan to TOR (2055)

Future

2054-55
LV Trades $12M loan to TOR (2056)

2055-56
BOS Trades $41M loan to PHI (2056)
PHI Trades $13M loan to CIN (2056)

Giants fall to Angels despite Antonoiu's efforts

Mandeep Antonoiu whiffed 16 batters, but the Angels managed to beat the Giants, 4-3. Lucky Rivers was on fire, allowing just 3 hits over 8 innings for Anaheim. | Box

De Leon powers Bandits to win over Pirates

Gabi De Leon blasted 2 homers, lifting the Bandits to a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh. Awotwi Albinson hit 2 homers in the game for the Pirates. Alvin Dillard struckout 10 Pittsburgh batters in the contest. | Box

Gannon whiffs 12 in 3-0 win

Slick Gannon struckout 12 Toronto batters in a 3-0 win for the Diamondbacks. Jose Felix struckout 11 Arizona batters in the contest. | Box

Astros find a way to survive Allen

Hits were hard to come by against Mark Allen last night, but the Astros pushed across enough to defeat the Rays, 6-5. Allen allowed just 1 hit over 7 innings in the loss. | Box

Nieves tosses shutout for Rangers

Atlanta is hoping not to see Juan Nieves again for a long while. Nieves went the distance, leading Texas to a 7-0 victory. | Box

12/11/2023

Draft Order and Traded Picks

Traded Picks:

2054 Draft Order:



2055 Traded Picks:

ANA Trades 2055 1st Rd Pick to LAD (for OF Frank)
ATL Trades 2055 1st Rd Pick to SD (for OF Strickland)
BAL Trades 2055 2nd Rd Pick to SEA (for 1B Holland)
CIN Trades 2055 2nd Rd Pick to PIT (for LF Phunphoem)
KC Trades 2055 1st Rd Pick to NYY ( for C Hillebrand)
MC Trades 2055 1st Rd Pick to LON (for SP McDaniel)
MC Trades 2055 2nd Rd Pick to SA (for RP Morton)
MC Trades 2055 4th Rd Pick to SEA (for OF Foxx)
SA Trades 2055 2nd Rd Pick to LV (for SS Hudson)
STL Trades 2055 1st Rd Pick to LON (for 1B Esparza)
STL Trades 2055 3rd Rd Pick to TB (for 2054 Pick)
TOR Trades 2055 2nd Rd Pick to VAN (for SS Barlow)
TOR Trades 2055 5th Rd Pick to NYY (for SS Richardson)
VAN Trades 2055 1st Rd Pick to SD (for 2054 SD Pick)
VAN Trades 2055 3rd Rd Pick to TOR (for IFA & Pick)

12/22/2019

Rule 5 Drafted Players

TB - OF Pete Foster (MON), RP Marshall Jacobs (VAN)
WAS - OF Hugo McLeod (MIN)
CWS - OF Brad Mullins (KC)
ANA - LF Ruben Hansen (WAS)
LON - RP Aidan Rayner (PHI), RP Stuart Carey (TEX)
MC - DH Josh Whitworth (PHI), RP Alasdair McNally (LAD), SP Darren Klein (SEA)
LV - 3B Payton Wilson (MIN)
CHC - RP Matt Molina (VAN)
DET - SP Scott Warren (NYY)
STL - C Mason Masterson (WAS), SP DaShaud Sanders (TEX)

7/1/2019

Waiver Wire

If you would like to place a claim a player on this list, please message me with the player's name in the subject. You may have 48 hours to work out a trade for the player, otherwise, the player will go to the claiming team outright.

For all waivers, you have 2 days to claim a player (See Rule 3.6.1). If a player is not claimed by any team in the first 24-hours, it will become a first-come, first-serve basis for the remaining 24-hours.

*-Transaction not completed yet

ALL TIMES EST

DFA (removes player from the 45-man roster, if not claimed, then you may outright them to Triple-A, or release them)


--Claimed

CIN SP Da'Wan Evans (LON)
CIN SP Happy Bourn (CWS)
CIN OF Darrell Phillips (MC)
LON RP Andre Marmalejo (SD)
SD C Bear Disney (SEA)

--Cleared

SEA C Kent Roberts
SEA OF Fisher Carp
SEA SP Alvin Parsons
SA 3B Hugo Larkin
SA SP Carter Johnson
CIN SP Elmer Figgemeier
LAD SP Kendall Escamilla
CWS 3B J.C. McConnell
CWS SP Sharquay Stokes
CWS SP Tycen Haynes
VAN 1B Donnie Halbrew
VAN RP Harold Row
ARI 1B Channing Bradley
ARI LF David Drake
LON 3B Paul Kingdon
LON 2B Mack Stewart
PHI 1B Gabriel Garrido
PHI RP Gaetan Douglas
PHI SP Jason Klein
CIN 1B Marlon O’Neil
WAS RP Elliot May
WAS RP Robin He
WAS SP Robin Justine
WAS 2B Elliot Fuller
WAS 2B Nicolas Newsome
LON 3B Abdul Dallal
SD 3B Scott Lang
SD SS Kamar McNeil

Current Waiver Claim Order:

Present Power Ranking Standings/Last Season's Standings (last to first)
Music City Stars
London Lions
Chicago White Sox

Release Waivers (NOTE: payback year is the year in which the offseason falls. ex. paid back 2036 means paid back before the 2036-2037 offseason)

STL SP Charles Wright - $51M left, $39M fee (paid back 2054)
SEA C Kent Roberts - $22M left, $11M fee (paid back 2054)
SEA OF Fisher Carp - $15M left, $8M fee (paid back 2054)
SEA SP Alvin Parsons - $33M left, $17M fee (paid back 2054)
ANA OF Eddie Brock - $25M left, $13M fee (paid back 2054)
ANA C Valentin Vasquez - $10M fee, $5M fee (paid back 2054)
CIN RP Ben Hewitt - $2M left, $1M fee (paid back 2054)
CIN RP James Kirkpatrick - $1M left, $1M fee (paid back 2054)

7/1/2019

Award Winners

MVP
AL: TOR OF Samen Nikolai
NL: SD C Du-Ri Park

Cy Young:
AL: KC SP Tristan Cook
NL: STL SP Calum Cossairt

Rookie of the Year
AL: MC SS Joshi Azikiwe
NL: WAS DH Angus McKay
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hank Aaron Award
AL: TOR OF Samen Nikolai
NL: SD C Du-Ri Park

Breakout Player of the Year
AL: MC SP Angel Hobbs
NL: LV 3B/LF Xaryus Clayton

Mariano Rivera AL/Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year
AL: TEX RP Curtis Blow
NL: NYM RP Emilien Travert
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AL Gold Glove
C: DET Chandra Fontaine
1B: TEX Lavern Jordan
2B: BAL Gil-Dong Hong
3B: SA Kid Fitzgerald
SS: KC Anthony Lipps
OF: KC Mauricio Vicario
OF: BAL Jake Pennysworth
OF: SJ Rhys Henderson

NL Gold Glove
C: WAS Derrin Mirotic
1B: LV Prevan Patterson
2B: LON Max Bieber Jr.
3B: VAN David Jaskolski
SS: LAD Hiroki Mizohtani
OF: STL Idris Bridges
OF: ATL Jakob Meier
OF: LAD Jaydon Frank

AL Silver Sluggers
C: SJ Miles Severin
1B: BOS Oakley Romo
2B: TOR David Blow
3B: BAL Brinley Quinlan
SS: NYY Christos Diamantopoulous
OF: TOR Samen Nikolai
OF: MC Jameis Ford-Richardson
OF: TOR Les Man
DH: VAN Otilio Tamayo

NL Silver Sluggers
C: SD Du-Ri Park
1B: LON/STL Luis Angel Esparza
2B: MIN Zhancarlo Chavez
3B: LV Xaryus Clayton
SS: MON Ciriaco Iglesias
OF: STL Tae Reese
OF: HOU Devin Bell
OF: MON Beckham Trout
DH: PIT Awotwi Albinson

AL Platinum Glove: KC SS Anthony Lipps
NL Platinum Glove: STL OF Idris Bridges