The top of the NL East features some of the strongest contenders to compete for a World Series and it has for the past several years. Some reassured that this offseason, and some didn’t. Some also offer a glimpse of at least trying to move their direction forward. Let’s take a look at some of the notable offseason additions made in the NL East to see which teams fall where.
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*Additions that are projected to be on the major league roster on Opening Day
NL East Notable Offseason Additions
Atlanta Braves – Robert Suarez
After free-falling last season, the Atlanta Braves hope to rebound from an uninspiring 2025. Underperformance was the name of the game for Atlanta throughout the season, from stars to complementary pieces. Health has been the question for the team as of late as well. They come into 2026 with their usual core of players, which is one of the most talented in the league. If they can stay healthy and live up to expectations, the Braves will get back into contention.
The bullpen also suffered last season, ranking in the bottom-10 in ERA. The Braves made sure to try to correct that as, on top of retaining Raisel Iglesias, they signed Robert Saurez to a three-year, $45M deal. He will set up Iglesias in what will be a top 1-2 punch at the back end of the bullpen.
In 2024, Saurez had a 2.77 ERA with 36 saves, while in 2025, he had a 2.97 ERA with 40 saves, making the All-Star team in both seasons. Over his four seasons, he’s tallied a 2.91 ERA and has performed well in the postseason. He is fine with taking a back seat in the closers’ role for a year if that means team success.
New York Mets – Bo Bichette
The offseason started off a little slower than many would’ve liked for the New York Mets but when Steven Cohen got hot, it became a very good offseason for the club. He made a couple of big trades for outfielder Luis Robert Jr. and got the much-needed starting pitching they needed in Freddy Peralta, but the biggest move came when All-Star Bo Bichette was signed to a three-year deal worth $126M.
Between 2021-2023, Bichette hit 73 home runs with 268 RBI with the Toronto Blue Jays. In that span, he also led the American League in hits. His 2024 season was cursed by injury and underperformance, only playing 81 games. Bichette got back to his normal star-level hitting self as he hit 18 home runs with 94 RBI. He also had a slashline of .311/.357/.483 with an OPS of .840 while bringing the Blue Jays one win away from a World Series win. With the hope of staying healthy, Bichette fits a Mets lineup perfectly that also includes Juan Soto.
Miami Marlins – Owen Caissie
The Miami Marlins way overperformed relative to expectation in 2025, having a record of 79-83 and finishing just four games back in the wild card race. They were filled with young and inexperienced position players but had the proven starters in the rotation. Instead of capitalizing on that momentum, they had the worst offseason in the NL East. They traded two of their starters in Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera, as expected, but didn’t get much of a return overall for either.
The one notable name they did get in the Cabrera trade with the Chicago Cubs was Owen Caissie, a top-50 overall prospect in baseball. Caissie can be a hit or miss prospect but he possesses the type of power that the Marlins have been looking for. He also has a plus arm that bodes well out in the outfield. The Opening Day lineup seems realistic for the 23-year-old and if everything works out, has a chance to be a threat in the lineup. The Marlins’ lineup is yet again built around youth and potential upside, making for an interesting 2026.
Philadelphia Phillies – Adolis Garcia
The offseason for the Philadelphia Phillies would’ve looked a whole lot different if they had gotten a deal done with Bichette. The two sides were reportedly close to a deal before the Mets swooped in and signed him. That, in turn, ended up being a backbreaker for the Phillies’ offseason. Instead, they will run it back in hopes of being in World Series contention like they have for the past several years. They re-signed Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, who have been key pieces to these recent Phillies teams.
Philadelphia didn’t add too much this offseason, basically settling for running it back as mentioned. An interesting name they did add was outfielder Adolis Garcia. He’s one of the league’s most interesting bounce-back candidates in 2026. It’s a one-year, $10M deal to replace Nick Castellanos in right field.
Garcia was the talk of baseball from 2021-2023 when he exploded out of nowhere. He hit 31 home runs with 90 RBI in 2021, making his first All-Star appearance. In 2022 he had 27 home runs and 101 RBI, increasing his batting average, OBP, SLG, and OPS. Garcia had his best year yet in 2023 when he hit his career bests in home runs (39), RBI (107), OBP (.328), SLG (.508) and OPS (.836) while winning the ALCS MVP and World Series with the Texas Rangers. His overall production decreased over the past two seasons and was his lowest last year. Now he has a chance to get right and bounce back for a Phillies team looking to win now.
Washington Nationals – Harry Ford
There’s a new direction taking place for the Washington Nationals organization that might actually see some steps taken forward. Mike Rizzo was let go as general manager after 16 years, and Paul Toboni was named President of Baseball Operations, who’s just 35 years old. It seems like the team is not only going for youth on the field but within day-to-day operations as well. 32-year-old Anirudh Kilambi was hired as general manager, 34-year-old Justin Horowitz and 31-year-old Devin Pearson were hired as the assistant general managers, 33-year-old Blake Butera was hired as manager and 30-year-old Simon Mathews was hired as pitching coach.Â
The first trade that Toboni made as the POBO was acquiring catcher and top-100 prospect Harry Ford from the Seattle Mariners. Ford is a long-term play, as he’s controllable through 2032. He joins Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams behind the plate for Washington. Ruiz is the favorite to be the starting catcher because of the commitment, but Ford makes a great case to challenge him. The 23-year-old catcher was a September call-up for Seattle but played very limited time because of Cal Raleigh, to no one’s surprise. Ford has shown good numbers in Triple-A and is expected to be a part of the Nationals future for a long time.
Up next: NL Central
Main Image: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
