Part 3 of 3: Box-Toppers’ top five declining clubs for preseason 2026
Last of a three-part series.
The Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers have experienced the steepest declines in the league as we approach the 2026 season.
While both teams have seen their Box-Toppers rankings plummet, the reasons behind their slides are very different. The Rangers have dropped a league-high 15 spots (from third to 18th) as their “phantom points” from late-2025 acquisitions reset. At the same time, the Brewers have taken a more literal step backward, losing high-impact players like Freddy Peralta and Isaac Collins.
This downward trend for several 2025 contenders stands in stark contrast to the teams we’ve profiled so far in this series. In Part 1, we saw the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees battle for the #1 overall spot. In Part 2, we highlighted the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks as the league's biggest “risers,” each jumping 11 spots in the standings. Today, we look at the five teams falling fastest and the unsigned talent still on the market.
A guide to charts in this post
Players changing teams—A look at the top 19 players joining new clubs.
Top remaining free agents—The best available unsigned players as of March 3, ranked by 2025 performance.
Preseason team rankings—All 30 teams ranked by the cumulative 2025 points of players of their prospective 2026 rosters.
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Here are the teams with the biggest losses in Box-Toppers points from the end of 2025 to the current 2026 preseason standings:
Texas Rangers
Loss: First with a 34.4-point loss. Biggest ranking decline, dropping 15 spots from third overall at the end of 2025 (123.6 points) to 18th in 2026 preseason rankings (89.2 points).
Box-Toppers rankings of players changing teams for 2026
Ranger Suárez has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among players changing teams for 2026. Suárez earned 15.8 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with the Phillies and signed with the Red Sox for 2026. Here is a look at the players with the most 2025 Box-Toppers point changing teams for 2026. Shown is their 2025 team, their 2026 team, their position, their 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their ranking among all players in 2025 points.| Player | 2025 team |
2026 team |
Pos | 2025 BTP |
Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranger Suárez | Phillies | Red Sox | pi sp | 15.8 | 10 |
| 2 | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | Mets | pi sp | 14.7 | 12 |
| 3 | Sonny Gray | Cardinals | Red Sox | pi sp | 14.0 | 16 |
| 4 | Merrill Kelly | Rangers | D-backs | pi sp | 12.7 | 23 |
| 5 | Framber Valdez | Astros | Tigers | pi sp | 11.7 | 25 |
| 6 | Edward Cabrera | Marlins | Cubs | pi sp | 11.7 | 29 |
| 7 | Shane Baz | Rays | Orioles | pi sp | 10.7 | 39 |
| 8 | Dylan Cease | Padres | Blue Jays | pi sp | 8.7 | 61 |
| 9 | MacKenzie Gore | Nationals | Rangers | pi sp | 8.7 | 63 |
| 10 | Taylor Ward | Angels | Orioles | lf | 8.5 | 69 |
| 11 | Edwin Diaz | Mets | Dodgers | pi cp | 8.0 | 75 |
| 12 | Adrian Houser | Rays | Giants | pi sp | 7.7 | 86 |
| 13 | Eugenio Suárez | Mariners | Reds | 3b | 7.5 | 89 |
| 14 | Pete Alonso | Mets | Orioles | 1b | 7.2 | 94 |
| 15 | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | Orioles | pi sp | 7.0 | 104 |
| 16 | Brandon Lowe | Rays | Pirates | 2b | 7.0 | 105 |
| 17 | Josh Bell | Nationals | Twins | 1b dh | 7.0 | 106 |
| 18 | Miles Mikolas | Cardinals | Nationals | pi sp | 7.0 | 109 |
| 19 | Nathaniel Lowe | Red Sox | Reds | 1b | 7.0 | 111 |
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Key additions: Pitcher MacKenzie Gore (8.7 points, 26th among National League pitchers) from the Nationals and outfielder Brandon Nimmo (5.5 points, 29th among NL batters) from the Mets.
Key losses: Pitchers Merrill Kelly (12.7 points, 12th among American League pitchers) to the Diamondbacks and Patrick Corbin (7.0 points, 43rd among AL pitchers) to free agency, and outfielder Adolis Garcia (4.5 points, 42nd among AL batters) to the Phillies.
Box-Toppers rankings of remaining free agents
Lucas Giolito has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points (9.4) among currently unsigned free agent players as of March 4, 2026. Here is a look at the players with the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among remaining free agents. Shown is their 2025 team, their position, their 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their ranking among all players in 2025 points.| Player | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Giolito | Red Sox | pi sp | 9.4 | 56 |
| 2 | Patrick Corbin | Rangers | pi sp | 7.0 | 107 |
| 3 | Zack Littell | Reds | pi sp | 6.7 | 120 |
| 4 | Wilmer Flores | Giants | dh | 5.0 | 202 |
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Key holdovers: Pitchers Nathan Eovaldi (14.4 points, sixth among AL pitchers) and Jacob deGrom (11.0 points, 20th among AL pitchers).
Injury adjustment: 0.0. The Rangers’ injury-adjusted total of 89.2 is 16th overall.
Additional thoughts: The Rangers finished third in Box-Toppers team rankings in 2025 despite finishing with a .500 record because they acquired three pitchers who earned most of their points elsewhere earlier in the season. They were boosted by 18.4 “phantom points” from Merrill Kelly (who earned 9.7 of his 12.7 points with the Diamondbacks), Cal Quantrill (who earned all his 6.7 points with the Marlins) and Phil Maton (who earned 2.0 of his 4.0 points with the Cardinals).
Milwaukee Brewers
Loss: Second with a 24.2-point loss. Second-biggest decline in rankings among all teams, falling 10 spots from ninth overall at the end of 2025 (112.6 points) to 19th in 2026 preseason rankings (88.4 points).
Key additions: Biggest addition is catcher Gary Sanchez (3.0 points, 67th among AL batters) from the Orioles.
Key losses: Pitcher Freddy Peralta (14.7 points, eighth among NL pitchers) to the Mets, outfielder Isaac Collins (5.5, 33rd among NL batters) to the Royals and first baseman Rhys Hoskins (4.5) to the Guardians.
Key holdovers: Designated hitter Christian Yelich (11.2 points, second among NL batters), pitcher Quinn Priester (11.0 points, 14th among NL pitchers), pitcher Brandon Woodruff (9.7 points, 20th among NL pitchers).
Injury adjustment: 0.0.
Houston Astros
Loss: Third with a 22.7-point loss, a six-spot decline (tied for fourth-biggest decline) from 16th overall at the end of 2025 (101.9 points) to 22nd in 2026 preseason rankings (79.2 points).
Key addition: Starting pitcher Mike Burrows (2.0 points) from the Pirates.
Key losses: Pitcher Framber Valdez (11.7 points, 13th among AL pitchers) to the Tigers and outfielder Jesús Sánchez (4.5 points) to the Blue Jays.
Key holdovers: Pitcher Hunter Brown (13.4 points, ninth among AL pitchers), second baseman Jose Altuve (8.0 points, ninth among AL batters) and closing pitcher Josh Hader (7.0 points, second among AL closers).
Injury adjustment: -5.0. Their injury-adjusted total of 74.2 is 23rd among teams. Four pitchers are slated to miss much or all of 2026, including Brandon Walter, Luis Garcia, Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski.
Philadelphia Phillies
Loss: Fourth with 21.3-point loss, a five-spot decline from first overall at the end of 2025 (131.4 points) to sixth in 2026 preseason rankings (110.1 points).
Key addition: Right fielder Adolis Garcia (4.5 points, 42nd among AL batters) from the Rangers.
Key losses: Pitchers Ranger Suárez (15.8 points, 10th overall, sixth among NL pitchers) to the Red Sox and Walker Buehler (6.0 points, 47th among NL pitchers) to the Padres.
Key holdovers: Pitchers Zack Wheeler (20.1 points, third overall, second among NL pitchers), Jesús Luzardo (17.4 points, eighth overall, fifth among NL pitchers), and Cristopher Sánchez (15.4 points, 11th overall, seventh among NL pitchers). Also, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12.0 points, first among NL batters).
Injury adjustment: -6.6 points. It’s the third-largest injury adjustment among all teams, bringing their injury-adjusted total to 103.5, 11th among all teams. Zack Wheeler is expected to miss perhaps one-third of the season recovering from thoracic outlet decompression surgery. While we subtract a third of his points from his 2025 total, it should be noted that he missed about the last third of 2025 after his injury arose. However, it is also worth noting that not all pitchers return to their previous form after undergoing this procedure.
St. Louis Cardinals
Loss: Fifth with 19.5-point loss, a seven-spot decline (the third-biggest drop) from 21st overall at the end of 2025 (80.4 points) to 28th in 2026 preseason rankings (60.9 points).
Key addition: Pitcher Dustin May (5.7 points, 61st among AL pitchers) from the Red Sox.
Key losses: Pitcher Sonny Gray (14.0 points, ninth among NL pitchers) to the Red Sox, pitcher Miles Mikolas (7.0 points, 39th among NL pitchers) to the Nationals, first baseman/catcher Willson Contreras (5.7 points, 26th among NL batters) to the Red Sox and veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado (1.0 point in 2025, but 66.9 career points, third among active third basemen) to the Diamondbacks.
Key holdovers: Designated hitter Ivan Herrera (6.0 points, 21st among NL batters) and pitcher Matthew Liberatore (6.0 points, 48th among NL pitchers).
Injury adjustment: 0.0.
Other notable facts
Sixteen of the 30 teams currently have fewer points than they did at the close of 2025.
The Washington Nationals are the lowest-ranked team with players on its current 2026 preseason roster having earned 50.9 Box-Toppers points in 2025. That’s a decline of 9.2 points from their total at the end of 2025 (60.1), when they ranked 29th, just ahead of the Colorado Rockies (who rise to 29th in the preseason 2026 rankings).
There are 83 players who have earned Box-Toppers points at some point in their careers who are listed as free agents as of March 5. There are 25 of those 83 players who earned Box-Toppers points in 2025, a total of 56.8 points, which is 2.0 percent of the entire season’s total accumulated by all players (2,887.7).
About Box-Toppers
Box-Toppers tracks who contributes most to their team’s victory. Using standard box score statistics, we identify the Player of the Game for every MLB contest. In the regular season, winners earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point, with bonus points awarded to the top overall and league-specific players of the day. More on how Box-Toppers works.
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Related
A look at free agents at the close of the 2025 season: Ranger Suárez, Kyle Schwarber among free agents with most 2025 Box-Toppers points
This post uses information from Jon Roegele’s Tommy John Surgery List.
Box-Toppers 2026 preseason team rankings
The New York Yankees are the top-ranked preseason team for 2026 as of early March 2026. Players currently on the roster accumulated 128.5 Box-Toppers points during the 2025 season, most of any team. Shown below are each team ranked by the cumulative 2025 Box-Toppers points of players on current rosters. Here’s a look at columns in the chart:• The first two columns show each team’s cumulative Box-Toppers point totals as of early March (2026), with their ranking among all teams (R ’26).
• The second two columns show each team’s cumulative Box-Toppers point totals at the end of the 2025 regular season, with their ranking among all teams (R ’25).
• The next column (+/-) shows the Box-Toppers point gain or loss each team has had since the end of 2025.
• The next three columns reflect how injuries (and other factors) are impacting each team’s Box-Toppers point totals. The first of the three columns shows each team’s injury adjustment (Inj Adj), including players who will not be available in 2026 based on their 2025 Box-Toppers point total. The next two columns show each team’s cumulative Box-Toppers point totals as of early March with the injury adjustment applied (2026 IA), with their ranking among all teams with their injury adjusted points (Rank w/IA).
| Team |
R ’26 |
2026 |
R ’25 |
2025 |
+/- |
Inj Adj |
Rank w/IA |
2026 IA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 1 | 128.5 | 2 | 127.1 | +1.4 | -5.4 | 2 | 123.1 |
| Cubs | 2 | 125.8 | 7 | 117.6 | +8.2 | -0.2 | 1 | 125.6 |
| Red Sox | 3 | 120.4 | 8 | 112.7 | +7.7 | 0.0 | 3 | 120.4 |
| Tigers | 4 | 116.3 | 11 | 109.3 | +7.0 | -4.9 | 5 | 111.4 |
| Blue Jays | 5 | 113.6 | 10 | 111.7 | +1.9 | -1.0 | 4 | 112.6 |
| Phillies | 6 | 110.1 | 1 | 131.4 | -21.3 | -6.6 | 11 | 103.5 |
| Padres | 7 | 109.6 | 4 | 118.6 | -9.0 | -4.7 | 9 | 104.9 |
| Mariners | 8 | 108.1 | 6 | 117.6 | -9.5 | -1.0 | 6 | 107.1 |
| Dodgers | 9 | 107.0 | 5 | 117.9 | -10.9 | -0.4 | 7 | 106.6 |
| Braves | 10 | 107.0 | 13 | 106.0 | +1.0 | -8.3 | 13 | 98.7 |
| Royals | 11 | 105.4 | 12 | 107.4 | -2.0 | 0.0 | 8 | 105.4 |
| Reds | 12 | 103.8 | 15 | 102.7 | +1.1 | 0.0 | 10 | 103.8 |
| Orioles | 13 | 101.7 | 24 | 76.5 | +25.2 | -2.1 | 12 | 99.6 |
| Mets | 14 | 98.8 | 14 | 104.5 | -5.7 | -9.7 | 17 | 89.1 |
| D-backs | 15 | 93.6 | 26 | 74.9 | +18.7 | -2.4 | 14 | 91.2 |
| Guardians | 16 | 90.4 | 17 | 96.3 | -5.9 | -1.5 | 18 | 88.9 |
| Giants | 17 | 90.2 | 19 | 84.8 | +5.4 | 0.0 | 15 | 90.2 |
| Rangers | 18 | 89.2 | 3 | 123.6 | -34.4 | 0.0 | 16 | 89.2 |
| Brewers | 19 | 88.4 | 9 | 112.6 | -24.2 | 0.0 | 19 | 88.4 |
| Twins | 20 | 85.4 | 25 | 75.4 | +10.0 | -6.0 | 21 | 79.4 |
| Athletics | 21 | 84.7 | 23 | 77.4 | +7.3 | 0.0 | 20 | 84.7 |
| Astros | 22 | 79.2 | 16 | 101.9 | -22.7 | -5.0 | 23 | 74.2 |
| Pirates | 23 | 78.9 | 27 | 69.7 | +9.2 | 0.0 | 22 | 78.9 |
| Marlins | 24 | 74.2 | 18 | 84.9 | -10.7 | -2.0 | 25 | 72.2 |
| Rays | 25 | 73.3 | 22 | 80.0 | -6.7 | 0.0 | 24 | 73.3 |
| Angels | 26 | 66.4 | 20 | 84.6 | -18.2 | 0.0 | 26 | 66.4 |
| White Sox | 27 | 63.9 | 28 | 64.4 | -0.5 | -0.5 | 27 | 63.4 |
| Cardinals | 28 | 60.9 | 21 | 80.4 | -19.5 | 0.0 | 28 | 60.9 |
| Rockies | 29 | 58.0 | 30 | 47.0 | +11.0 | 0.0 | 29 | 58.0 |
| Nationals | 30 | 50.9 | 29 | 60.1 | -9.2 | -0.3 | 30 | 50.6 |
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