MLB positional battles: 10 jobs, lineup spots up for grabs ahead of 2026 Opening Day

The 2026 MLB regular season is fast approaching and teams around the league will use these next few weeks to evaluate their players and eventually finalize their Opening Day roster. Spring training games, which start Friday,  don’t count, but they do matter. For many players, this spring training will be their best opportunity to win a big-league roster spot. It might be their only opportunity.

With that in mind, let’s break down 10 important position battles taking place this spring, with an emphasis on teams aiming to reach the postseason. These are hardly the only position battles this spring — lots of teams are sorting out their bench and auditioning guys for the last spot in the bullpen — but they’re arguably the most important.

There are a few others to consider, including Dylan Beavers and maybe even Adley Rutschman, though it seems likely the O’s will start the season with one of those three players atop the lineup. Jackson Holliday was the club’s primary leadoff hitter last year, though even before his recent hamate injury, I have to think Orioles wanted to do better than his .314 on-base percentage at leadoff. His place atop the lineup last year had more to do with getting a young player more at-bats during a lost season than putting the team in the best position to win.

Henderson was Baltimore’s primary leadoff hitter in 2024. I’m new school in that I would put my best hitter in the leadoff spot to get him the most at-bats (think Shohei Ohtani), and batting Henderson leadoff would quality. Does rookie manager Craig Albernaz subscribe to that logic? We’ll find out in spring training. Ward’s power is better used in the middle of the order but he has led off at times in his career. Westburg is nursing an oblique injury and isn’t a great leadoff option given his middling on-base percentages. If Albernaz wants to spread out his righty hitters though, putting him in the No. 1 spot is a possibility.

The frontrunner: I’m going to say Henderson right now but this “position” battle is pretty wide open, and not necessarily one that will be determined in spring training. It is really, really easy to make lineup changes. If the offense isn’t clicking early in the season, Albernaz can switch things up and move someone else to the leadoff spot.

We could even add Kristian Campbell and Ceddanne Rafaela to the mix, though it doesn’t sound like Campbell is in the infield plans and Rafaela, who played 24 games at second base last year, looks set to stay in center field, where he won a Gold Glove last year. As things stand, Boston is sorting through several players for both second and third base. Durbin and Kiner-Falefa were brought in right before the start of spring training to add depth. (Kiner-Falefa seems more likely to be a utility guy.)

Complicating matters is Gonzalez’s shoulder issue, which has limited him early in camp. He annihilates lefties and played his way into regular playing time last season. Gonzalez is a natural platoon partner for Mayer, who’s had trouble some staying on the field throughout his career. Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard are the emergency options here. If the Red Sox open the season with one of those guys as a regular infielder, it means a) they got hammered with injuries, and b) they didn’t do enough in the offseason.

The frontrunners: It has to be Durbin and Mayer, right? How the Red Sox align them is another question (it has been Mayer at second and Durbin at third earlier in camp, though I’d argue the reverse is the best use of their defensive skills), but they’re the young building block types. Kiner-Falefa is what he is, and that’s a utility guy best used in moderation. Gonzalez is a must-start against lefties. His playing time against righties will be dictated by the health of his shoulder, his performance, and Durbin’s and Mayer’s performance as well.

This position battle extends into the infield, because the Astros have hinted at playing Jose Altuve in left field and Isaac Paredes at second base. Yordan Alvarez, however, seems locked in at DH. Don’t expect to see him roaming left field much, if it all. For now, Jake Meyers in center field is about the only part of Houston’s outfield that can be considered even remotely settled, and even that’s not a given. The Astros could give Smith, who moved from third base to right field last year, time in center this spring.

Cole gave the Astros a nice boost late last season, though his strikeout issues are worrisome. Loperfido was reacquired from the Blue Jays last week and, frankly, isn’t all that dissimilar from Cole. All things considered, Smith handled himself well last season considering he changed positions on the fly and played only 32 games in the minors after being drafted in the first round in 2024. Trammell and utility guy Zach Dezenzo didn’t impress when they played last year. It’s not the best outfield group for the Astros. This is a wide open spring competition.

The frontrunners: The answer is “all of the above.” Trammell’s a long shot, otherwise Smith (a righty hitter) can platoon with Cole and Loperfido, two lefties. Paredes has been in trade rumors all winter. Trading him for a no-doubt starting outfielder would be ideal, though it seems unlikely at this point, especially after the Red Sox seemingly moved on and brought in Caleb Durbin and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Still, keep an eye out for a Paredes trade, or another move that nets Houston a legitimate big-league outfielder.

Yes, that is No. 6 starter. The Dodgers use a full-time six-man rotation because Shohei Ohtani needs one to manage his workload. Blake Snell’s Opening Day availability is in question because he slow-played his offseason routine after being heavily used last postseason — “You want to ramp up, but I gotta take my time and get healthy,” he recently told the California Post — which leaves an open rotation spot behind Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Three of those four pitchers above are coming off surgery. Wrobleski, who became a trusted bullpen option in October, is the only one who was healthy in 2025. Hurt returned from Tommy John surgery last September. Ryan missed last season with Tommy John surgery, though he completed his rehab and was considered for a postseason roster spot. Stone missed last season with shoulder surgery but is ready to go this spring. Landon Knack was one of 14 pitchers to make multiple starts for the Dodgers last year. He’s still around as a deeper depth option.

The frontrunner: I will say Wrobleski because a) he was pretty good last year and seems to have the trust of manager Dave Roberts, and b) he’s the only one of the four candidates not coming back from major surgery. Ryan is the guy to watch this spring. He’s done rehabbing and the Dodgers did seriously consider him for their postseason roster. It’s high-end stuff, and if he’s healthy, Ryan could pitch his way into the Opening Day rotation while Snell takes his time building up.

The Caleb Durbin trade left a pretty large hole at third base. Shortstop Jesús Made is one of the best prospects in baseball and he reached Double-A as an 18 year old last season. As much fun as it would be, I have a hard time seeing the Brewers jumping Made over Triple-A (after only five games at Double-A) and putting him at shortstop this season, and bumping Joey Ortiz back over to third. Made is a long-term solution. In the short term, the Brewers figure to have a stopgap at the hot corner.

Williams was the prize of the Freddy Peralta trade and he’s going to spend this spring focusing on shortstop. It is far, far more likely Williams makes the Opening Day roster than Made, but even that is far from a given. Rengifo signed with the Brewers last week and has played every position except first base and catcher in his career. He is a much better everyday option than Hamilton, who fits best as a speedy part-time player. Wilken has yet to play above Double-A and has some strikeout issues to work through. Utility man Eddys Leonard is a long-shot third base candidate.

The frontrunner: I’ll say Rengifo for now but I think Williams, who played six weeks in Triple-A last year and had a strong season overall, has a real chance to win the shortstop job this spring, which would push Ortiz to third and turn Rengifo (and Hamilton) into frequently used utility guys. Long-term, Made and Williams will be on the left side of the infield. Short-term, Rengifo makes the most sense as the stopgap.

Brandon Nimmo, the club’s longest-tenured player, was sent to the Rangers for Marcus Semien a few weeks back. The trade makes the Mets much better defensively on the infield but also leaves a pretty sizable hole in the outfield. They made a short-term/high-dollar offer to Kyle Tucker that ultimately wasn’t enough, and they never really seemed to make a serious pursuit of Cody Bellinger. The Luis Robert Jr. pickup solves center field and Juan Soto is shifting back to left. Right field is a position without a player.

Give the Mets a truth serum and I’m certain they would tell you they want Benge, their top position player prospect, to win the job convincingly in spring training. Benge had a not great cameo in Triple-A at the end of last season though, and he’s played only 56 career games above Single-A. Winning the job is not a certainty. Baty played a handful of games in the outfield in the minors and has nowhere to play on the infield after the Semien trade and Bo Bichette signing. Taylor is a true fourth outfielder who gets exposed with too much playing time. Journeymen Mike Tauchman and Jared Young are other candidates for right field.

The frontrunner: It’s Benge. I don’t think it’s a secret the Mets want him to be the guy. That said, it is not a lock, and Benge will have to perform well this spring to get an Opening Day roster spot. Baty and Tauchman are the logical backup plans. Taylor and Young, and to a lesser extent Melendez, are worst case scenario outcomes. Something will have gone very wrong if one of those guys get regular playing time in the outfield.

The Phillies came into the offseason intending to reshape their lineup and it didn’t really happen, did it? Nick Castellanos is out in right field and Adolis García, who is Nick Castellanos with better defense, is in. The infield is unchanged and J.T. Realmuto is back behind the plate. Center field stands as the single biggest position change, where Crawford is poised to unseat Rojas. Crawford slashed .334/.411/.452 in a full season at Triple-A last year and is one of Philadelphia’s best prospects.

Rojas is an outstanding defender, but his chronically low on-base percentages make it hard for a contending team to carry him even as their glove-first No. 9 hitter. Brandon Marsh led the Phillies with 72 starts in center field last season, so I have to mention him here. He’s clearly not in the center field plans though. Marsh is penciled into left field with Otto Kemp as his platoon partner. The top depth option behind Crawford and Rojas is former Astros’ prospect Pedro León, who hasn’t played much center field lately.

The frontrunner: It’s Crawford, for sure. Unless he has a disastrous spring training (I’m talking something like a .300 OPS while looking completely overmatched at the plate), he’ll be the guy on Opening Day. Rojas is the backup plan in case Crawford, the son of the longtime big leaguer Carl Crawford, gets hurt in March. I almost didn’t include the Phillies here because their center field position battle doesn’t seem like much of a battle. They’ve have made it plainly obvious they want Crawford in center in 2026.

There are a few veterans to consider here too, including Walker Buehler, Griffin Canning, Marco Gonzales, Germán Márquez, and Triston McKenzie. Point is, those last two spots in the San Diego rotation are up for grabs. Michael King, Joe Musgrove, and Nick Pivetta will occupy the top three spots in whatever order, then it’s an open competition for the last two spots. Sears came over from the Athletics as part of the Mason Miller trade and has the most big league experience. Vásquez made 26 starts (and two relief appearances) in 2025.

Waldron ramped up his knuckleball usage to 55% in Triple-A last season, but also had a 6.67 ERA in 18 starts at the level. He made 26 starts and threw 146 ⅔ innings for the Padres in 2024, then was pretty much out of the picture in 2025. Hart was unable to turn his tremendous 2024 season in Korea into consistent success with San Diego in 2025. He made as many appearances in Triple-A as he did in the big leagues (20 each). Hart re-signed with the club this offseason and the rotation offers for opportunity now.

The frontrunners: I have to say Sears and Vásquez, at least until Canning completes his Achilles surgery rehab. Vásquez because he was pretty good last year (3.84 ERA in 133 ⅔ innings) despite worrisome under-the-hood numbers (4.85 FIP and 5.37 xERA); Sears because he never misses a start and the Padres could use a reliable innings guy at the back of the rotation with Musgrove coming back from Tommy John surgery. This is a position battle that will extend into the season. If it’s Sears and Vásquez on Opening Day, OK, but if they don’t perform, there are others waiting to take their place.

Perhaps it’s generous to consider the Rays a contender given the division they play in and the fact they won 80 games in 2024 and 77 games in 2025, but we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, the Rays declined their $11 million club option for Pete Fairbanks early in the offseason and are now without a clear-cut closer for the first time in several years. Manager Kevin Cash is certainly savvy enough to use a closer by committee, though he’s a shown a preference for a set closer when one is available.

Cleavinger is Cash’s go-to left-on-left reliever and figures to remain in that role, which takes closing off the table. He needs to be available for important matchup situations in the seventh and eight innings. Jax, last summer’s big trade deadline addition, and Uceta both have closer-caliber stuff and have filled in as ninth inning guys at times. Money may be a factor in this decision. Saves pay in arbitration and Jax is closer to free agency, meaning closer to being traded away by a Rays team that ships out its highest-salaried players every offseason. Using Jax as the saves guy would keep Uceta’s arbitration salaries down. It’s nasty business, but unfortunately these things happen all the time league-wide.

The frontrunner: I think it’ll be a closer by committee to begin the season. The Rays will determine their preferred matchups (we want this reliever facing this pocket of the lineup, etc.) and Cash will use his late-inning relievers accordingly. Effectiveness and/or injury as much as anything will decide whether Cash and the Rays have a set closer at some point in 2026. Given the way these things go, there’s a chance it’s someone who’s barely on the radar (Hunter Bigge? Kevin Kelly?).

The center field position battle in Texas isn’t so much a “battle” as it is just a thing they have to figure out. Carter, Haggerty, Helman, and Langford are all expected to be on the Opening Day roster, Carter and Langford as everyday players and Haggerty and Helman as platoon/bench guys. New addition Brandon Nimmo is shifting over to right field. So, who do the Rangers want in left and who do the Rangers want in center? Langford was a Gold Glove finalist in left field last year, but he has center field skills.

Multiple injuries (back, quad, wrist) have limited Carter, who was a revelation during the 2023 postseason, to only 108 games the last two years. Keeping him healthy is of paramount importance and putting him in left may be the best way to do it. Center field requires a lot of running. It’s not just more ground to cover; it’s having to back up right/left constantly as well. Haggerty and Helman both started 10-plus game in center last year, which says more about the position player plight of the 2025 Rangers than it does their viability as regulars. Alejandro Osuna and maybe even Ezequiel Duran are the deeper depth options in center.

The frontrunner: My hunch is the Rangers will keep Langford in left and go with Carter in center, and use Helman as the primary backup over Haggerty. Another Carter injury could send the Rangers scrambling. That could push super utility man Josh Smith off second base and into the outfield, or mean regular playing time for Osuna.