Until a salary cap is put into place, it'd be foolish to assume anything other than that the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to spend a lot of money. I mean, even after winning back-to-back World Series titles, they went all-out last winter to sign Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz to massive contracts. Wouldn't they be even more eager to spend after an embarrassing NLCS elimination?

But regardless of whether the Dodgers spend or not, they aren't under much pressure to do so. As currently constructed, they're one of the favorites to get back to the World Series, have won twice in the last three years and have invested a ton of money already in their roster. These eight teams below, though, are under a lot of pressure to spend, and do so in a big way.

8. Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox came out of nowhere to make the playoffs this season (and get to within one win of an ALCS berth). As fun as it was to see the South Siders play meaningful baseball, an ALDS exit — at the hands of the Guardians, no less — should not sit well with anyone in that organization. The White Sox should be eager to act like contenders now that they've built a team capable of getting to the postseason.

That means spending to address what was one of MLB's worst starting rotations this past season. The White Sox finished dead last in the Majors in innings pitched from their starters and are in desperate need of multiple arms this winter. If they can add proven arms to their rotation, the Chicago could make some serious noise in 2027. If not, 2026 could be seen as a fluke in hindsight.

7. St. Louis Cardinals

On the surface, a St. Louis Cardinals team that's never spent big and has missed the playoffs in each of the last four years does not seem like a team that's under pressure to spend, but hear me out. The only player under contract for the 2027 season is JJ Wetherholt. No, I'm not kidding. Now that's going to change once players in arbitration get their new deals, but the Cardinals have virtually no money committed to their roster moving forward.

That kind of flexibility is rare, and should allow for a big offseason. After all, the Cardinals were just two games under .500 entering September, despite selling off veteran talent in the offseason and at the trade deadline. After missing the playoffs for four straight years, St. Louis is finally on the upswing. They should spend to get this team back to October.

6. San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres gave the eventual champion Brewers the toughest run for their money of anyone in the postseason, but were ultimately eliminated in the NLDS. This marks the third time in the last three years that the Padres were knocked out in the NLDS or earlier, showing that while they're good enough to get to October, they need to do more to get over the hump. And simply getting back to the postseason could prove to be a major challenge in 2027, given where things stand, mainly due to their rotation being stripped bare.

Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Casey Mize and Robbie Ray are all free agents, meaning that guys like Joe Musgrove (zero starts since 2024) and Randy Vasquez (career 4.02 ERA) are their best starting pitchers right now. Not only do the Padres have a clear roster hole to address, but a new ownership group being in place only adds to the pressure. They need to prove they're all-in on a roster that, with the right upgrades, could make some noise.

5. New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are consistently one of MLB's biggest spenders, and even if they do nothing, their payroll will be one of the highest in the sport for next season. Plus, with Aaron Judge expected to be healthy to begin 2027, you can even argue that they're better positioned to go on a run with their roster as constructed than they were entering the 2026 postseason.

With that being said, the Yankees have not won a World Series title since 2009. That's 17 years without a single banner, and in 16 of those years, the Yankees haven't even gotten to the Fall Classic. Simply running things back isn't good enough, given how they've consistently underperformed when it matters most. The Yankees' consistent success when it comes to getting to the postseason is enough to bump them down a bit, but not off the list.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates made the rare choice to meaningfully add to their roster, trading for Brandon Lowe and signing Ryan O'Hearn. Those moves helped turn a lineup that had been the worst in the league in 2025 to one of the league's best in 2026. It's amazing what spending can do. They had their best season in nearly a decade, going 82-80 and missing the playoffs for an 11th straight year. This goes to show how bad things have been in Pittsburgh, and also how they might be on the upswing if they take the offseason seriously again.

This means paying Lowe, who is set to hit free agency. This means adding a reliever to a bullpen in need of another leverage arm. The Pirates will never be in on the likes of Tarik Skubal, but they don't need to be. They just need to make an effort to be competitive. The core of this team is good enough to be playoff-bound with the right supplementary pieces added. There is no excuse for Bob Nutting and Co.

3. Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays went from being just two outs shy of a World Series title to missing the playoffs in a historically weak American League with a 79-83 record. Part of their demise can be pinned on a lengthy list of pitching injuries, but at the end of the day, they missed out on the postseason because they finished dead last in runs scored and home runs. A better year from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would help, but he alone can't fix this offense.

The Jays only had two players hit more than 10 home runs this season, and one of them, George Springer, is a free agent. This team is in desperate need of multiple big bats, and given how poorly this past season went, the pressure is on the organization to get things steered back in the right direction.

2. New York Mets

As bad as things were in Toronto, the New York Mets were worse, having won just 74 games. What puts the Mets in a worse spot is that this marked their second straight year missing the playoffs since signing Juan Soto, despite spending a ton of money in both of those offseasons. The Mets shouldn't have to feel pressure to spend more since they've spent more than every team not named the Dodgers, but given their results, how can they not?

It's hard to be the most disappointing team in the sport for two straight years and not feel the desire to do something crazy to improve. Whether that's signing Tarik Skubal or getting creative, the Mets will need to make a big move to get back to postseason contention.

1. Chicago Cubs

Speaking of teams that finally spent big money and got rewarded for it, the Chicago Cubs signed Alex Bregman and watched him put the team on his back in the second half of the season alongside Pete Crow-Armstrong. Unfortunately, the lineup around Bregman and PCA has the potential to take a major step back with Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Carson Kelly and Michael Conforto hitting free agency. You'd think that sounds bad, but wait until you hear the names of starting pitchers slated to hit the open market.

David Peterson, Matthew Boyd, Clay Holmes, Kevin Gausman, Shota Imanaga and Colin Rea are all free agents. Justin Steele should be healthy, and Cade Horton might make a late-season return, but that isn't good enough, especially since the rotation was already a weakness. The Cubs have needs all over their roster, and the Brewers winning the World Series should only add to the pressure they have to spend big.