Franchise Mode is as popular as ever in MLB The Show 25. The mode allows players to take full control over an organization and make every minor and major decision about the direction it takes. From signing and trading players to completely rebranding the entire team, you have the reins and millions of dollars at your disposal. While you can start with all 30 MLB teams and begin a new Franchise save from this point in time with any of them, some teams require a major rebuild in MLB The Show 25.
Your experience in Franchise Mode doesn’t have to be about winning straight away and signing every major free agent. Instead, a more popular approach is actually taking one of the poorer teams in the MLB and turning them into championship contenders with your choices.
Below, we have listed our picks for the top 10 teams that are the best to rebuild with in MLB The Show 25 Franchise Mode. These teams don’t necessarily have to be the worst 10 teams in the league, but teams won’t be considered if they’ve seen plenty of recent success in the MLB.
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10. Toronto Blue Jays (AL East)
Let’s kick things off with an American League team that’s been stuck in a perpetual “good team, bad results” loop for several years. The Toronto Blue Jays have certainly had the talent to make a deep postseason run for the past few seasons. However, injuries, down years, and overall bad performances have put them in a state of averageness that they haven’t been able to climb out of.
Toronto has some intriguing young players in the Minors, but its major young star is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Vlad is a free agent after 2025, and while it might be difficult to keep him, deciding what to do with the superstar will be your first major choice as the decision-maker for the Blue Jays. You’ll also have to figure out how to get younger pitching and some stability at the bottom of the batting order.
9. San Francisco Giants (NL West)
Next up are the Giants of San Francisco, who put together one miraculously strong season in 2021, but have been on a downward spiral since then. The Giants have some solid pieces in place, such as Logan Webb and Matt Chapman, but the overall roster will have trouble competing in the stacked NL West division.
If you try and rebuild the Giants, you won’t have to start from scratch. However, you will have to decide how to move forward with the All-Star pieces you have on the roster. Do you trade them away to try and beef up the farm system, which is currently ranked 28th by MLB Pipeline? Or do you attempt to lure high-priced free agents to quickly enter a “win-now” mode at the potential cost of your future?
8. Minnesota Twins (AL Central)
The Minnesota Twins are another team that always seems like it can be good, but then peters out at the end of the season or in the postseason (if they get there). The Twins have no concrete superstars on the roster, but players like Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton do provide stability in the batting order and on the field.
Your real task with the Twins will be trying to acquire that superstar player, both on the pitching staff and in the lineup, or deciding to build up the farm system instead. You could completely strip Minnesota down to a team that would likely finish last place in the AL Central, but get some great prospects in the process that might make them a powerhouse within a couple of years.
7. Tampa Bay Rays (AL East)
Tampa Bay has always been a threat in the AL East despite consistently spending almost no money on free agents year after year. The Rays’ luck has seemingly run out recently, though, as their 2025 projection is a last-place finish, and the farm system isn’t nearly as strong as it once was. Being the decision-maker for the Rays presents some enticing opportunities, though.
You could continue on with the Rays tradition of acquiring middle-of-the-road players for no money and developing them into upper-tier players. This has worked for Tampa in the past, as we’ve seen. You could also go away from that philosophy and bring in some expensive free agents to try and immediately compete in a competitive AL East. Tampa is also intriguing as a rebuild project thanks to its stadium and location issues. St. Pete isn’t where the Rays should be playing their games, but Tampa Bay has proven difficult to build in. Perhaps a rebrand is in the future if you take over.
6. St. Louis Cardinals (NL Central)
The Cardinals were once the class of the National League, always competing for a championship year in and year out. However, the roster has gotten older, and the Cards have either shipped out All-Stars or seen a large majority of their previous roster retire. You certainly have a monumental task ahead of you if you try and rebuild St. Louis, as it doesn’t have the best farm system and there’s not a lot of top talent on the current roster.
What you do have going for you are some young pieces, a terrific stadium, and a rich history. It will take a few years to get the Cards into contention, and rebuilding the farm should likely be where you put a majority of your focus early on.
5. Colorado Rockies (NL West)
If there’s one team that deserves a little love in MLB The Show 25 Franchise, it’s the Colorado Rockies. This organization has been so poorly run for years that it almost beckons you to come and take the wheel to try and right the ship. The Rockies have given out strange contracts (cough Kris Bryant cough) and really done nothing with the farm system for a decade plus.
While pitching is always going to be difficult to maintain with the Rockies thanks to Coors Field, Colorado does have a few young pitchers waiting in the wings in the Minors. Chase Dollander and Brody Brecht could both be major pieces during a rebuild. For hitting, the Rockies have a few more studs in the Minors, and they’ll all need to make an impact sooner rather than later. Colorado always has money to spend, but you’ll need to establish the farm before you’re able to attract some free agents.
4. Los Angeles Angels (AL West)
The one reason you want to use the Angels in Franchise is to get Mike Trout his ring. Trout has been one of baseball’s best players for over a decade, and he needs that championship to cement his career. Unfortunately, outside of Trout, the Angels just have very little going for them. The organization has consistently doled out horrid contracts, such as Anthony Rendon’s, and the farm system is laughably bad.
You have arguably the most work cut out for you across all rebuilds if you go with the Angels. However, it’s all worth it if you can sign the right free agents, get some prospects in the farm, and eventually see Mike Trout win a championship.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Central)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are another team that has seen little to no success for nearly a decade. While the team always seems to have solid pitching pieces in place (thank you, Paul Skenes and Jared Jones), the Pirates never seem to put out a roster capable of competing day after day. The Pirates have been in the middle of a rebuild since the 2010s, so if you take them over, you’re not changing much in terms of direction.
You have a few solid guys to work with, including Skenes, Jones, O’Neil Cruz, and Bryan Reynolds, and most of them have decent and team-friendly contracts. However, as is always the issue with Pittsburgh, you need to figure out how to put a competent team around the All-Stars.
2. Chicago White Sox (AL Central)
Yes, the White Sox were technically the worst baseball team in history in 2024. While this makes them one of, if not the most challenging team to rebuild, there’s a key reason why they’re not at the top of the list, which I’ll get into in a second. Overall, Chicago has almost nothing going for it in the Majors in 2025. They traded away Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox just like they did with Chris Sale, and both southpaws could have been White Sox greats.
However, it’s not all bad news. Chicago built their farm system back up in 2025 with some great additions in the offseason. They have players waiting in the Minors that should be able to make an impact in the next couple of years. You just need to tread water and figure out how to acquire some veterans to place around the young talent to try and stay somewhat competitive in the meantime.
1. Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas Athletics (AL West)
The best team to rebuild in MLB The Show 25 Franchise is the Athletics. I’m not sure what to call them in 2025, as they’ve left Oakland, but they’re playing in Sacramento until they can officially move to Las Vegas. This uncertainty about the As’ future is why they’re such a fun team to rebuild. You can construct a new stadium in Vegas, perhaps change the entire branding of the team, and control everything about their future.
In terms of the product on the field, the A’s are looking up in 2025. Key pieces like Brent Rooker and Mason Miller make the As an enticing rebuild project, as you can easily build around these guys with free agents and Minor League players. While the A’s have been known to not spend money in the past, that direction is changing, and you can be a part of a new era of Athletics baseball.
And that’s our list of the top 10 teams to rebuild in MLB The Show 25 Franchise. Do you agree, or do you think other teams are better to rebuild? Let us down in the comments.
Published: Mar 28, 2025 03:23 pm