As the calendar flips to the new year, it's a time for everyone to set new goals and make predictions for the months ahead -- and MLB teams are no different.

With that in mind, each of our beat reporters was asked to make one prediction for their respective team next season.

Here's a look at what they believe is to come in 2025:

AL EAST

Blue Jays: Bichette bounces back to stardom

Bo Bichette bounces back to being the player he was prior to 2024. One ugly season has completely changed the narrative around Bichette -- and understandably so -- but this is still a player fully in his prime who has led the AL in hits twice (2021 and ¡®22). Add in the motivation of Bichette¡¯s pending free agency, where he could land a major payday, and there is legitimate reason to believe in a resurgence from Bichette. Last season snowballed on the young shortstop, both physically and mentally, so a fresh start in February should do wonders for him.

Orioles: Postseason winless drought ends

The O's should plug the rest of their roster holes this offseason, putting themselves in a spot to again be among the AL¡¯s top teams in 2025. It will help that their young position-player core -- catcher Adley Rutschman, shortstop Gunnar Henderson, infielder Jordan Westburg, outfielder Colton Cowser and others -- will have had another year of MLB experience. There¡¯s too much talent on Baltimore¡¯s roster for this team to continue to get bounced from the postseason without winning a game. The O¡¯s will take the next step and be a legitimate World Series contender next season, especially if they keep improving their pitching staff along the way.

Rays: A franchise-record three players will hit 30 home runs

This might not sound like much, but consider this: There have been only 18 individual 30-homer seasons in franchise history, and Tampa Bay has never had three in the same year. (The Rays have had a pair of 30-homer hitters five times, most recently Brandon Lowe and Mike Zunino in 2021.) Last season, Lowe led the team with 21 homers despite playing only 107 games. But it¡¯s not hard to imagine Lowe and fellow lefty hitter Josh Lowe capitalizing on the move to Steinbrenner Field, with both the outdoor environment and the shorter right-field porch helping to provide a big jolt of left-handed power. And there¡¯s no doubt Junior Caminero has the ability to join them as a major force in the middle of the lineup.

Red Sox: Giolito will be a Comeback Player of the Year candidate

Lucas Giolito didn¡¯t throw a pitch in his first season with the Red Sox after undergoing an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow in March. The righty has worked diligently during his rehab and he was the rare player who built chemistry with his teammates while on a season-long absence from pitching. Giolito¡¯s veteran presence will be a big help to Boston¡¯s young starting rotation, not to mention his ability to eat innings.

Yankees: More regular-season wins despite losing Soto

Are the Yankees better off with Max Fried, Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger than they would be with Juan Soto? The answer is ¡­ a soft maybe, depending on how the rest of the winter goes. Clearly their preference was to keep Soto, but at least one of those three additions wouldn¡¯t be a Yankee today if Soto had stayed. So here¡¯s the prediction -- in terms of wins and losses, yes, the 2025 Yankees will be better than the ¡¯24 edition, which won the AL East with a 94-win showing. Consider that Clay Holmes led the Majors with 13 blown saves; if we put half of those back in the win column, as Williams might have done, the Yankees could have been a 100-victory team.

AL CENTRAL

Guardians: Ram¨ªrez will enjoy his first 40-40 season

Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez has always wanted to hit this milestone, but coming up one home run short in 2024 has to leave him desperate for his next chance to do it. The All-Star third baseman worked against Father Time this past year, nearly doubling his stolen base total from the last few seasons. The more he ages, the smarter he gets on the base paths, and if Cleveland can pick up another power bat to add some more protection behind him in the lineup, Ram¨ªrez could get another crack at joining the exclusive club.

Royals: Kansas City will win the American League Central

The Guardians (92-69) are the reigning AL Central champions, ending the season with a 6 1/2-game lead over the Royals and Tigers (86-76). None of those three teams has made huge moves this winter, and while the Twins always loom as a threat because of the talent on their roster, it seems the division is once again there for the taking. The Royals went 33-19 within the AL Central last year, aided by going 12-1 against the White Sox. They won the season series against the Guardians and Tigers, and went 6-7 against the Twins. Winning the division will once again be the Royals¡¯ goal. Several veterans are returning, and the young players now know what success looks like -- and what it takes.

Tigers: Jobe will win AL Rookie of the Year

Starters Luis Gil and Paul Skenes won their respective league's Rookie of the Year Award last season, ending a drought for starters that went back to former Tiger Michael Fulmer¡¯s victory in 2016. Jackson Jobe -- Detroit's top prospect and the No. 5 prospect overall -- has the talent to follow in those footsteps, and the Tigers are inclined to give him the opportunity to crack the rotation either out of Spring Training or early in the season. If he sticks in the Majors for the full season and wins the award, the Tigers would get an extra 2026 Draft pick as a reward.

Twins: Ryan will get AL Cy Young Award votes

Joe Ryan¡¯s steady trajectory of improvement with his pitch arsenal took him to new heights in 2024, when he allowed his lowest career rates of walks, hits and homers and finished with a 0.99 WHIP that, if qualified, would have put him fourth among AL starting pitchers. A teres major strain sidelined him after only 135 innings and 23 starts, but if he can sustain his continued improvement across a full season, it would put him among the more effective starters in the game -- and he has already demonstrated high-end potential in individual performances.

White Sox: Montgomery will win AL Rookie of the Year

Some pundits might view this as a bit of a stretch, with Colson Montgomery hitting .214 with a .710 OPS during his first full season with Triple-A Charlotte last year. But the No. 4 prospect in the organization -- and No. 37 overall, per MLB Pipeline -- found something over his final 99 at-bats and carried that success into a short Arizona Fall League stint in which the shortstop played almost exclusively at third base. The changes were as much mental as they were physical in dealing with the first prolonged struggle in an otherwise stellar athletic showing, and Montgomery brings a wave of confidence into an already confident demeanor for ¡®25. There was much talk about Montgomery making his debut in ¡®24, but he will have a chance to break camp with the team at shortstop in '25.

AL WEST

Angels: Trout bounces back and returns to MVP form

The prediction here is that Mike Trout finally stays healthy and puts together his first full season since 2019 -- and is squarely in the mix for the AL MVP Award. The thought is Trout, 33, will play more corner outfield to stay healthy and will respond with a 40-homer season while also being more aggressive on the bases. Most of his recent injuries have been due to bad luck, such as his left knee injury in ¡¯24 and his hamate fracture on a swing in ¡¯23, but this year will bring better fortune for Trout, who remains signed through 2030. He's itching to prove he still has plenty left in the tank and this is the year he proves he¡¯s still an MVP-caliber player.

Astros: Brown will win the AL Cy Young Award

Ok, that¡¯s a bold prediction, especially with Detroit¡¯s Tarik Skubal coming off a unanimous Cy Young season and looking like a guy who might win a few more. Hunter Brown¡¯s breakout season was something to behold, though, and was one of the club¡¯s biggest storylines of 2024. After going 0-4 with a 9.78 in his first six starts, he added a sinker to his repertoire on May 5 and it opened up his entire arsenal. He went 11-5 with a 2.51 ERA in 147 innings in his final 24 games (23 starts) and pitched with the stuff and confidence of an ace.

Athletics: Rooker and Butler finish top 10 in AL MVP voting

Few offensive duos performed better than Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler over the second half of 2024. From July 2 onward, the two combined to hit .313 with 44 home runs, 29 doubles and 114 RBIs over the A¡¯s final 76 games of the season. The entire lineup is going to benefit from the shift to a more hitter-friendly stadium in Sutter Health Park after playing in the pitchers¡¯ paradise that was the Oakland Coliseum, which sets up Rooker and Butler for even bigger offensive numbers in 2025.

Mariners: The AL Cy Young Award winner will come from Seattle¡¯s rotation

Logan Gilbert was the only Mariners arm to receive votes for the sport¡¯s most prestigious pitching honor in 2024, but that could change this season, especially given Seattle¡¯s blossoming reputation across the industry for possessing arguably the game¡¯s best starting staff. The Mariners¡¯ rotation led MLB in ERA (3.38), innings (942 2/3), quality starts (92), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.84) and opponents' OPS (.650). Gilbert continues to get better, George Kirby has been in the Cy Young race late in each of the past two years, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo have emerged among the sport¡¯s most talented young arms and Luis Castillo -- if he¡¯s not traded -- has been one of the true workhorses. It all points to the potential for a Mariners vs. the field type of year for the AL Cy Young.

Rangers: deGrom will win the AL Cy Young Award

It¡¯s not that bold of a prediction. After all, when healthy, everybody knows who Jacob deGrom is and can be. But while the Rangers¡¯ ace is perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, he¡¯s been hindered by injuries throughout the 2020s. He hasn¡¯t eclipsed 100 innings since his NL Cy Young Award-winning 2019 season with the Mets. But fresh off of Tommy John surgery, deGrom looked like himself in 10 2/3 September innings in 2024. If he¡¯s anywhere close to the deGrom we all know, he very well could return to the forefront of the Cy Young race.

NL EAST

Braves: Olson will hit 50-plus homers again

Matt Olson hit a franchise-record 54 home runs in 2023, but belted just 29 while tallying a similar number of at-bats in '24. A quick look at his Baseball Savant page shows he didn¡¯t handle fastballs as well as he had either of the previous two seasons. His barrel rate was also noticeably lower and his chase rate was up. But Olson slashed .293/.390/.576 while hitting 14 homers and constructing a .966 OPS over his final 56 games. His 14.6 at-bats per home run ratio during that span didn¡¯t match the 11.3 mark he produced the previous season, but the strong finish created reason to optimistically predict another big power assault in 2025.

Marlins: 2025 will show signs of the organization¡¯s future

Despite a 100-loss season in 2024, there were early indications of president of baseball operations Peter Bendix's vision working. Jonah Bride, Calvin Faucher, Jesus Tinoco and Otto Lopez turned out to be under-the-radar finds that Bendix made so common in his time with the Rays. This upcoming season will be more about how the major players in Miami's Trade Deadline haul -- Connor Norby, Kyle Stowers, Agustin Ramirez, Deyvison De Los Santos, Robby Snelling and Jared Serna -- fare in the big leagues. In order to turn around the club's trajectory, they will be counted upon to be cornerstones that help the Marlins be competitive moving forward.

Mets: New York will win the NL East

The stage is set for the Mets to win their first division title in a decade. The Braves are growing older and coming off an injury-laden season. Without Max Fried, Atlanta¡¯s pitching staff doesn¡¯t look as fearsome as it once did. While the Phillies remain a force, the Mets proved they could disrupt their Jersey Turnpike rivals even before signing Juan Soto. Carlos Mendoza¡¯s club may not enter next season as the on-paper NL East favorites, but they have as good a chance as any club to lock down the division. It¡¯s a realistic goal for them heading into spring.

Nationals: Ferrer earns the closer role

The Nationals non-tendered All-Star right-hander Kyle Finnegan in November, leaving the closer role up for grabs. The Nats were impressed by what they saw from the 24-year-old Jose A. Ferrer just one season after debuting in July 2023. In spite of missing the first 97 games of ¡®24 because of a left lat strain, the southpaw returned to pitch to a 3.38 ERA and allowed only one home run in 32 innings. He also earned his first career save. Ferrer averaged 98.3 mph with his four-seamer, ranking in the 97th percentile among pitchers.

Phillies: Stott bounces back

Dave Dombrowski revealed to reporters at the Winter Meetings that second baseman Bryson Stott battled a sore elbow most of last season that they say affected his performance at the plate. If true, it points to a big potential bounceback for Stott. He batted better than .300 through much of the 2023 season before finishing with a .280 batting average and a .747 OPS, but he hit only .249 with a .671 OPS last season. If Stott returns to form, he could even move up in the Phillies¡¯ lineup as manager Rob Thomson has contemplated a new look.

NL CENTRAL

Brewers: Yelich wins NL Comeback Player of the Year

During the Winter Meetings, Brewers general manager Matt Arnold told a rather gory story of Christian Yelich handing over his phone to show images from his August back surgery. Arnold was shocked by the volume of inflamed tissue that surgeons removed in the procedure, which ended a renaissance season for Yelich, the NL¡¯s leader in average and on-base percentage at the time. The upside is that after years of navigating occasional flare-ups, he finally got a fix that could unlock some more good years as Yelich goes into his age-33 season. With a back injury, there are no guarantees, but Yelich is worth betting on.

Cardinals: The rebuilding Cards will push for a Wild Card spot

No, the Cards won¡¯t have Paul Goldschmidt. Nolan Arenado will likely be gone as well. But the club is confident that giving more playing time and less pressure to youngsters Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Thomas Saggese, Victor Scott II, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, Ryan Fernandez, Michael McGreevy and Gordon Graceffo will allow their talent to shine through. If the young Cards can hit in the clutch -- they were statistically the worst team in baseball with runners in scoring position in 2024 -- they can quickly make major strides. Their chances of putting together a stirring run could be dependent on retaining relievers Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge.

Cubs: Chicago will win first playoff game since 2017

This really should not be that bold of a prediction, but the Cubs were also hoping to be playing on the October stage in both 2023 and ¡®24. They narrowly missed the postseason two years ago and fell short of expectations again last season. In Spring Training last year, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said, ¡°I don¡¯t see any reason why we wouldn¡¯t be favored for our division.¡± Chicago finished 10 games behind the division-winning Brewers and six games short of the final Wild Card spot. With star outfielder Kyle Tucker in the fold now, plus some upgrades throughout the roster, the Cubs look more like a team that can snap its playoff win drought.

Pirates: Cruz has a 30-30 season

Oneil Cruz had aspirations of a 30-homer, 30-steal campaign before the 2023 season, if not a 40-40 season. A fractured ankle in April cut that dream short. He bounced back nicely in 2024, finishing with 21 home runs and 22 steals, but it tells only part of the story. Cruz consistently improved as he healed and got his timing back and turned a corner against left-handed pitching. If he continues to grow -- or even just do what he did in the second half of last season over a full campaign -- he could join Barry Bonds as the only Pirates to have a 30-30 season.

Reds: De La Cruz will be the NL MVP

Set to turn 23 on Jan. 11 and entering his third big league season, it feels like Elly De La Cruz is still scratching the surface of his potential. Despite leading the Majors last season with 218 strikeouts, 29 errors and running into a league-leading 15 outs on the basepaths, the switch-hitting shortstop hit 25 home runs with an .808 OPS, 67 stolen bases and 76 RBIs while playing 160 games. It was good enough to finish eighth in NL MVP voting. If he can cut down on the mistakes and improve from the right side while still trending upwards on his power and speed, De La Cruz will have a chance to be Cincinnati's first MVP since Joey Votto in 2010.

NL WEST

D-backs: The pitching will be better

The D-backs led the Majors in runs scored last year, but finished a game shy of making the postseason because their pitching took a big step backward from 2023. It seems almost certain that the staff will post better numbers in 2025 -- and it's not just because they've added Corbin Burnes or hired a new group of pitching coaches. It's also because they should have better health and the peripherals should even out. Last year every member of the starting rotation aside from Brandon Pfaadt spent time on the injured list. Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery all have proven track records. Better (and longer) outings by the starters should also help keep the bullpen from being taxed like it was last season.

Dodgers: Los Angeles will challenge the all-time wins record

The Dodgers won the World Series in 2024. They¡¯re expecting to be even better in ¡®25. After rehabbing last year, Shohei Ohtani will be ready to pitch at some point next season, giving the Dodgers another frontline starter to pair with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glansow and big free-agent addition Blake Snell. That rotation projects to be one of the best in the Majors. When you pair that with the fact that the Dodgers still have three future Hall of Famers atop one of the best lineups in baseball, L.A. has a realistic chance to make a run at the MLB record of 116 wins. A lot has to go right, of course, but the talent will be there.

Giants: Doval regains his All-Star form

The 2024 campaign was one to forget for Camilo Doval, who lost the closing role en route to recording a career-high 4.88 ERA over 62 relief appearances. Still, the Giants are confident Doval will be able to bounce back from the down year and return to the dominance he showed in 2023, when he earned his first career All-Star nod while leading the National League with 39 saves. Doval struggled to overcome command issues last year, but he still possesses one of the most electric arms in the league and has more than enough talent to reestablish himself as a force at the back end of San Francisco¡¯s bullpen in 2025.

Padres: San Diego will be in the postseason again

It's something this franchise has struggled with -- the Padres have not been able to build on strong seasons. After reaching the playoffs in 2020 and '22, they followed with wildly disappointing campaigns in '21 and '23, respectively. After a strong ¡®24 campaign, this year should be different. For one, things seem a bit more stable in the clubhouse. The core of the team should be back with a number of stars still in their primes and Jackson Merrill only just entering his. Plus, there should be no shortage of hunger after the team came oh-so-close to knocking off the eventual-champion Dodgers in the NLDS. The Padres haven't reached consecutive postseasons since 2005-06. No reason they can¡¯t change that unsightly fact in '25.

Rockies: Youth takes over

After being young in 2024, the Rockies will be even younger in '25. By the time the Trade Deadline is over, the club could regularly field a lineup with only two 30-year-olds (third baseman Ryan McMahon and right fielder/designated hitter Kris Bryant) -- or three on days when 35-year-old Jacob Stallings catches. The bullpen turned young last year, and this could be the year for youth to take over the rotation. Prospects such as 2023 top pick Chase Dollander (Rockies' No. 2 prospect/No. 20 overall), Scott Sullivan (Rockies' No. 10) and Carson Palmquist (Rockies' No. 14) will get a look in Spring Training. Additionally, 2022 top pick Gabriel Hughes (Rockies' No. 22) could quickly pitch his way onto the radar after missing 2024 due to Tommy John surgery.