There are presently eight teams that are all in on a rebuilding program: the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. Although there are other teams that are retooling, revamping or building, these eight are in more of a full rebuild.
Interestingly, they are all going about it in different ways. The Braves for example, have been doing it in a different way than how the Cubs did it. The Braves have focused mostly on pitching while the Cubs focused their rebuild on hitters. The Padres have taken a high-risk, high-reward strategy, while the White Sox and Phillies have rebuilt mostly through the trade market. There is no single right answer on the best way to build a franchise and it can be done in several different ways.
Here is a progress report and ranking of the eight rebuilding franchises:
The Padres have put together the best long-term rebuilding program of all of the teams. Their philosophy is all based on high-ceiling players from the draft, international signings and trades. They don't care about how close a player is to the majors, they just want impact players. They're OK with the reality that they might hit on only one of five players, but when they do hit they’re looking for All-Star-caliber, difference-making players. Every trade they’ve made has been about getting the best prospect, not about the level of risk or distance to the big leagues.