Category: Baseball

With the 2026 regular season wound down, the Mets have officially turned their attention toward the future.

Their first order of business? According to David Stearns, bolstering their starting pitching.

"I do think it is necessary for us to add to our rotation," Stearns said. "We can do that in a variety of different ways. We've talked about this plenty before -- you'd always love to add to the top of your rotation, any team would love to do that -- over the long term, what we need to do is develop pitchers at the top of our rotation, and I think we are proving we can do that, and we'll continue to do that."

This season, the Mets boasted a slew of young up-and-comers on the mound, beginning with Nolan McLean.

In his first full season with the Mets, McLean posted a 3.16 ERA across 31 starts (179.2 innings), eighth-lowest in the NL, and stood as the only Mets starter who didn't miss a single start. Known for his consistency, the 25-year-old followed an impressive 2025 debut campaign in which he became the first Mets pitcher to earn a win in his first four starts.

Behind McLean lie Zac Thornton, Jonah Tong, and Christian Scott, who are all fighting for a solidified spot in the starting rotation. Thornton, 24, earned a permanent call-up July 12, finishing the season with a 3.42 ERA and 63 strikeouts across 84.1 innings. 23-year-oldTongcapped a strong season in which he bounced between the majors and minors by allowing just one run and striking out a career-high nine batters over five innings against the Washington Nationals Sept. 26. Pitching in the big leagues for the first time since 2024, Scott tallied 134 strikeouts to 47 walks in 110.0 innings, which works out to 11 Ks per nine innings and a 2.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Then there's Sean Manaea. Manaea saw his velocity dip during spring training and was relegated to a bullpen role to begin the year. Some success and openings in the rotation bumped him back into the mix, and he flashed a return to form but ultimately faltered, finishing the year with a 4.78 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 33 appearances (19 starts). It'll be interesting to see what the Mets do with the veteran in the offseason, as he's owed $25 million next year. 

While the group has plenty of promise as it now stands, Stearns hinted that he'd still like to a reliable ace to the mix, all while continuing to develop the pitchers currently in the Mets system.

"There are many ways to add," he said. "You can add at the super top end; everyone would love to do that. You can also add players with some flexibility that provide overall depth and length to the rotation as a whole. I do think -- partially through internal development, partially through what we did at the deadline -- we're probably going to have more options in our minor league system going into next season than we've had here previously, which is great."

One worthy target may be lefty Tarik Skubal. The two-time Cy Young award winner finished his final regular season appearance with the Los Angeles Dodgers this year with 10 strikeouts, no walks, and just three hits across seven innings and 75 pitches, 21 of which were swings-and-misses. Skubal, 29, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026 postseason, making him a perfect fit for Stearns' "aggressive" hopes for the offseason.

"There are points where you are selectively very aggressive in free agency," Stearns said. "This is an ownership group that has proven that we have the capability of doing that. Doesn't mean you're always going to land the player, and I think we've demonstrated that here -- whether it's for pitchers or position players -- that when the time is right, we have the resources and the willingness to be that aggressive."

I admit that I didn’t watch as many non-Giants games as I have in the past nor did I really consume much news about the field, so I suppose this feeling of mine is absent many facts, but, it didn’t feel like the 2026 season was a particularly below average run-scoring environment or a strange year in that record. And yet, Rotoworld’s Matthew Pouliot posted some facts to social media yesterday that caught my eye:

Ignoring strike years/2020…

.316 average is lowest to lead the majors ever
45 homers is lowest total to lead the majors since 2014
116 RBI is lowest total to lead the majors since 2014
119 runs scored is lowest total to lead majors since 2014
40 doubles is lowest total to lead majors since 1972

There was also a note about how just three qualified hitters had an OPS of .900 or better, tied with 1976 for lowest of the live ball era. But seeing that trio of 2014s stacked on top of each other reminded me of this 30 Rock joke:

Somehow, Buster Posey and Zack Minasian have made it 2014 again through science or magic. The 2026 Giants look a lot like the last San Francisco squad to win the World Series. So, for comedy and trolling purposes, I took a look at the team statistics for both seasons (ranked by the 27 seasons in Oracle Park)…

Okay, so, there are really only some superficial similarities when it comes to the lineups and the pitching doesn’t really twin out. The biggest, and most meaningful, difference is in the defense, where this putrid 2026 wound up being, effectively, 9 games worse than the 2014 team just from their poor glove work alone. This year’s team was the second-worst of the Oracle Park era, behind only the Joc Pederson Giants of 2022 (-66.2).

The defense and league average offense is how the Giants were able to get into the postseason, while the 2022 Giants tried to overcome their terrible defense with stellar pitching (20.3 fWAR — 7th in MLB) and a lineup they thought would be quite a bit better than league average (102 wRC+ — 14th). The 2026 squad seemed to be setup to follow a similar pattern to that… but if you’re a mean guy like me who thinks it’s funny to imagine Buster Posey basing his team management philosophy on sitting back and recalling what they did from 2010-2014, then it feels more likely that the Giants said, “Well, in 2014, it was Madison Bumgarner and some guys plus timely hitting and solid defense.” Slide Logan Webb into the Bumgarner role with younger pitchers around him than what MadBum had in 2014 and envision Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Ron Washington-enhanced Luis Arraez, and Devers/Eldridge at first base snatching up all those grounders. And Bader in the outfield running down everything else. It was a perfect plan… for trying to recreate that specific season of San Francisco Giants Baseball.

But, as we know, it didn’t work out. Instead, the 2026 Giants were 18th in runs scored out of 27 seasons at Oracle Park (yes, the 60-game 2020 season is included and, of course, comes in last at 299 runs). Sure, just slightly more than a World Series team, but balanced against that is a team that allowed more runs than the 2005, 2007, and 2018 teams. The attempt to 2014-ify the pitching staff failed completely. They struck out 1,204 hitters, just 7 fewer than the 2014 team, sure, and that was bad enough for that time period (21st), but they were 27th in MLB this year behind only the Rockies (1,113), Diamondbacks (1,140), and Royals (1,173). The team ahead of them? The Cubs, but with 1,260.

In the prior front office’s heyday of 2021-2024, the Giants 8.74 K/9 as a team was merely 16th in MLB. But the past two seasons has seen a steep decline in what’s the coin of the realm in the sport these days — the one big skill that can help out a team with poor defense: strikeouts! Last year, the Giants were down to 8.52 K/9, and you see where they landed this season on the chart above.

Just in looking at this data, a real stinker like me could pitch an argument that Farhan Zaidi, the computer programmer with the allegedly poor people skills and who had never played the game at a professional level before, had a better sense of building a pitching staff than Hall of Fame-bound catcher Buster Posey, guider of one of the best pitching staffs the Giants franchise has ever had. Here are the top 10 strikeout seasons since 2000:

2009: 1,302
2016: 1,309
2011: 1,316
2010: 1,331
2025: 1,358
2023: 1,359
2019: 1,368
2022: 1,370
2021: 1,425
2024: 1,436

It is a great irony that the top strikeout pitching staff of the Oracle Park era so far was led by Bryan Price. He is a pitching coach from the prior era Buster Posey seems to be harkening back to whenever he considers how to construct his teams. But you see on this list Dick Tidrow & Brian Sabean Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippening a post-Bonds pitching staff along with Farhan Zaidi, Andrew Bailey, Brian Bannister, and a bunch of supercomputers running regression analysis.

The Giants were also far less successful at stymying home runs, too. The 160 allowed is the fifth-most in the Oracle Park era, trailing only 2004 (161), 2023 (173), 2017 (182), and 2019 (227) aka The Last Year of the Competitive Window with Bonds, Gabe Kapler’s Final Season, Bobby Evans’ Final Season, and Bruce Bochy’s Final Season. They also allowed the third-most walks of the Oracle Park era, trailing only the 2000 (623) and 2008 (652) teams.

Not saying that Zack & Buster can’t get there, but this year makes it seem like they have a loooooong way to go in that respect (developing a very successful pitching staff).

But back to the lineup, since this is where the comparison to 2014 really matters. From May 1st through July 31st, the Giants had a team wRC+ of 107, tied with the Tampa Bay Rays. They hit 104 home runs in 79 games. For basically half the baseball calendar, they were as good as any modern team on the hitting side of the ball. We know the injuries put an end to that over the final two months of the season, but you can see how close to the 2014 model this actually is: good hitting backed up by solid defense to stabilize shaky but not terrible pitching. The Giants’ bad defense made their shaky pitching genuinely one of the worst acts of labor ever enacted in the entirety of human history.

The Giants’ emphasis on contact isn’t a bad one, especially if they’re able to handle high velocity. To that point: they ranked 10th in batting average vs. 95+ mph (.247), but just 21st against 97+ (.214). But you can also look at the numbers and see just how devoted to the 2014 project they just might be. On the season, they bunted 67 times (11th in MLB), but 35 of those bunt attempts (52.2%) came after July 31st, when they traded everybody away and started ILing everybody and the offense tanked. Is this a shift in philosophy or simply strategic change based on personnel? It’s genuinely hard to know.

But also, it’s worth pointing out that the Tampa Bay Rays led MLB in bunt attempts this season (129). Second? The Milwaukee Brewers (89) — two of the best teams in the sport doing something most analysts had discounted more than a decade ago? The Giants hit 178 home runs this season (20th in MLB) to go along with all those bunt attempts and (yes, I’m cherry picking), before they lost their entire starting lineup to the IL, they had one of the lowest strikeout rates in the sport, too (6th in MLB through 7/31). It really does read like the Giants put together a lineup that is well equipped to compete in the modern game and it happens to be similar in a lot of ways to the type of lineup that worked when the Giants last won the World Series.

Of course, they didn’t totally pin down what made 2014 work so well. They forgot about the winning. But maybe that’s just my sense of entitlement as a fan and as someone who has watched the franchise sputter and basically die over the past decade (with apologies to that explosion of endorphins that was 2021). But this comparison is interesting to me. It turns out that I was trolled. Maybe everything old is new again, to the point that Buster Posey’s 2010s nostalgia recipe is just what the franchise needs.

In a perpetual rebuild situation, any clear idea is a good one.

David Stearns offered his first acknowledgement on Monday that moving on from the Mets’ all-time home run leader after last season may not have been the best plan.

Pete Alonso delivered 43 homers and an .884 OPS this season for the Orioles, while the Mets struggled to piece together a solution at first base.

In his season wrap, the Mets president of baseball operations was asked if he would do anything different regarding Alonso knowing what he knows now.

“I think that’s a very fair question,” Stearns said. “The truth is, in this job I don’t get mulligans. I also recognize Pete had a tremendous year and the totality of our production at first base wasn’t good enough, and so now it’s my job to ensure that we have got better success across our roster, but for the entire season, better production at first base as well.”

Alonso received a five-year contract worth $155 million from the Orioles last offseason after the Mets showed an unwillingness to offer a long-term deal to the first baseman.

Jorge Polanco, signed to a two-year deal worth $40 million as Alonso’s primary replacement, played only 37 games due to physical limitations and wasn’t a factor. Mark Vientos also provided underwhelming results at the position before Jared Young emerged later in the season to provide a semblance of stability at first base.

“We try to learn from everything, and I think the entire offseason last year was a learning experience for me,” Stearns said a day after the Mets completed a 74-win season. “I give Pete an enormous amount of credit. He went out and had a really good year. Throughout the entirety of our season our first base production wasn’t good enough, and now it’s my job to put a group together next year that plays better.”

Eight Dodgers on Monday were nominated for Major League Baseball’s All-MLB teams, an honor that has existed within the sport since 2019.

Fan voting for the honor will take place beginning Monday through Friday, October 9, with that fan vote counted alongside “a decorated panel of media members, broadcasters, former players and other officials throughout the game” in determining first and second All-MLB teams.

Shohei Ohtani is one of six nominees at designated hitter, Mookie Betts is one of 11 shortstop nominees, and Freddie Freeman one of 14 nominees at first base. All five have captured All-MLB honors in five previous years, with Ohtani collecting first-team All-MLB honors at DH in each of the last three years and four of the last five, plus second-team DH in 2022, to go with his two first-team All-MLB honors (2022-23) and one second-team All-MLB honors (2021) as a starting pitcher.

Betts is a four-time first-team All-MLB outfielder plus a second-team honor in 2019. Freeman has two first-team honors at first base, the last coming in 2023, and three second-team honors.

Max Muncy is one of 11 third baseman vying for All-MLB honors, looking for his first All-MLB selection, facing an uphill battle with Rays star Junior Caminero among those nominated at the position.

Andy Pages is the only Dodger among the 24 outfield nominees, seeking his first All-MLB selection.’

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who garnered first-team All-MLB honors last year, and Tarik Skubal, a first-teamer in each of the last two years, are the two Dodgers starting pitchers nominated at starting pitcher this year.

Tanner Scott is one of 20 relief pitchers up for All-MLB honors.

All-MLB teams will be announced during the MLB awards show on November 11, which will begin at 5 p.m. PT on MLB Network.

It was the day before Postseason and all through the house, there were bats cracking all around as the Atlanta Braves officially got their pre-Wild Card Series workout underway for what they hope is a long, deep run into the Postseason.

There was plenty of activity from the Braves from outside of the actual workout. One of the big stories is that Bryce Elder threw live BP. While Joe Jiménez threw a live BP as well, the idea is that Jiménez may just be doing work ahead of the 2026 season and figures to be a longshot for potentially getting into action at any point before the NLCS. The same goes for Elder, who may also have the NLCS in his sights for his potential return — though his return seems far more likely this Postseason.

Elder talked with the media following his live BP and he didn’t exactly express a ton of confidence that he’d back for the NLDS if the Braves got that far. “I’m going to give it everything I have but also we’ve got the checklist and things I’ve got to hit and if the checklist is too long to get back then I won’t be able to go,” stated Elder when he was asked by Mark Bowman about potentially returning by the NLDS. “I’m going to try everything [the training staff] has got for me and try to be as good as I can at it and progress as fast as I can. We’ll see how early that is.”

With that being said, when I asked him to grade how he was feeling on a 0-100 scale (obviously not 100 just yet), he stated that he was feeling “Pretty high. For being three weeks out, I didn’t know that I’d feel this good. I feel really good and I’m just trying not to push it too much and have a setback.”

Once the workout was done, Chris Sale, Matt Olson and Walt Weiss all spoke to the media for a press conference and the vibe was generally positive surrounding the Braves and how they’re feeling about being able to play for an opportunity to go to the NLDS. I asked Walt Weiss about how important the home field advantage was, especially knowing that all three games would be played here in Cobb County and he responded that he thinks that it’s “huge” for them to be playing these games at home.

“You’ve obviously got to go out and play well,” continued Weiss. “If you don’t play well, it doesn’t matter where you’re playing — you’re not going to win. We play well here, though. It’s a great atmosphere, the guys really enjoy playing here in front of this crowd, so I think it’s a big deal.”

When he was asked about what it was like seeing nearly the entire team standing on the rail to watch Bryce Elder and Joe Jiménez throw their live BPs, Weiss talked more about the level of clubhouse harmony that’s existing at the moment. “The ideal clubhouse is one that’s loose and fun, but focused. I think that’s what they are,” explained Weiss. “I think they really look forward to getting here every day so they can be in that environment in that clubhouse because I think they love being together. When it’s time to play, the focus is good and that’s when they take care of it.”

Speaking of taking care of business, the Braves have certainly gotten it done on defense this season. As I mentioned in the preview, the Braves have graded very high on defense this season and that could make all the difference during this time of year. It could especially mean a lot when you have a guy like Chris Sale on the mound, who expressed plenty of confidence in his defense when I asked him about it during the press conference.

“I’ve felt confident in my defense all year,” stated Sale. “As a pitcher, strikeouts are cool but most of your outs are going to come either on the ground or in the air. Being able to lean on those guys and have confidence that if the ball’s on the ground, someone’s going to get there. Our outfield, those guys are unbelievable and have really strong arms.”

“You look at some of the plays that have been made throughout the season across the the entire infield, we have multiple Gold Glovers out there. It’s a nice thing to have as a pitcher and it gives you more confidence to keep throwing strikes and use those guys behind you.”

One of those guys is Matt Olson, who has provided another great season of defense at first base — which is what you’d expect from someone who has some Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible Awards in his personal trophy cabinet. He’s also been part of the machine that this lineup turns into late in games and in high leverage situations. I asked him about those late moments and he did explain that it’s like the confidence is interwoven into the team at this point.

“Sometimes it just kind of becomes your DNA a little bit as a season goes on,” explained Olson. “It’s not like you try harder or change anything in those scenarios. I think it’s just when it comes time to put up or shut up, some guys just show up and rise to the occasion.”

Lastly, the bullpen has also played a role in those late-game turnarounds that the Braves have benefited from some many times during the regular season. When Chris Sale was asked by Jesús Cano about the bullpen during the press conference, he was his usual effusive self when it came to praising the bullpen and particularly those who come behind him during his starts.

“You’re talking about the hardest outs to get towards the end of the game,” started Sale. “It just seems like whoever they hand the ball off to, it’s shut-down. I like to look at the box score at the end of a game so I can show some love to some guys who deserve it and I’ve been like ”Dammit, every time I look at these box scores, I’m the only pitcher to give up runs!“

“It’s me and then [Dylan] Dodd comes in after that and then [Raisel Iglesias] throws or it’s [Dylan Lee] and [Didier Fuentes] and whoever it is and it’s like me [giving up two or three] and then [the bullpen gives up] zero, zero, zero. You do that five-or-six times and it’s like ‘Man, I gotta step it up a bit!’ But that goes to show you how solid they’ve been throughout the year and how much trust we have in them,” continued Sale. “To be able to walk off the mound after putting everything you’ve got into it and hand the ball off to someone you have all the trust in the world in. Even if it doesn’t go well, you know that that was the right move and that they put the work in to be set up for success.”

As was mentioned by Weiss during his portion of the press conference, the ballclub definitely seems loose-but-focused when it comes to returning to the Postseason. They know they have a familiar opponent to deal with and they know that they’ve got the upper hand with home field advantage and also having been able to set things up ahead of time while the Phillies have only just clinched their spot in the Postseason. They’re also under no delusions that this will be easy but that comes with the territory of the Postseason.

Weiss has maintained that while the Braves are talented, they haven’t gotten this far on talent alone. We’re likely to see those intangibles at play once the Postseason gets rocking and rolling for the Braves on Tuesday afternoon.

The end of the 2026 season has been a rocky road for the Chicago Cubs. September was one of two months that saw them post sub-.500 marks on the season with an 11-13 record. They finished exactly .500 in their last 10 games. They dropped two winnable games against the Red Sox and two winnable games against the Marlins. It felt like they might be limping into the Postseason even before star third baseman Alex Bregman took a foul ball to the face, resulting in multiple fractures and multiple missed games for one of the Cubs best hitters in the second half.

Oh, you thought that was the bad news? There’s more! While that string of bad luck alone would have (probably) played the Cubs out of hosting a Wild Card Series at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, Mother Nature wanted to get in on the action too. A freak September nor’easter descended upon Boston in the waning days of the 2026 season and MLB’s “solution” to this was the following itinerary for the Chicago Cubs:

• Thursday, Sept. 24: Day game at Wrigley, fly to Boston
• Friday, Sept. 25: Doubleheader in Boston, fly to Tampa
• Saturday, Sept. 26: Impromptu off day in Florida!
• Sunday, Sept. 27: Play one game in Tropicana Field to finish the season for #reasons, fly to San Diego
• Monday, Sept. 28: Workout day for the Wild Card Series
• Tuesday, Sept. 29: Begin best of three Wild Card Series in San Diego. First pitch scheduled at 10PM Eastern Time

It’s not particularly becoming in baseball to complain about certain things. After all, both teams have the same weather, the same umpires, the same roster rules and restrictions. They don’t have the same talent, but they did that to themselves and frankly, any difference in injury risk is likely a result of player decisions and tradeoffs someone made along the way as well. But this isn’t so much complaining as observing that MLB has chosen to deal the Cubs an absolutely brutal hand en route to the Postseason, which will kick off for them in San Diego tomorrow.

The question is, how will they handle it? You don’t have to look further than Bregman for answers. Bregman DH’d against the Red Sox and while it took a few at bats to get his timing back, he eventually did this [VIDEO].

It’s obviously an incorrect inference to suggest that two swings of the bat can salvage a downturn that likely reflects a depleted bullpen pitching on fumes. That said, stranger things have happened in this season that saw the Cubs win 10 games in a row twice and lose 10 straight in another stretch. It feels like the deck is stacked against the Cubs, but this isn’t really a team that has thrown in the towel or given up at any sign of adversity this season.

This team lost Cade Horton, Justin Steele had a setback, Ben Brown emerged as a legit TOR starter before being lost for the season and they kept winning anyway. Pete Crow-Armstrong looked like he was struggling early, only to emerge as the first 40-40 man in franchise history and the likely NL MVP. Alex Bregman hitting home runs with a broken face might just be the 2026 iteration of the Cubs channeling the 2016 team’s “We Never Quit.”

There’s no such thing as an easy road to a championship. The Cubs road continues tomorrow at Petco Park, and I doubt they’ll let something as trivial as jet lag define their season.

We’re starting to hear a little bit more about the Phillies and who they choose to put on the roster as well as their pitching plans for the Wild Card round. Today, some answers were given to questions that were had.

Opener, starter, whatever you want to call it, Luzardo will be the first one on the mound for the Phillies when they open in Atlanta. How long he goes will remain to be seen. Maybe he goes one inning, maybe he goes five. We’ll see how the plan goes once the game gets underway.

As far as other parts of the roster, Luis Arraez will not be on the roster.

Arraez’s ankle must be really bad in that he can’t even pinch hit during the series. Otto Kemp returns to apparently take up some space and maybe safeguard against any other infield injury that might occur. Remember, Edmundo Sosa was a little lame after Game 162.

We’ll see the full roster given out tomorrow to see if there is any other surprises.

Yankees ace Cam Schlittler is keeping his recent rivalry feud top of mind heading into the Wild Card Series against Boston.

Schlittler, who grew up a Red Sox fan in Massachusetts, made headlines since the 2025 Wild Card Series for clapping back at outside noise directed at him, specifically from fans and Boston-based media outlets. However, during Monday’s media availability ahead of the upcoming Wild Card Series opener, the Game 1 starter relayed that he’s now using that noise as fuel for his fire.

“I wouldn’t say I’m always on my phone looking for that stuff. At the same time, I don’t really live under a rock as well, so I find ways to use that to my advantage. I think I’m good at keeping receipts, and at the end of the day, I’m locked in to go in there tomorrow and do my job.”

Red Sox fans have been very sour towards Schlittler since he dominated the Red Sox in the 2025 Wild Card Series, throwing eight scoreless innings and striking out 12 during the 4-0 shutout win that advanced the Yankees to the ALDS against the Blue Jays. The most bitter fans even went as far as harassing members of Schlittler’s family on social media.

When the Yankees traveled to Fenway earlier this season, it was clear Red Sox fans were still lingering in their own spite. Schlittler was captured dodging objects as he was warming up before throwing for eight scoreless innings once again.

The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner revealed in July that New York Yankees director of organizational performance Chad Bohling showed Schlittler a clip from “Baseball is Dead,” an MLB podcast hosted by Boston content creator Jared Carrabis, before making his start in the 5-1 win against the Rays on July 6th. The personalities in the clip claim that the 25-year-old starter was regressing after giving up six earned runs and four homers in the 9-3 loss to the Tigers on June 30th.

The drama hit headlines once again after Carrabis’ podcast, “Section 10,” recapped the most recent rivalry series when the Yankees took three of four games. Rusey, a woman who was featured on the podcast in a rant session, took shots at Schlittler, calling him ugly and saying that “he literally did jack sh—,” despite pitching a scoreless 5.2 innings against Boston.

Schlittler, in a petty fashion, reportedly shared a distasteful answer to the comment on social media. It’s since been deleted, but not before it was circulated across all platforms. After taking two of three against the Angels in the following series, Schlittler shared an image of an emoji with glasses, seemingly taking another shot at the podcast in a more subtle manner.

For the sake of the drama, and to let Red Sox fans stay mad, it’s going to be fun seeing how Schlittler responds when the rivalry comes to a head. However, it’d also be nice to see him take the high road and stay humbly silent if history repeats itself and he dominates Boston once again.

Schlittler will face Payton Tolle in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in the Bronx on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.

Eleven wins in October.

For the Dodgers, that’s all that stands between them and baseball immortality.

Entering this year’s postseason, the club has already cemented a modern-day dynasty. It has already joined the ranks of back-to-back World Series champions.

Now, even more rarefied air awaits, as they try to become the first-ever National League team, and only the third MLB franchise overall, to win three consecutive championships.

Eleven more wins, and more history will be made.

The Dodgers won’t know their exact road to a three-peat for a few more days, as they await the winner of this week’s Braves-Phillies best-of-three wild card series in the NLDS, which will begin next Saturday.

In the meantime, though, the California Post analyzed each of their potential opponents in each round of the upcoming playoffs –– picking the best (and worst) matchups they might face on their quest to more October glory.

National League Division Series

Best matchup: Phillies

There were times this summer that the Phillies seemed like the biggest potential threat in the NL. However, they moonwalked into the postseason, having to win their final game of the season on Sunday to avoid what would have been an historic September collapse. And now, they are in scramble mode entering this week’s wild-card series in Atlanta.

The Phillies will turn to the recently injured Jesús Luzardo to open Game 1. In Game 2, they will hand the ball to staff ace Cristopher Sánchez –– which will likely limit him to just one outing in the NLDS if they advance. It’s also possible that co-ace Zack Wheeler, who pitched in Sunday’s playoff clincher, will be needed out of the bullpen in the wild-card series, which could hamper his availability for the NLDS.

They do, of course, have big names at the top of their lineup in Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. But that trio went just 10-for-48 against the Dodgers in last year’s NLDS. And beyond them, the Phillies’ lineup thins out quickly, especially with trade deadline acquisition Luis Arraez battling an ankle injury sustained during the final week of the regular season.

Worst matchup: Braves

Regular-season records don’t mean much once the slate gets wiped clean in the playoffs. Still, the two times the Dodgers met this Braves this year, Atlanta got the better of them –– going 5-1 overall, including in a three-game sweep at Truist Park last month.

In a potential NLDS rematch, the Dodgers could face Braves ace Chris Sale twice; a daunting prospect after he pitched a complete-game shutout against them during that August sweep.

The Braves also boast a better bullpen than the Phillies (who ranked last in reliever ERA during September) and a more balanced lineup (albeit, one that cooled off in the second half of the season by ranking just 13th in scoring and 16th in OPS after the start of July).

National League Championship Series

Best matchup: Brewers

No disrespect to the Brewers, who were the winningest team in the majors for a second-straight season with a franchise-best 103-59 record. But remember what happened last October, when they scored just four runs in four games while getting swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS.

The big difference this year, of course, is Jacob Misiorowski, the presumptive NL Cy Young Award winner who blossomed in his second MLB season with his 105 mph fastball.

However, the Brewers have just one other starter (rookie Logan Henderson) with a sub-3.80 ERA. Their talented bullpen will be less of an advantage in a longer seven-game series. And, most importantly, there are still plenty of questions about how their small-ball offense (which had the second-fewest home runs in the majors this season) will translate against October pitching.

That was their undoing against the Dodgers last year. And it would represent a favorable matchup for the two-time defending champions once again this fall.

Worst matchup: Padres

No team was hotter down the stretch than the Padres, who surged into the postseason with a 35-17 record in August and September. No club will be more motivated to see the Dodgers in October, either, in what would be the fourth playoff series between the two Southern California rivals since 2020.

The Padres’ offense isn’t quite as potent as the Cubs’ (the third potential opponent the Dodgers could draw in the NLCS) but has nonetheless been revived by late-season turnarounds from Jackson Merril, Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. most of all (his .978 OPS in August and September was sixth-best in the majors).

San Diego’s rotation is also a question mark, but can be compensated for by an uber-deep bullpen led by superstar closer Mason Miller.

The Dodgers would still be favored in this matchup. But, especially after dropping two of three games in San Diego’s visit to Dodger Stadium last week, the Padres might be the last team they want to face.

World Series

Best matchup: Astros

The Astros are not only the worst MLB playoff team ever, squeaking in as champions of a dismal AL West division with an 81-81 record (the first team in league history to qualify for the playoffs without an above-.500 mark).

But, they would also present the most narratively enticing potential World Series opponent for the Dodgers –– who, almost a decade later, still bear the scars of their 2017 Fall Classic defeat to Houston’s infamous sign-stealing, trash-can-banging title squad.

The Astros’ pitching staff has been a mess all season. Their aging veteran offense has been extremely dependent upon AL MVP frontrunner Yordan Alvarez. 

And while they do have plenty of October experience, nothing would be a better capstone to this Dodgers dynasty than getting revenge on the team that –– as they see it –– cheated them out of their first opportunity to win a championship.

Worst matchup: Yankees*

In a relatively weak American League, the Yankees still boast the most talented roster.

*The one big caveat: Aaron Judge’s uncertain health status.

The superstar slugger is questionable for this week’s best-of-three wild card round against the Red Sox. He has hardly played since the first couple months of the season because of a stress fracture in his ribs and a calf injury he sustained in a short-lived return to action earlier this month.

If Judge is healthy, however, no AL contender has as many weapons as the Yankees. 

Their rotation is stacked, with veterans Gerrit Cole and Max Fried lined up behind presumptive Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler. Their offense is dangerous, ranking second in the majors in home runs (41 of which came from breakout star Ben Rice). And a potential World Series meeting with the Dodgers would provide them with their own shot at redemption, looking to avenge the Dodgers’ dramatic triumph in the 2024 Fall Classic.

In a 162-game season, it’s hard to point to precise moments that defined a baseball team’s rise or fall – but that’s not going to stop us from trying.

As we prepare for the Guardians to take on whoever emerges from the matchup of the Astros vs. the White Sox, let’s take a quick look back at six wins that proved absolutely crucial for the taking of their third straight AL Central title:

Wednesday, April 1st – Guardians 4, Dodgers 1

Gabriel Arias and Jose Ramirez both hit two-run homers and Gavin Williams struck-out 10 Dodgers in seven innings. The only run for the Dodgers came off a 9th inning Freddie Freeman bomb off of Cade Smith. This win secured the series win for the Guardians in L.A., meaning they would have a successful early road trip on the West Coast, after the Guardians split their season-opening series in Seattle. There was so much more of the season to be played, but in terms of this team establishing an identity that “We are good”, I believe being able to fall back on a series win over the reigning world champ and bank some early road wins turned out to be pivotal.

Wednesday, May 20th – Guardians 3, Tigers 1 (in 10 innings)

It was assumed entering 2026 that the Guardians’ primary competition for the AL Central crown would be the Detroit Tigers who signed Framber Valdez and elected not to trade ace Tarik Skubal in the offseason. However, the Guardians opened up the season with a four-game sweep of the Tigers, including this third win of the series in extra innings. Tanner Bibee allowed one run in eight innings of work and Erik Sabrowski, Colin Holderman and Cade Smith kept the Tigers off the board. Daniel Schneemann and Travis Bazzana singled in the top of the 9th, as the Guardians were down 1-0, and Steven Kwan in the middle of terrible early-season struggles, laid down a sacrifice bunt, allowing Patrick Bailey to drive in Schneemann with a groundout. That was all it took to get the game to extras where an Angel Martinez triple and Jose Ramirez double gave them the lead that Smith needed to close the door. The Guardians would go 10-3 against the Tigers in 2026, the difference between 1st and 3rd place in the Central.

Wednesday, June 24th – Guardians 4, White Sox 3

Everyone should remember, with horror, June 13th, the game where Chase DeLauter broke a rib, Angel Martinez broke a foot, and Jose Ramirez broke a hamate bone. By the 24th of the same month, the Guardians were flailing just to keep their heads above water, especially against the upstart White Sox who had taken the first two games of this series from Cleveland. Things were going very well with the Guardians up 3-1 and another clutch outing from Bibee who went six scoreless. But, the White Sox showed their mettle by scoring off of Erik Sabrowski in the 7th and then TYING the game in the 9th with two home runs off the normally untouchable Cade Smith. Somehow, the Guardians picked themselves up off the mat with a clutch RBI single from Kahlil Watson, of all people, and then a shutdown bottom of the 10th inning from Shawn Armstrong, also of all people. Every win against the White Sox proved crucial, and this win showed how the team got contributions from the breadth and width of their roster to finally triumph. The Guardians would head out of this game and win their first series post-Jose injury over the Mariners.

Thursday, July 2nd – Guardians 6, White Sox 5

Slade Cecconi had a bad day on his way out of the rotation surrendering five runs in five innings, but then turned it over to a Guardians’ bullpen B-team that refused to give up a run. One and two-thirds scoreless from DANIEL ESPINO (BACK FROM THE SHOULDER DEAD!), one and a third scoreless from Shawn Armstrong, and one clean inning from Tim Herrin. Travis Bazzana went two for three with a walk, driving in two with a double, and David Fry hit a homer to bring the game within one run headed into the ninth. And, that, my friends, is where who else but Brayan Rocchio stepped up against Grant Taylor (who is an excellent reliever) and delivered a two-run homer to walk it off (scoring Daniel Schneemann who had pinch-run for Rhys Hoskins after Hoskins delivered a 9th inning walk). All of this seems pretty wild in hindsight, but every win against the White Sox was desperately needed for the journey on which the 2026 regular season would take the Guardians.

Wednesday, August 26th – Guardians 4, Angels 3

After numerous disappointing series in August, the Guardians finally got into the easy part of their schedule, and, coming into this game, had taken five straight from the hapless Rockies and Angels. They needed to sweep this series. Too many earlier contests had slipped through their fingers to not find a way to sweep the six against two of the worst teams in MLB. Unfortunately, the Angels jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Joey Cantillo, but Cantillo buckled down and found a way to deliver four shutout innings to end his six inning stint, striking out seven. Meanwhile, the Guardians’ offense clawed back with one run in the fifth, one in the eighth and two in the ninth, keyed by a double from the resurgent Steven Kwan and the go-ahead sacrifice fly from Travis Bazzana. These are the regular, everyday wins in a baseball season that can slip through the cracks. But, when you take care of business, you eventually reap the rewards.

Wednesday, September 16th – Guardians 6, White Sox 3

Obviously, you could choose September 15th’s Brayan Rocchio walk-off as the key win in September, but given that it was highly aided by a very poor defensive play from Sam Antonacci, I am going to go with the following day’s heroics, led by Petey Halpin. Parker Messick won this game, and he certainly deserves a shoutout since his consistent excellence all season was absolutely determinative for the Guardians makine the playoffs. Unfortunately, Tommy Pham convinced White Sox GM to give him a roster spot in an elevator and Pham hit a hanger from Messick into the bleachers for a three-run homer that had the White Sox up 3-2. But, then, with two outs and two on (David Fry and Austin Hedges via walks off dominant lefty Hagen Smith) in the sixth, Petey Halpin crushed a pitch from a tough lefty in Sean Newcombe for an unexpected three-run homer of his own. After a Jose RBI double, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski and Cade Smith slammed the door shut on the White Sox for three scoreless innings. Though the Guardians lost the season series to the White Sox by one game, this game was the one that gave Cleveland a chance to complete the comeback and win the Central the final week of the season.

What are some other games that stand out to you ask key in the 2026 season for the Guardians? Which will stand out in your memory of another special season resulting in October baseball? Tell us in the comments below

New York Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns held his end-of-season press conference today. The Mets missed the playoffs for the second straight year and finished last in the NL East despite a sky-high payroll and high expectations.

Stearns had to walk a tightrope with his answers, acknowledging his mistakes in building the 2026 squad while also sharing a message of optimism with a team that finished 34-31 after the All-Star break.

It didn’t take long for Pete Alonso or the now-cursed phrase ‘run prevention’ forever associated with Stearns to be brought up. Still, the executive pointed to the team’s improved cohesiveness after Andy Green took over managerial duties following Carlos Mendoza’s firing, as well as the exciting young talent that flourished as the season went on.

“The disappointment of this season is very true and real. I feel that, we as an organization, feel that, our fan base feels that. There’s no denying any of that, Stearns said. “There is also the real foundation here for the level of success and competitiveness that we expect to have, and that is also real.”

The Mets’ brutally slow start to the season, including a 12-game losing streak and injuries to Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, was essentially a worst-case scenario for the club and stood out to Stearns when asked what he could do to make sure missing the playoffs in such mediocre fashion wouldn’t happen again.

“We and I made a number of decisions that created the potential for almost an uncapped downside scenario,” he said. “We had a lot of change. I think that change in New York is probably different than change in other markets. We lived that. I think in addition to that change, we had different elements of our roster that didn’t have enough flexibility, so when we had underperformance, it made it very difficult for us to make in-season, on-the-fly adjustments.”

With another season of missing the playoffs, and Mets fans quick to call for Stearns’s scalp at games and online, he was asked if he feels pressure to turn it around.

“I’m always under pressure,” he said. “My job is to put a winning team on the field every year. That hasn’t changed from the day I sat up here for my introductory press conference to when I’m sitting up here right now.”

Alonso’s departure in free agency to the Orioles and his subsequent career year at the plate, combined with the Mets struggling to find a solid solution at first base, raised questions about what he learned from the situation.

“The truth is, in this job, I don’t get mulligans. I also recognize that Pete had a tremendous year, and the totality of our production at first base wasn’t good enough,” Stearns said. “It’s my job to ensure that we’ve got better success across our roster, but for the entirety of the season, better success at first base as well.”

The idea that it’s hard for players to perform in New York came up repeatedly. It was something Stearns acknowledged to be a truth, and that evaluating which free agents would be up for performing on the big stage is something he’ll be considering more in the future.

“This is a unique place to play. It’s different here,” he said. “I’ve lived it as a fan, and as an executive, when you win here, it’s the greatest thing in the world. There is nothing like coming to this ballpark in a playoff atmosphere and experiencing that. It’s equally extreme when things aren’t going well, and certain players struggle with that, and I’m cognizant of that.”

Stearns said his vision of run prevention didn’t work out too well, especially in the first half of the season.

“I think I’ll retire the phrase run prevention. I don’t know if that one wore particularly well,” he said. “I think our pitching and defense was much better in the second half than we were in the first half.”

Other key points discussed:

• Stearns answered in the affirmative when asked if the club needs more viable starting pitching, saying, “I do think it’s necessary to add to our starting rotation. We can do that in a variety of different ways….Over the long term, what we need to do is develop pitchers at the top of our rotation, and I think we’ve proven we can do that….We also need to have more options, and we need the flexibility to go out and get those options when they’re needed.”
• When asked how the club can prevent key injuries and make sure players coming off injury are ready to go, Stearns said reevaluating everything, including spring training ramp-ups, is on the table. “All of that is being looked at, and I imagine there will be some changes in how we do some of that,” he said.
• When asked about which way Bo Bichette was leaning regarding his player option, he said, “I have not had those discussions with Bo. He’s got the right now to take some space and discuss things with his family and his agent. I’m sure he’ll get back to us.”
• Stearns was once again noncommittal regarding hiring a general manager, but praised the recent addition of Derek Falvey to the front office. Similarly, he said he would discuss coaching staff additions with Green in the coming days.
• Stearns said that the club will evaluate Kodai Senga’s role on the team during next year’s spring training. “We need a level of production in whatever role he’s going to be in to contribute to a winning team.”
• When asked about the plans for the back end of the bullpen, Stearns praised Devin Williams’ work to get healthy and get some innings in before the end of the season. “He’s healthy, he feels great, and we expect him to be a big part of the back end going forward. We also feel good about the younger guys that stepped up in the last few months in a big way.”
• Stearns said that Tylor Megill and Reed Garrett are progressing in their recovery from elbow surgery and that both have been around the team recently, with the expectation of being available to compete in spring training.
• Stearns confirmed that Ronny Mauricio is still considered to be in the mix as an infield option moving forward. “We saw the flash of potential over the last couple of days. That was exciting for us to see, and I think it was great for him to experience heading into the offseason….I think he comes into spring training next year competing for a spot.”
• When asked what the team could do to take the next step and be contenders, he said, “There’s the continued maturation and growth of (our young) group, there is more consistent play and more available play from a group of veterans that we think is really good, and then there’s whatever external acquisitions we bring in this offseason, along with the upper level of our (farm) system that we believe will contribute in a meaningful way this offseason.”

Although they missed the playoffs, the season was a successful one for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. They finished 78-68 overall — 41-31 in the second half — and were in contention for the postseason until the final weekend.

This was the final season that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will be known as the RailRiders; the team is rebranding next season.

“As a team, we were able to do a lot of good things and play some really good baseball for the most part,” pitcher Brendan Beck said. “It’s a bummer we came up a little short in the playoff push, but only one team can make it. We were playing meaningful baseball until the very end, so it was a good year.”

Beck, the Yankees’ No. 27 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, provided perhaps the biggest highlight of the season on June 5 at Syracuse when he combined with Carson Coleman on a no-hitter — the seventh in franchise history (third nine-inning). The right-hander was named International League Pitcher of the Year after finishing tied for second in wins with 10 and leading the league in ERA (2.93), strikeouts (151), innings (135.1), WHIP (1.06), and opponents’ batting average (.210). His strikeout total ranks fourth in franchise single-season history and his ERA ranks fifth.

On May 7, Beck made his major-league debut at Yankee Stadium against the Texas Rangers. Other RailRiders who got the call and made their major league debuts included Elmer Rodriguez (April 29), George Lombard Jr. (Aug. 4), Bradley Hanner (Aug. 14) and Alexander Cornielle (Sept. 25).

Rodriguez joined Beck on the International League All-Star team. The right-hander, who is the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, went 8-4 with the RailRiders with a 2.45 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 106.1 innings.

Not only did the RailRiders have players who went up, but they also had a number of players come down, such as Jasson Dominguez, Anthony Volpe, and J.C. Escarra. Several Yankees players also did rehab assignments — pitchers Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, catcher Austin Wells, and outfielder Cody Bellinger.

“There’s been more movement on this team, more back and forth turnover with position players and pitchers than any team I’ve been on,” manager Shelley Duncan said. “Had a lot of guys come down from the big leagues with a tough mindset and they really gave themselves to the team. A lot of guys here with deep, strong individual aspirations and they poured themselves into the team. I’ve seen us go through stretches where things were bleak and they don’t give up hope or shut it down. They fight through it. I’ve seen players grow, I’ve seen some guys have some unbelievable years. I’ve seen some guys make some big career jumps. There’s a lot this season.”

Besides Beck, several other RailRiders ranked among the International League leaders. Yanquiel Fernandez tied for third in home runs with 27, ranked third in RBIs with 87, and tied for ninth in hits with 126. Oswaldo Cabrera tied for fifth in hits with 134 and was 10th in batting at .288 (134 for 466).

Duke Ellis finished second in the league in stolen bases with 60, one behind Worcester’s Braiden Ward. Ellis set the franchise single-season record for steals, breaking the mark of 44 set by the Red Barons’ Tommy Barrett in 1989. He also became the franchise’s career leader in steals with 102, surpassing the record of 82 held by the Red Barons’ Nick Punto. Ellis also ended the season with a 15-game hitting streak and a 20-game on-base streak.

Another highlight was a season-high eight-game winning streak from July 26 to Aug. 4, including a six-game series sweep in Iowa against the Chicago Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. It was the first time since 1990 that a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team visited Iowa.

That winning streak gave the RailRiders a 23-9 record in the second half, good for first place in the standings by one game over the Durham Bulls and two over the Indianapolis Indians. However, they lost their next four games to Rochester at PNC Field by a combined 40-11 and that was the turning point for the RailRiders. Interestingly, that also was the turning point for the Red Wings and as they went 27-14 the rest of the way to win the second-half title, then capture the league championship over the first-half champion Memphis Redbirds. Rochester lost to the Pacific Coast League champion Oklahoma City Comets in 10 innings, 5-3, in the Triple-A National Championship Game in Las Vegas.

“It’s really a shame we were not in the playoffs,” relief pitcher Eric Reyzelman said. “I feel if this team got a chance to play in there, we would have been the last team coming out of Vegas. It’s tough the way it ended, but we played hard until the last second.”

While winning a championship would have been a storybook ending to the RailRiders era, it was still an exciting, memorable season.

If Bo Bichetteopts in for the 2027 season, the Mets will likely be set when it comes to most of their starting lineup, perhaps leaving first base and designated hitter as the two easiest ways for them to reshape the offense this offseason.

With that as a backdrop, president of baseball operationsDavid Stearns spoke on Monday about the team's struggle to fill first base in 2026 after Pete Alonso signed a five-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles last offseason. On the decision to let Alonso walk, Stearns said he doesn't get "mulligans."

As far as how the Mets will address first base this offseason?

"I do think it's potentially a combination of internal pieces and external," Stearns explained. "I don't think, sitting up here right now, I'm gonna close the door on anything. I think Jared Younghad a really good second half of the season. When we gave him consistent playing time, he responded and performed. 

"I think what we saw fromBrett Baty, particularly over the last four-to-six weeks where he was one of the best offensive players in all of baseball -- we need to see him do that more consistently. Brett knows that. But I don't want to undercount that as well. We have other internal options, and I also think we're going to be looking externally as well."

On Baty specifically, Stearns was forthright regarding the possibility that his strong finish was fool's gold.

In parts of five big league seasons with the Mets, Baty has showed promise at the plate, including when he posted a .748 OPS in 2025. But he has not been consistent enough.

"The truth is, we won't know," Stearns said about whether Baty can carry over his end-of-season success to 2027. "I do think having been around Brett for multiple years now, I think where he is from a mindset perspective, his level of belief in himself, and how he works through an at-bat, is different right now. But as with any player, until you see it for an extended period, very difficult for me to sit here right now and have complete certainty on that."

Regarding other internal options at first base, Jorge Polanco is theoretically one of them.

But Polanco missed the majority of this season due to a lingering ankle injury that required season-ending surgery. When he was on the field, he struggled badly, putting up a 22 OPS+ in 37 games.

And Stearns doesn't have illusions about what to expect from Polanco in 2027, which is the second and final year of the contract he inked last offseason.

"With Jorge, the early stages of the rehab are going really well," Stearns said. "I know, having gotten to know the person over the last year, he's going to work exceptionally hard to put himself in position to contribute. I also don't know the exact extent of what that's going to look like. I'm not gonna sit here and say he's gonna play 120 games at first base.

"I think we need to wait and see where he is in spring training. I know that when he's healthy, this is a really good offensive player from both sides of the plate who can hit in the middle of the lineup and do a bunch of different things. I would love to have that version of player on the team, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we get in spring training."

When it comes to external options, the free agent market isn't particularly enticing.

Ty France is coming off a huge season for the Padres (career-best .865 OPS), but is entering his age-32 season and is one year removed from signing a minor league deal.

An intriguing option could be Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato, who is expected to be posted for big league clubs this offseason.

Sato, 27, has been primarily a third baseman and outfielder in Japan, but could slide across the diamond to first base in the majors.

Sato smacked 37 homers in 136 games this season for the Hanshin Tigers while posting a career-best OPS of 1.017.

Aaron Judge is putting his calf where his mouth is.

After reiterating his intention to make himself available for the AL wild-card series, less than two weeks after suffering a moderate calf strain, Judge is scheduled to take live batting practice Monday at Yankee Stadium as he tries to convince Yankees brass to include him on the roster on the eve of their showdown with the Red Sox.

“I’ve been doing a lot of convincing, so I’m going to keep doing that,” Judge said with a grin at his locker before the live session. “But I think the most important thing is making sure I’m healthy and ready to go for this long stretch. We got another month of baseball to play, so I want to be ready for the long run we’re going to go on for this next month. We’re all going to be smart, but I think they all know I want to be out there, especially in the first game.”

The three-time MVP said he has still not run the bases, which is always a key hurdle for players to clear coming back from soft-tissue leg injuries, but indicated he has been running on an anti-gravity treadmill and left open the possibility that he could try running on the field later Monday.

While Judge’s live batting practice session should give the Yankees some important information as to how he looks and feels, they will have to weigh whether it is worth the risk of playing him this soon and leaving himself open to reinjury or suffering something worse. The soleus muscle, which is the part of the calf where Judge’s strain is located, is connected to the Achilles tendon.

“Guys take risks every single day,” Judge said. “I know a lot of guys in here are banged up and dealing with stuff. I understand the risk, I’ve got it all.”

Aaron Boone indicated that Judge resumed hitting indoors on Sunday, though the captain later said he has been hitting “for a while.”

“It feels great, which is definitely a big step forward, because you produce a lot of weight on that back leg, so feeling good there,” Judge said.

Once again, Judge added that he hopes to come back as a right fielder because it would help the Yankees the most, given that they already have a logjam at DH/first base with Ben Rice, Luis García Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt. But it is questionable whether he would be able to play the field for nine innings without issue, and if he can’t, would the Yankees really be able to carry both him and Giancarlo Stanton – who is trying to come back from three different calf strains that have sidelined him since late April and figures to be available as strictly a pinch hitter – on the same roster?

Judge, who already missed three-plus months of the regular season with a right rib stress fracture, pledged to do everything he could to be ready for Tuesday. Left unsaid: even all of that still might not be enough.

“I think the biggest thing is understanding how short – the time to be a Yankee and play this game of baseball is a very short window,” Judge said. “Ten years have gone by since I debuted out here, so time flies. I just think about that more than thinking about age. I feel like I’ll still be a good baseball player at 45.

“It’s more just your window to play this game is short, so you don’t want to miss an opportunity.”

Another long and grueling regular season has come to an end. For the Dodgers, the last six months mostly met their perennial lofty expectations of not just clinching the postseason, but winning the NL West and securing that all-important first-round bye.

As has been the case with the Dodgers over the last two years, they managed to circumvent around numerous injuries and setbacks to every single department on their team. With October baseball in close proximity to their windshield, the team is mostly healthy enough to embark on their quest to become baseball’s first three-peat champions in 26 years.

The road to glory isn’t paved evenly, but the Dodgers aren’t a team insistent on making their treks remiss of discomfort. With all the team has experienced this season, here are a few reasons why the Dodgers will be able to win the 2026 World Series.

Abundance of pitching depth

Two things about the potential postseason rotation ring a familiar chime when observing the last two playoff runs. The Dodgers are set to have a dominant four-man quartet, just like last year. The Dodgers also swung a blockbuster deal with the Detroit Tigers to shore up the rotation like they did two years ago (just replace the name Jack Flaherty with Tarik Skubal). All four pitchers in the rotation— Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow— have experience pitching in October.

The Dodgers have a very good problem when it comes to situating their bullpen. After a strong second half of the season before hitting the shelf, Roki Sasaki, like last season, has come back with dominant stuff out of the Dodger bullpen. Justin Wrobleski will be joining Sasaki as starters from the regular season expected to pitch in relief. Tanner Scott will embark on his first postseason trip as a Dodger after a brutal season last year, and although Edwin Díaz has struggled overall and dealt with injuries, he has come out firing since being recently activated off the injured list.

As was the case last season, the Dodgers will rely on their starters to handle as much volume of work as possible, limiting the reliance of swing guys that can handle multiple innings. Should any best-of-7 game series come down to the wire, the Dodgers will be prepared to throw in all their chips, whether from the rotation or bullpen, to get the job done.

Monsters: The Hernández Brothers, Season 3

Yes, it has been two years since Netflix released their second season of the show Monsters, centered on the crimes of Lyle and Erik Menendez. The Dodgers are preparing for their third season of manning two clutch and criminal forces in the postseason, both of whom share the same surname.

While Teoscar Hernández battled a hamstring injury that cost him a month’s worth of time, he has been one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball in the month of September, and his bat becomes even more volatile come October. Hernández hit five home runs during last year’s postseason run, and over the last two postseasons, he is slashing a respectable .254/.327/.454 with eight home runs and 25 RBI over a 33-game stretch. His bat will be crucial in the middle of the lineup, along with a resurgent Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy protecting him.

The Dodgers’ X-factor isn’t someone that has been getting everyday playing time in the regular season, but he brings out the flare for the dramatic when the lights shine brightest. Kiké Hernández’s first big postseason moment came with his hat trick in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS, and in every World Series run with the Dodgers, he’s had multiple moments stamped into the highlight reel.

Kiké Hernández is one of the best postseason hitters of all time, as in 103 career postseason games with the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, he is slashing .272/.339/.486 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI. Hernández has continued to demonstrate his defensive versatility, and should any Dodger hitter in the everyday lineup fall into a slump, Hernández has the potential to be called on and perform the way he has in the postseason for the last nine years.

It’s Sho-time!

A detriment to this year’s Dodgers team compared to last year is that Shohei Ohtani won’t be performing his two-way duties. Ohtani hasn’t pitched since early July, and knee and biceps issues hampered his offensive production for most of the second half.

On the offensive side of the ball last year, Ohtani was a force to be reckoned with in 2025, as he tied Corey Seager for the most home runs hit by a Dodgers in a postseason run with eight, including a multi-home run game in Game 3 of the World Series where he reached base nine times. Although a left shoulder subluxation limited his production in the 2024 World Series, he managed to hit three home runs between both the NLDS and NLCS.

Ohtani’s bat is essential to how the Dodgers perform. The team was able to minimize his absence with a torrid month of September, but his presence at the top of the lineup sends shivers down the spines of their opposition. The first-round bye will also allow Ohtani to continue to heal up from his lingering right biceps issues, and whether he hits leadoff or second behind Mookie Betts, the reigning NLCS MVP will be looking to add more hardware to his résumé.