September 2025

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MLB playoffs 2025: Power-ranking the postseason field, from the surprise Cincinnati Reds to the powerhouse Philadelphia Phillies

Now the fun really begins.

After six months of regular-season action and a whole bunch of stunning plot twists over the final couple of weeks, we’ve arrived at the 2025 postseason. We can say goodbye to the 18 teams that fell short and shift our focus to the dozen teams still vying for a World Series title.

The regular season provided plenty of data to help us evaluate these clubs’ chances of winning a championship, but the beginning of the postseason is also a reset of sorts. How exactly these teams got to this point doesn’t matter as much as who can step up and perform when the stakes are raised. And if recent history tells us anything, predicting which teams are about to embark on memorable runs and which will flame out in a hurry is a nearly impossible task.

With all that in mind, here’s how the 12 playoff teams stack up at the outset of October — with a case for each to be the last team standing.

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Jump to a team by clicking on the links below:

Cincinnati seized the opportunity afforded by the Mets’ epic, second-half collapse to earn its first postseason berth since 2020. Its reward for qualifying is a trip to Los Angeles to face the defending champions in the wild-card round, with Blake Snell lined up for Game 1 on Tuesday.

As daunting as that opening assignment appears, the good news for the Reds is that they might just have the pitching necessary to pull off the ultimate upset — and perhaps catch fire and play deep into October. That starts with ace Hunter Greene, who will get the ball in Game 1 for Cincinnati. Although injuries limited him to just 19 starts this season, Greene was the best version of himself when healthy and looked especially sharp in September. 

He’s the unquestioned headliner here, but Cincinnati also boasts two stellar southpaws in All-Star Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo, a duo who helped the Reds’ rotation rank second in MLB in fWAR, behind only Philadelphia. Steady closer Emilio Pagán and workhorse Tony Santillan (80 appearances!) lead an underrated bullpen that also features fireballing rookie righty Chase Burns.

It’s a much more modest position-player group, but Elly De La Cruz has the kind of star power that could shine especially bright on the postseason stage. Add a manager in Terry Francona who is intimately familiar with success in October, and the Reds might have what it takes to go on a surprise run. But for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff series since 1995 — the longest drought in MLB — it’s one step at a time.

Blown division lead be damned, Detroit is in, and as manager A.J. Hinch said during the team’s clinch celebration Saturday, everybody is 0-0 starting Tuesday. If the Tigers can successfully embrace that symbolic reset and rediscover what helped them build an enormous division lead in the first place, they could become dangerous in a hurry.

It will take more than just Tarik Skubal pitching like the best pitcher on the planet, though that’s an awfully good place to start and not an advantage that should be overlooked. The “pitching chaos” beyond Skubal has been a far less reliable strategy recently, but there are some fresh faces who weren’t part of last year’s staff but could play pivotal roles this time around, such as Jack Flaherty and rookie Troy Melton.

Most importantly, the position-player core of Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson, plus veteran Gleyber Torres, will need to deliver a far more cohesive offense than what we’ve seen recently. As evidenced by what this club demonstrated collectively in the first half, the Tigers have the talent to do so, but it’s time to flip the switch. The wild-card series in Cleveland offers an incredible mulligan for the Tigers to erase a miserable and embarrassing chapter in the franchise’s history and recapture the momentum to push further into October than they went last year.

A 10-game losing streak to fall 15.5 games behind the Tigers on July 6. Losing two key pitchers to a gambling investigation. Dealing away Shane Bieber at the trade deadline. Losing nine of 10 in late August. The lowest team batting average and second-lowest OPS in all of baseball. A minus-6 run differential. Add it all up, and you get … the AL Central champions.

For all the absurdities surrounding Cleveland’s improbable run to a division title, the recipe for success has actually been somewhat simple. With a breakout frontline arm in Gavin Williams, a worthy No. 2 in Tanner Bibee, enough moxie from the rest of the rotation to fuel a historic stretch of run prevention, plus a fantastic bullpen and a terrific defense, it is difficult to score against the Guardians. That foundational strength helps compensate for their objectively meager offense, as do the presences of All-Star Steven Kwan and future Hall of Famer José Ramírez atop the lineup. Ramírez’s all-around ability, relentless hustle and unwavering confidence have helped elevate the performance of the less-proven position players surrounding him in the lineup.

If his splendid debut season as skipper wasn’t compelling enough, Stephen Vogt’s knack for steady leadership and motivation have been on full display during this tumultuous campaign. Defeating Detroit again to put an exclamation point on their advantage in the rivalry would be incredible enough, but the Guardians will have a lot to prove should they advance further and take on the other American League contenders. Let’s see if they can keep proving everyone wrong.

A year ago, many pegged the Padres as the most dangerous team entering October, leading to high expectations before San Diego’s disappointing elimination in the NLDS against the rival Dodgers. This year’s club arrives in the postseason with notably less hype — and maybe that’s a good thing. While the 2025 Padres don’t possess quite as many statistical markers of a bona fide contender, there are plenty of impressive ingredients that could spark a run to the franchise’s first World Series championship.

The aggressive trade-deadline acquisition of Mason Miller supercharged an already-loaded bullpen that ranks at or near the top of the league in every major measure and still has an argument as the best relief corps in October, even after the season-ending injury to All-Star Jason Adam. That elite group of arms for manager Mike Shildt to turn to at the end of games lessens the pressure on a talented but volatile rotation; Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and Dylan Cease each seem as likely to deliver six shutout innings as they are to get bombarded in the early frames. The Padres’ upside on the mound across the board is undeniable, but consistency will be key.

On offense, the Padres feature a wealth of recognizable stars sans the commensurate statistics to match. San Diego lags significantly far behind in the slugging department, ranking 28th in MLB in homers with just 152 — far and away the fewest of any playoff team — and its .390 slugging percentage ranks ahead of only Cleveland. That’s a full-season sample of less-than-stellar production, but there are several hitters in this lineup worth taking seriously, from Manny Machado to Fernando Tatis Jr. to an ascendant star in Jackson Merrill who is finally healthy after an injury-marred summer and has looked outstanding in September. The bones of a truly great team are still intact for San Diego; now it’s time to perform when it counts.

After a drama-filled first half featuring the shocking decision to trade Rafael Devers to San Francisco, Boston gradually found enough stability down the stretch to avoid missing the postseason for a fourth consecutive year, which would’ve been the longest stretch without playoff baseball in Boston since the early 1990s. Now manager Alex Cora is back in October with a roster that looks nothing like the crew that made it to the 2021 ALCS; reliever Garrett Whitlock is the only participant from that series who remains on the active roster. Well, from the Red Sox anyway: New Boston third baseman and former Astros nemesis Alex Bregman has now made it to the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons, while his old buddies in Houston were left on the outside looking in for the first time since 2016.

Bregman is a crucial cog for a Red Sox lineup that feels one impact bat short, a glaring reality since the Devers trade but also one that has been felt acutely with star rookie Roman Anthony on the injured list due to an oblique strain. Perhaps the Red Sox play deep enough into October for Anthony to return at some point, but regardless, Boston’s path to postseason success is rooted in its strengths on the mound, with utterly dominant presences headlining both the rotation (Garrett Crochet) and bullpen (Aroldis Chapman). If the second-level starters (Brayan Bello) and relievers (Whitlock, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert) step up behind the two monsters leading their respective units, the Red Sox could absolutely make some noise. The rival Yankees await in the Bronx for an ultra-juicy wild-card series.

The Cubs haven’t won a playoff game since 2017. That might not sound like an especially long time for a franchise that went 108 years between championships, but it’s a fairly substantial drought considering Chicago’s status as one of baseball’s marquee clubs. The path to restoring the Cubs’ status as relevant postseason characters involves a combination of steady starting pitching and a return to form for an offense that was arguably baseball’s best in the first half.

The latter involves the likes of Michael Busch and Ian Happ continuing to rake like they have recently, with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki rediscovering what made them such dynamic players earlier in the year. Then there’s Kyle Tucker, the wildly talented and fascinating free-agent-to-be whose overall impact coming off a calf injury that cost him most of September is a critical factor to consider and a difficult one to project. But if Tucker and this lineup start to find their groove, watch out.

It’s a bit more complicated on the mound, with the brutal news of rookie Cade Horton’s rib fracture putting substantial pressure on left-handers Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga to deliver quality outings from the get-go. This is not a pitching staff that is going to match up with those of some other contenders in the National League from a stuff standpoint, but you can generally rely on the Cubs’ arms to throw strikes and not beat themselves, a mindset empowered by having arguably the game’s best defense playing behind them. San Diego is a staunch first opponent, but don’t rule this Cubs team out too quickly.

With the best hitter since Barry Bonds in Aaron Judge, two elite left-handers in Max Fried and Carlos Rodón and a deep lineup with an overwhelming amount of over-the-fence power, New York certainly looks the part of a viable contender. The challenge for the Yankees will be overcoming the reputation earned over the past year — in last year’s World Series and throughout a particularly uninspiring run in June and July — that they will falter against top-tier competition when the stakes are high and that their shortcomings in the nuances of the game will resurface at the worst possible time. At the same time, the talent on this roster suggests the Yankees have as good a chance at glory as any, particularly in this year’s wide-open American League field.

Judge’s outsized presence as a historically great slugger speaks for itself — though it’s no secret that Yankees fans will be hoping for a lot more than the .184/.344/.408 slash line he mustered last October — but this position-player group can beat you in myriad ways. It’s Cody Bellinger’s rock-solid presence on both sides of the ball, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s power-speed dynamism, big swings from Trent Grisham and Ben Rice’s bountiful breakout. And don’t forget Giancarlo Stanton; he has hit a handful of homers in October, if I recall correctly.

There’s tremendous talent on the mound as well, albeit far more unpredictable in nature, with rookies Will Warren and Cam Schlittler in the rotation and several volatile pieces in the bullpen (Devin Williams, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz). But if those arms lock in and pitch to their potential — and if sketchy defense and baserunning don’t become this team’s untimely undoing — the Yankees could find themselves back in the Fall Classic with a shot at redemption and a 28th World Series title.

How the 12 playoff teams got to this point doesn’t matter nearly as much as who can step up and perform when the stakes are highest. (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports)

Toronto fended off a late charge from the Yankees to secure its first AL East crown since 2015, a monumental achievement for a franchise that entered the season with a host of existential questions looming large. Signing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a long-term extension in April quieted some of the noise, but expectations for the season remained modest until the Blue Jays really started to click midsummer and began to look like legitimate contenders.

Bo Bichette’s ongoing absence due a sprained knee has dampened Toronto’s potential somewhat, but this is still a balanced offense capable of doing damage, with Guerrero and a resurgent George Springer leading a lineup that enters October with the highest batting average (.265) and fewest strikeouts of any club in the field. There is real talent on the mound as well, though Toronto’s pitching staff has been susceptible to some ugly showings and arrives in October with the highest team ERA (4.19) of any playoff club. That said, ace Kevin Gausman and trade-deadline addition Shane Bieber are capable of trading zeroes with any opposing starter, and closer Jeff Hoffman has looked much sharper in September.

Catch Toronto on the right day, and this team looks unstoppable. But without much recent October success to lean on — the Blue Jays have lost seven consecutive postseason games dating to the 2016 ALCS — they need to go out and prove they belong before planning any parades.

AL West champions for the first time since 2001, the Mariners earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the ALDS, which could prove to be a pivotal launching pad for a memorable postseason run. Seattle’s success over the past five seasons has largely been built on its stellar run prevention, and that manifests most obviously at pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park in the Pacific Northwest. But what makes this year’s Mariners club more formidable than recent iterations is its loaded lineup; no longer does this team need to scrape by, eking out close game after close game.

Whether or not he wins AL MVP, catcher Cal Raleigh’s historic campaign will be remembered in Seattle for generations, and now the switch-hitting superstar backstop has the opportunity to create even more memories with a standout October. And Raleigh is not alone in Seattle’s run-production efforts. Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena combined for 59 homers and 61 stolen bases in the regular season. Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, dual deadline additions from the D-backs, have bolstered the offense further, giving the Mariners more than enough firepower to support a pitching staff that also appears to be peaking at the right time.

Indeed, a rotation that was slowed by injuries early on has started to coalesce into a more familiar, reliable form. A bullpen initially led by known quantities Andres Muñoz and Matt Brash has been strengthened by breakouts from Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo. Skipper Dan Wilson is no stranger to the postseason, having reached the playoffs four times as a player with Seattle, but navigating the high-stakes scenarios of October baseball as a manager for the first time is no small task. How he handles the challenge remains to be seen, but the roster at his disposal has all the components of a legitimate championship contender.

The Dodgers enter this postseason much healthier and far more imposing on paper than they did a year ago — but also without a first-round bye. That means Los Angeles is about to be subject to the wild-card round and the ominous randomness that comes with it for just the second time during its dynastic run dating to 2013. No matter how much better this team appears to be than its opponent in Cincinnati, shorter series offer less time for such discrepancies in talent to manifest. That said, there are still a ton of reasons to believe the Dodgers have an excellent chance of retaining their crown.

First and foremost, Shohei Ohtani has resumed his role as a mind-blowing, singular, two-way presence, reestablishing his brilliance on the mound while continuing to pile up power numbers as L.A.’s leadoff hitter. While Ohtani’s return to the rotation comes with questions from a roster management and deployment standpoint, he undoubtedly strengthens a unit that is, believe it or not, fully healthy, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto continuing to thrive and Blake Snell ready to make his mark in his first October as a Dodger. The rotation will be relied on to counterbalance the Dodgers’ most obvious weakness, which has been a troublingly shoddy bullpen, despite a bevy of highly accomplished arms.

However manager Dave Roberts chooses to deploy his pitchers en route to 27 outs, having a high-powered offense should afford him some breathing room as he makes those difficult decisions. While L.A.’s modest win total — by its sky-high standards, anyway — is reflective of a team that didn’t always play up to its potential over the course of the regular season, it would be foolish to underestimate the Dodgers now that the postseason has arrived.

With a victory over Cincinnati in Game 162, the Brewers finished the regular season with 97 victories and the best record in baseball for just the second time in franchise history. The last time that happened was 1982, which was also the last and only time Milwaukee appeared in the World Series. A defeat in seven games against St. Louis that year means this franchise is still seeking its first championship. So here the Brewers are, in October for the seventh time in the past eight years, with a golden opportunity to do what no Brewers team has done before.

Having home-field advantage for the entirety of the playoffs is surely a boon, but Milwaukee has also demonstrated comfort away from American Family Field, with baseball’s best road record at 45-36. And while the Brewers aren’t likely to overpower opponents, they are basically good-to-great at every other facet of the game on both sides of the ball. Their plate discipline is exquisite, they are efficient and aggressive on the basepaths, they play awesome defense, and they have a deep and diverse assortment of arms capable of racking up outs against quality opponents.

This might not be the most star-studded group, but it’s no accident that Pat Murphy’s ballclub emerged as the best regular-season team over a 162-game sample. Their strengths might not be as stupendously impressive as some other clubs’, but these Brewers have very few obvious weaknesses. Now it’s time for them to use that sample of success as a springboard for something much more meaningful in October.

Although they couldn’t chase down the Brewers for the top overall seed, the Phillies finished the season on a strong note, with an MLB-best 35-19 record since the start of August. Fueled by their early postseason exits the past two years following a trip to the World Series in 2022, this is a motivated and talented group laser-focused on doing whatever it takes to play their best when the lights are brightest. 

Philadelphia was perhaps the only team equipped to take a season-ending injury to a pitcher like Zack Wheeler in stride, as this is a pitching staff that still looks capable of handling the rigors of October with aplomb. From a newfound ace in Cristopher Sánchez to a venerable game-ender in Jhoan Duran to a surprise recent addition with quite the postseason résumé in Walker Buehler, manager Rob Thomson should have no shortage of options to cover the high-stakes innings to come.

Of course, it’s the veteran lineup that will need to flush the no-shows of recent Octobers and deliver in the biggest moments. Kyle Schwarber leveling up from impact hitter to world-class force of nature certainly inspires confidence on that front, and Bryce Harper’s personal postseason history is immaculate. Getting shortstop Trea Turner — who is having arguably the best all-around season of his career — back from the injured list just before October is another hugely positive development. And perhaps the new guys in the outfield in Harrison Bader and Max Kepler can provide the boost to push this team to new heights.

Everything is in place for Philadelphia to achieve the ultimate goal that has eluded it during this otherwise highly successful era. But as we know, nothing is certain in baseball. The Phillies enter this tournament as the team to beat by my humble estimation, but we’ve got quite the month ahead of us to find out who really has what it takes.

Let the games begin.

MLB playoffs 2025: Wild-card matchups, players to watch and series predictions for Tigers-Guardians, Padres-Cubs, Red Sox-Yankees and Reds-Dodgers

We made it, baseball fans. It was a chaotic sprint to finish the regular season, but with 162 games on the books, and will not be on the wild-card roster.

Red Sox: What a roller coaster.

Here’s an incomplete list of notable things that happened to the 2025 Red Sox: They traded away the face of the franchise, Rafael Devers, after a very avoidable, very public kerfuffle about his defensive position. That situation escalated the way it did only because the team’s presumed first baseman of the future, Tristan Casas, suffered a season-ending knee injury on May 2. Big-ticket free agent Alex Bregman missed two months due to a quad issue. A trio of top prospects debuted and then either disappointed (Kristian Campbell) or got hurt (Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony). Garrett Crochet, who will finish second for the AL Cy Young, went to the zoo and saw some pandas. The team appeared magically tethered to .500 before a nine-game winning streak leading into the All-Star break propelled them back into playoff contention.

It feels like the 2025 Red Sox played five seasons this season. Now they have to play another one.

Yankees: This is the best offense in baseball. The Bombers lead MLB in runs, homers, slugging percentage and OPS. Aaron Judge is either going to win MVP or almost win MVP. Giancarlo Stanton returned from a bizarre series of elbow issues and spent much of the summer putting fans in the outfield at risk. Jazz Chisholm Jr. solidified himself as one of the best second basemen in the sport. Ben Rice and Trent Grisham broke out. Cody Bellinger found his groove. Besides the mysterious capitulation of Anthony Volpe, things were really good for Yankee hitters this year.

The same was true for the rotation, which stepped up big-time after ace Gerrit Cole went down with a torn UCL in spring training. Max Fried was brilliant in his debut season in the Bronx. Carlos Rodón evolved his game, delivering a crucial bounce-back season. Two rookies, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren, emerged as stalwarts. We’ll, uh, talk about the bullpen later.

The Yankees struggled versus playoff-caliber clubs for much of the season before a solid stretch in September against Houston, Toronto, Boston and Detroit. There are still concerns about the defense and the baserunning — those pesky buggers that doomed New York in the 2024 World Series — but this team is playing well at the right time.

Red Sox: The lefty-mashing specialists: Romy González and Rob Refsnyder

New York’s two best starters, Fried and Rodón, both throw with their left arm. In 42 plate appearances this season against lefty Yankees, González and Refsnyder are a combined 13-for-35 with six extra-base hits and seven walks. That’s a .371/.476/.629 line. The other main righty bats in Boston’s lineup — Trevor Story, Alex Bregman, Carlos Narvaez — will be crucial as well, but how Romy and Rob do against Fried and Rodón could swing this series.

Yankees: The bullpen

This has been the club’s weak link all season, and it could be its Achilles’ heel in October. David Bednar, acquired from Pittsburgh at the deadline, has been great in the closer role. But the bridge between him and the starters has been shaky at times. The Luke Weaver/Devin Williams tandem hasn’t lived up to expectations. Another deadline add, sidewinding righty Camilo Doval, has shown flashes of dominance but doesn’t foster supreme confidence. The same is true for Fernando Cruz, whose splitter baffled hitters in the first half but hasn’t been as effective recently.

The names are big, the pedigrees are impressive, but when it gets late and tense in October, does this Yankees ‘pen have what it takes?

The postseason begins with two rivalry matchups in Tigers vs. Guardians and Red Sox vs. Yankees. (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports)

Red Sox: Crochet shoves in the opener, and the Sox win a low-scoring game thanks to a few solo shots off Fried and the Yanks’ pen. Then Boston pounces on Game 2 starter Rodón, who struggled in his three starts against the Sox this year, with 10 earned runs in 15⅔ innings. Just like that, done and dusted, the Sox send the Yankees on an early vacation while reinvigorating baseball’s most historic rivalry.

Yankees: By bludgeoning Boston into submission. The Yankees’ lineup is better than the Red Sox’s lineup by a pretty significant margin. Of course, anything can happen in a short series, but New York’s firepower up and down the lineup feels like a game-changer.

Fried keeps it close enough with Crochet in Game 1 for New York’s lineup to explode late. The Red Sox can’t bounce back and fizzle out quietly in Game 2.

— Mintz

Game 1: Hunter Greene (CIN) vs. Blake Snell (LAD)

Game 2: Nick Lodolo (CIN) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)

Game 3: Andrew Abbott (CIN) vs. Shohei Ohtani (LAD)

Reds: When you hire Terry Francona to be your manager, which the Reds did this past offseason, you’re making a statement to your fan base and your organization that expectations are going to be higher. But it appeared for most of the 2025 season that a postseason appearance wasn’t in the cards for Cincinnati.

That is, until the New York Mets left the door open for the third NL wild-card spot. The Reds were able to outplay New York over the final three months of the regular season, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and their first time in a 162-game season since 2013.

Dodgers: We all went into this season believing the Dodgers would run roughshod through the league after a winter in which they added ace Blake Snell, closer Tanner Scott and international free agent Roki Sasaki. But baseball doesn’t work that way, and things were not easy for the Dodgers in 2025. On offense, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman struggled in a way the team couldn’t have anticipated, but the good news for L.A. is Shohei Ohtani more than makes up for others’ flaws, hitting a franchise-record and career-high 55 home runs and likely winning his third consecutive MVP Award while returning to the mound.

As in the past several seasons, injuries plagued L.A.’s starting rotation in the first half. But the Dodgers got healthier in the second half, with a rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani coming into view. In the end, like they’ve done 12 times in the past 13 seasons, the Dodgers found a way to capture the NL West title.

Reds: Hunter Greene

If the Reds win this series against the Dodgers, it will be because their ace gets them off on the right foot and helps them get a critical Game 1 victory. When Greene is at his best, like he showed when he nearly tossed a no-hitter against the Cubs on Sept. 18, he is a true difference-maker. If Greene is great in L.A., the Reds have a chance.

Dodgers: Roki Sasaki

We didn’t know if we would see Sasaki again this season, as he missed most of the season due to a right shoulder impingement. Even when he was healthy, he didn’t show much consistency. But the rookie right-hander has looked like a different pitcher since his recent return to the big leagues in a relief role, with his fastball looking unhittable and his signature splitter keeping hitters off-balance.

What makes Sasaki the ultimate X-factor is that where the Dodgers are most vulnerable right now is in their bullpen, particularly in high leverage. When he’s right, Sasaki probably has the filthiest stuff on the Dodgers’ roster, and with Blake Teinen and Tanner Scott both struggling, the Dodgers could make Sasaki their closer this postseason.

Even though Sasaki’s stuff has looked electric, the pressure of the postseason is a different animal. But fortune favors the bold, and the Dodgers might not have a better option.

Reds: Pitching. Pitching. And more pitching. The Reds reached the postseason behind strong starting pitching, and if they hope to beat the juggernaut Dodgers, it will have to be their starters who once again carry them. And Cincinnati will roll out its best in Greene, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo against L.A. If there’s anything that can stop a world-class lineup like the Dodgers, it’s the arms on the Reds.

Dodgers: There’s no secret sauce to the Dodgers’ success. When their superstars are playing at their best, they are almost impossible to beat. The combination of Ohtani, Betts and Freeman gives them a trio that few teams in MLB history could rival. If just one of them has a big series, that could be enough to carry this team into the next round. But L.A.’s bullpen is its weak link going into October. The Dodgers will need length from their starters to keep that leaky bullpen from being exposed.

The Dodgers are better than the Reds in terms of elite talent, but the equalizer in this series could be the starting pitching. Greene has shown down the stretch that he can be one of the elite aces in baseball, and the Reds have enough to win a 3-2 or 2-1 game. Ultimately, the Dodgers’ high-powered offense will be the difference in this series. When you have players like Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernández hitting in the bottom of the order, that’s nearly unbeatable lineup depth.

— Dorsey

Game 1: Nick Pivetta (SD) vs. Matthew Boyd (CHI)

Game 2: Dylan Cease (SD) vs. Shota Imanaga (CHI)

Game 3: Yu Darvish (SD) vs. Jameson Taillon (CHI)

Padres: San Diego’s path to the postseason was different than in years past. Usually, it’s the offense led by Manny Machado and Co. that drives the Padres. This time around, it was the pitching, as San Diego finished the season top-three in baseball in team ERA and first in bullpen ERA. One of the big turning points for San Diego was the trade deadline, when it made arguably the biggest move in the sport, acquiring fireballer Mason Miller from the A’s. President of baseball operations AJ Preller once again cashed in his chips on a lights-out bullpen — one built to thrive in October.

Cubs: For the first time since 2018, the Cubs reached the playoffs in a full season, recording their most wins since that year. With a first-half offense that was the best in baseball and breakout years from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch, the Cubs surged early this year. But after an impressive first half, the second half saw Chicago have to grind to get into the postseason. The offense sputtered, and the Cubs had to lean on their pitching to secure a wild-card spot. But they made it with room to spare, and the Cubs will have an opportunity to face their division rivals in the NLDS if they can get through San Diego.

Padres: Jackson Merrill

It hasn’t been the easiest sophomore season for Merrill, coming off a phenomenal rookie season. He began the season by signing a massive, seven-year extension, but shortly after, he landed on the injured list due to a hamstring strain. But fast-forward to September, and the 22-year-old not only looks fully healthy but also has locked in at the perfect time, with a .938 OPS and seven homers this month. Merrill hitting in the cleanup spot behind Fernando Tatis Jr. and Machado makes the Padres dangerous when the trio is firing on all cylinders.

Cubs: Michael Busch

You can make a case that Busch has been the most underrated offensive player in baseball this season. With his 34 home runs, the first baseman has done something that not even Anthony Rizzo did in his time in Chicago, and his tally is the most by a Cub since Kyle Schwarber hit 38 in 2019. Busch has been the most consistent offensive player in the Cubs’ lineup, and whichever way he goes, usually Chicago’s offense follows. Busch having a big series vs. San Diego would be huge for Chicago’s hopes to advance.

Padres: San Diego will advance to the NLDS for the second straight year if its stars come through. Preller built his lineup and roster around star power, and with Machado, Tatis and Merrill leading the way, San Diego has plenty of offensive firepower. Plus, beyond the Padres’ starting pitchers, the power arms in their bullpen become the equalizer. If the Padres can get to the fifth inning with a lead, it’ll be difficult for the Cubs to record hits, let alone score, against Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejón, Mason Miller and Robert Suarez.

Cubs: If the Cubs rediscover the offense from the first half that made them one of baseball’s best teams, they can and will get to the NLDS. Chicago has shown glimpses of that with its surge over the last week of the regular season, especially from Seiya Suzuki, who seems to have rediscovered his power stroke. If the Cubs can come through with some clutch hits, they’ll get past San Diego and face Milwaukee in the NLDS.

The biggest blow for Chicago is that it will be without NL Rookie of the Year candidate Cade Horton, who was placed on the injured list due to a rib fracture on Saturday. Horton would’ve been the Cubs’ likely Game 1 starter. Instead they’ll turn to a combination of Imanaga, Boyd and Taillon.

Postseason experience matters, and if there’s one huge advantage for San Diego here, it’s that the Padres have been in the playoffs every year since 2022. After they were eliminated in the NLDS last year, when they believed they were the best team in baseball, it’s difficult to imagine them getting knocked out early a second straight year. San Diego‘s ability to shorten games with its bullpen gives it the edge in a short series.

— Dorsey

MLB’s year of no no-no’s: League sees zero no-hitters in regular season for first time since 2005

With the MLB regular season coming to an end on Sunday, the league has hit an unexpected milestone. 2025 marks the first time in 20 years that there were zero no-hitters recorded in the regular season.

The last time the league had no no-no’s was two decades ago in 2005. In the past 50 years, there have been only six seasons without a no-hitter: 1982, 1985, 1989, 2000, 2005 and 2025.

It’s a bit stunning, given that there have consistently been a few pitchers achieving the feat over the past several seasons. There were four no-hitters thrown in 2024, 2023 (including a perfect game from Domingo Germán) and 2022. In 2021, a whopping nine no-no’s were thrown across the season.

That said, plenty of pitchers got close this year. Back in June, Texas Rangers ace Jacob DeGrom took a no-hitter into the eighth inning; two days later, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez threw eight hitless innings before being broken up in the ninth.

In July, a no-hit bid from Seattle Mariners ace Bryan Woo was spoiled in the eighth in a tough loss to the New York Yankees. And in August, there were two more close calls: On Aug. 6, Juan Soto’s ninth-inning home run ruined a chance for the Cleveland Guardians’ Gavin Williams, and Baltimore Orioles rookie Brandon Young lost a perfect game in the eighth a week later.

Then, in September, it was bad luck for the Los Angeles Dodgers. A bid from Yoshinobu Yamamoto was broken up by a ninth-inning Jackson Holliday homer that sparked a dramatic Orioles comeback. Two days after that, Tyler Glasnow took a no-hitter into the ninth before it was broken up by the Colorado Rockies.

(There was at least a no-hitter in college baseball, from Arkansas pitcher-turned-Philadelphia Phillies draft pick Gage Wood in the Men’s College World Series.)

Yamamoto also had a near miss with an immaculate inning, a feat even rare than a no-hitter. The Dodgers’ ace was robbed of an immaculate inning in June on a bad call. In August, Chicago Cubs pitcher Andrew Kittredge succeeded on that front, throwing the sixth immaculate inning in franchise history.

MLB teams still have a chance to make history and keep the streak alive with a no-hit bid in the postseason, but it won’t be an easy accomplishment. There have been only three postseason no-hitters in MLB history, via ESPN; the most recent was a combined no-no in 2022 by the Houston Astros, led by Cristian Javier.

MLB offseason previews 2025: What’s next for the Rockies, White Sox, Braves, Rangers and other eliminated teams?

The baseball season is a marathon. Each major-league roster is in constant flux as teams deal with surges, slumps, injuries and disappointments throughout the 162-game campaign. When the dust settles, the front office in each city begins analyzing successes and failures and building plans to improve in the future. After all, every year, 29 of 30 teams fall short of the ultimate goal.

With that in mind,

Nick Kurtz opened the season as the organization’s top prospect and will likely finish as the AL Rookie of the Year and the centerpiece of the Athletics’ lineup. The slugger needed time to get acclimated, as he hit .208 with one homer in his initial 23 games. Then he became dominant in late May and stayed that way for the rest of the summer, which included one of the most memorable single-game performances in MLB history.

Kurtz wasn’t the only A’s rookie to make a major impact. After getting his feet wet last season, Jacob Wilson spent 2025 ranked among the sport’s batting average leaders, and he emerged as a lineup sparkplug who rarely strikes out and has a little more pop than some expected. His campaign was interrupted in late July by a fractured forearm, but by that point Wilson had already established his significant upside. Read more

There were nearly as many disappointments at the plate as there were on the mound. Adley Rutschman was the highest profile letdown. He was supposed to rebound from a poor second half in 2024 and return to being one of the best young catchers in baseball. Instead, Rutschman regressed further, a huge problem when factoring in that he usually hit second in the lineup. 

Ascending youngsters Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser both missed a significant portion of the first half due to injuries, free-agent signee Tyler O’Neill was a massive bust, and Ryan Mountcastle’s contributions were virtually nonexistent. Former prospects such as Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo did not take the next step, and with that, a lineup that was supposed to be among the best in baseball was full of holes from top to bottom. Read more

Junior Caminero is at the outset of a memorable career. Just 22 years old, Camerino has already surpassed 40 homers and 100 RBI in his first full MLB campaign. For an organization known for developing pitchers, having a superstar hitter in the heart of the lineup for years to come will be incredibly valuable. The next challenge for Caminero will be to rank among baseball’s best batters without the benefit of George M. Steinbrenner Field, as he was much more effective at home than on the road in 2025.

Caminero wasn’t the only Rays hitter who had a strong season. Jonathan Aranda, Yandy Díaz and Brandon Lowe each made a significant impact. The success of Aranda was especially encouraging, considering he entered the season as a 26-year-old with 293 career at-bats who was running out of time to take the next step. Díaz used the power-inducing nature of his temporary home park to post a career-best homer total, while the oft-injured Lowe was selected for the All-Star Game and will finish with his most games played (149) since 2021. Read more

There was no shortage of disappointments for a team that ended a string of seven consecutive postseason appearances with a clunker. The Braves lost their first seven games of 2025 and never logged the necessary winning streak to bring them close to a winning record. Another rough stretch near the beginning of July sealed their fate as the most disappointing team in the National League. 

In two years, the Braves went from being the highest-scoring group in baseball to ranking below average in runs scored. And injuries were not a major problem for this group; instead, many players signed to long-term deals fell short of expectations for a second straight year. Michael Harris II picked things up in the second half but arrived at the All-Star break with the lowest OPS (.551) of any qualified player. Ozzie Albies has been on a downward trajectory since he produced 33 homers and 109 RBI in 2023. Austin Riley’s decline has been more gradual, but he spent significant time on the IL the past two seasons, and his performances when healthy have been solid rather than excellent. Read more

After having an average offense last year, the Royals were expected to take a step forward with their group of young hitters. Instead, they spent the entire season ranked among the lowest-scoring teams in baseball.

Bobby Witt Jr. continues to be one of the best all-around players in the sport. He fields the shortstop position extremely well and is always dangerous at the plate. That said, there is no hiding the fact that Witt took a major step backward offensively this year. He continued to run the bases aggressively, but his batting average and home run total paled in comparison to his 2024 production. Read more

The Rangers will likely finish the season with the lowest team ERA in MLB. Their rotation was as effective as any in the sport, and despite a lack of high-priced relievers, their bullpen was terrific as well.

Everyone expected Jacob deGrom to pitch well on a per-inning basis, but few would’ve predicted that he would make 30 starts. The 37-year-old no longer averages 99 mph on his fastball, and he won’t rank among the league’s strikeout leaders, but he continues to limit baserunners as well as anyone. And until he went on the IL in late August due to a rotator cuff strain, Nathan Eovaldi could make a case that he was even more valuable than deGrom. The 35-year-old was steady in recent seasons but enjoyed an outstanding 2025 that included a memorable streak of allowing one or fewer runs in 13 of 14 starts from April 25 to Aug. 5. Read more

The Giants ranked among the bottom half of baseball in run-scoring, largely due to a lack of impact players in the lineup. No one on the roster is on pace to hit 30 homers, drive in 90 runs, steal 15 bases or post an OPS above .800. Willy Adames might wind up leading the club in homers and RBI, but he got off to a slow start and by the end of the season will have contributed less than what was expected when he signed a $182 million contract last offseason.

Rafael Devers was supposed to become the team’s star when he was acquired in June, but he wasn’t much better than average. Patrick Bailey’s power stroke completely disappeared, and he struggled to keep his batting average above .200 all season. Finally, Tyler Fitzgerald couldn’t repeat the success of his breakout 2024 season, which led to multiple summer demotions to Triple-A. Not a single position player on this team exceeded expectations. Read more

The Cardinals’ rotation deserves credit for durability, but there was little good news beyond that. Not much was expected of Andre Pallante and Miles Mikolas, yet they struggled to meet even modest ambitions. Erick Fedde went from being a valued addition at last year’s trade deadline to being designated for assignment and shipped to the pitching-starved Braves in July. And Sonny Gray was respectable overall but faltered badly as the team went 8-16 in July and fell out of the postseason race.

The lineup plodded its way to a respectable season despite some serious holes. As good as Scott was defensively, he gave back all that value and more by being one of baseball’s worst hitters. His playing time was cut in August as his OPS continued to float around .600. Another young outfielder, Jordan Walker, was an even bigger disappointment. Once expected to be a lineup centerpiece, Walker struggled mightily at the dish for a second straight year. Thanks to poor plate control and a penchant for hitting grounders, Walker is no longer a lock to have a regular role next year. Read more

The Marlins came back from 16 games under .500 on June 9 to even their record at 55-55 on Aug. 3. During that stretch, their 31-15 record was second-best in baseball. They regressed in August but surprised some opponents in the second half and showed signs that they’re ready to turn the corner and contend for a postseason berth.

The biggest improvements were on offense, as the team will finish near the middle of the pack in runs scored after ranking 27th in 2024. The centerpiece of that improvement is someone who arrived quietly in a trade last summer, Kyle Stowers. After being blocked by veterans in Baltimore, Stowers finally got a chance at a full-time role in Miami and took full advantage, ranking among the MLB leaders in home runs and OPS and representing the Marlins in the 2025 All-Star Game. Read more

Arizona’s pitching staff ranked among the least effective in baseball throughout the season. The biggest letdown was Corbin Burnes, who signed a $210 million contract in the offseason, then made 11 starts before being shut down due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. The organization will now get next to nothing from its new ace during the first two years of his deal.

While injuries led to the disappointment from Burnes, there was no such excuse for Zac Gallen, who entered the season with a lifetime 3.25 ERA before struggling to push his 2025 mark under 5.00. Gallen didn’t lose any velocity, but his strikeout rate dropped, and walks were a problem for a second straight year. The expectations coming in were lower for Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez, but like Gallen, they struggled to maintain ERAs under 5.00. Read more

The Astros fell apart when the games mattered most. They opened September by losing three consecutive series against the Yankees, Rangers and Blue Jays. Then came the biggest blow, when they were swept at home by the Mariners. They didn’t recover from that debacle, as they went to Sacramento and dropped a series against the Athletics before losing Friday to the Angels and getting eliminated with the Tigers’ and Guardians’ victories Saturday.

The Astros deployed a below-average offense, and their struggles were especially notable in the second half. The absence of superstar slugger Yordan Alvarez was a big part of the problem. He went on the IL on May 5 due to what was originally diagnosed as right hand inflammation. The injury was later revealed to be a fracture, and he remained out of action until Aug. 26. Not only did Alvarez appear in just 48 games, but he also logged a .797 OPS across those games after entering the season with a career mark of .973. Read more

The Mets might have won their first NL East title since 2015 if not for a brutal stretch from July 28 to Aug. 15. They led the Phillies by 1.5 games on July 28, but by the time their Aug. 15 game ended, they had gone 2-14 and sat six games back of Philadelphia. It was especially frustrating that most of that slump occurred immediately after the Mets’ front office made several acquisitions at the trade deadline. Another brutal losing streak — eight consecutive defeats from Sept. 6 to 13 — caused the club to fall back in the NL wild-card race before ultimately missing the postseason entirely.

The veteran members of the rotation were a problem, especially down the stretch. Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Kodai Senga deserve credit for each making at least 22 starts and maintaining ERAs below 4.30. But Peterson logged a 6.68 ERA in August and an eye-popping 9.72 in September. Meanwhile, Holmes was removed from the rotation in the middle of September, and Senga spent the final weeks of the season in Triple-A. Sean Manaea didn’t debut until July 13 and finished the season with a 5.64 ERA. Read more