The MLB postseason has just begun and it has already been filled with drama. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in a best-of-three Wild Card series. While some team’s seasons are far from over, others have a lot of reflecting ahead of them.
Contenders
Dodgers: Last year’s champs have the highest payroll in the league. They also have NL MVP favorite, Shohei Ohtani, who hit 55 HRs this year and finally took back to the mound, posting a 2.47 ERA across his 14 starts. Although they have the 16th best ERA, their bats make up for it, finishing second for HRs and sixth for AVG. Similarly, in last year’s World Series winning season, they had the 18th best ERA.
Yankees: Despite a scare, losing the first game of the wildcard series, Cam Schlittler had a career game, throwing 12Ks over eight scoreless innings. The Yanks were 19-12 against teams over .500 this season, and the offense, led by Aaron Judge, was the best during the regular season.
Phillies: The Phillies have consistently been one of the best teams in the league this season. They finished 23-13 against teams above .500 and they won the season series against the Dodgers 4-2. With the bats of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber leading the way and a strong pitching rotation and bullpen anchored by closer Jhoan Duran, with a 2.08 ERA, the Phillies are poised to be a handful for whoever is in their path.
Time for a rebuild
Pirates: Keep Skenes and build or trade him and rebuild. The Pirates are one of the lowest spending teams in the MLB, consistently in the bottom third of annual payroll. They have also been very mediocre averaging 70 or so wins a season, outside a three year stretch between 2013-2015. This past year was no exception finishing 71-91 and fifth in the NL Central. They ranked lowest in HRs with 117—to put this in perspective, Mariner’s catcher Cal Raleigh hit over half of that on his own. The Pirates offense was disappointing to say the least, also bringing up the rear in runs and RBIs and AVG.
Their pitching was a little bit better, averaging the seventh best ERA, fourth best WAR and third in HR per nine innings, and this was carried by Paul Skenes who had the lowest ERA in the league finishing with a 1.97. Their next best starter had a 4.19.
This season the Pirates were sellers at the deadline, dealting fan favorites Ke’Bryan Hayes and David Bednar in favor of prospects, so it appears as though the franchise is focused on youth and bolstering for the future, but given Skenes’ talent, if they intend to harness his Cy Young level they better rebuild quick. The alternative is to trade him and bring in lots of prospects to expedite their rebuild.
Money doesn’t always buy success
Mets: The Mets had an utter collapse after an off season acquisition of star Juan Soto from cross town rival Yankees, and resigning hometown bat Pete Alonso. Despite Soto getting off to a slow start, the Mets looked good in the early stages of the season, holding the best record in the league until June 12, 2025. At that point they were 45-24, an impressive 21-games over .500. But June 12 is seen as the turning point for the Mets. From that point on, they were the fifth worst team in the league, finishing with a 39-55 record.
Where did it go wrong for the Mets? The turning point was ace Kodai Senga’s Grade 1 hamstring strain against the Nats on June 12. Prior to the injury he was 7-3 in his 13 starts with a 1.47 ERA. He finished the season with over a 3 ERA, earning a 5.90 ERA in his nine starts post injury. Prior to the injury, the Mets had the best team ERA in the league, but finished the season in 18th. The Mets, scrambling for answers, turned to their prospects to help them hobble to the finish line; but they could not save the sinking ship.
The issue was not their offense. Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso all hit 30+ HRs, and Lindor and Soto were the third duo to hit 30 HRs and steal 30 bases.
Questions have to be asked of the front office and President of Baseball Operations David Stearns. Stearns moves at the trade deadline were to bolster the bullpen to make a run in the playoffs. However, reliever Ryan Helsley was probably the biggest flop of the entire deadline, posting a 7.7 ERA across his 22 appearances; he was so bad that at one point his ERA was in double digits. Other moves did not work out as they hoped either, LHP Gregory Soto and RHP Tyler Rogers were both acquired to reinforce the bullpen but neither panned out. Similarly, Cedric Mullin, brought in to play center field, flopped.
After a run to the NLCS, Stearns hoped to strengthen the team going into the season via free agency. But similar to his deadline acquisition, they were largely disappointing. In the offseason, they spent $340 million, including signing Juan Soto for nearly $800 million. The only two signings that panned out were that of Soto and the resigning of Alonso— there is speculation that owner Steve Cohen got these deals over the line because Stearns was hesitant to pull the trigger.
Chasing records
Cal Raleigh: Raleigh has had a record breaking campaign, breaking the HR record for catchers (60), the single season Mariners’ HR record, and the record of HRs for a switch-hitter.
Aaron Judge: 36 AL intentional walks, become the 4th player to hit 50+ hrs in at least four seasons, joining Ruth Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. However, the latter two are known to have been doping during their time in the majors, so Judge can be considered the second to do it.
The Rockies: On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Rockies were chasing the worst ever record, falling just two losses short of the 2024 Chicago White Sox. The 43-119 Rockies did however set the league record for the worst run differential, -424 runs. They also had the worst ever 50 game start (8-42).
Bright futures?
Red Sox: Boston has one of the most exciting futures ahead of them. After a surprising trade sending star player Rafael Devers to the Giants, it was uncertain what the future would hold for the Red Sox. Yet, they were able to make the playoffs with a 89-73 record, but fell short to the Yankees in the wild-card series. Moving on from Devers meant ridding themselves of his 10-year $313.5 million contract and his poor attitude for two pitchers and two prospects. Outfielder Roman Anthony made his debut this season and had an impressive campaign batting .292, 8 HRs and 32 RBIs in his 71 appearances, and there are other youngsters with high upside awaiting their opportunities. With the core of Garrett Crochet, Alex Bregman, Ceddane Rafaela and Jarren Duran (who will likely have his club option exercised), plus their young prospects and a taste for playoff baseball, Sox fans can expect winning-baseball for years to come.
