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Offseason Outlook: Detroit Tigers

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One of the great late-season surges in baseball history brought the Tigers from eight games under .500 to within a game of the AL Championship Series.  With the rebuild now over, the Tigers have plenty of avenues available to bolster the roster for 2025.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Javier Baez, SS: $73MM through 2027
  • Colt Keith, 2B: $24,142,500 through 2030 (includes $2.6425MM buyout of $10MM club option for 2030; deal also includes $13MM club option for 2031 with $1MM buyout, and $15MM club option for 2032 with $2MM buyout)
  • Kenta Maeda, SP/RP: $10MM through 2025

2025 financial commitments: $38.5MM
Total future commitments: $107,142,500

Option Decisions

  • Casey Mize, SP: $3.1MM club option, $10K buyout (if option is declined, Mize is still arbitration-controlled through 2026)

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

  • None

After moving most of their veteran players at the trade deadline, Detroit looked to be playing out the string as late as August 10, when a 3-1 loss to the Giants dropped the Tigers' record to 55-63.  That's when the magic started happening, as the Tigers went 31-13 over their last 44 games to surge into the final AL wild card spot, giving Detroit its first playoff berth since 2014.  The club then upset the Astros in the Wild Card Series and took the Guardians to the limit in the ALDS before Lane Thomas' clutch grand slam in Game 5 finally put the upstart Tigers away for good.

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Should The Padres Move Adrián Morejón Back To The Rotation?

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Left-hander Adrián Morejón just wrapped up the best season of his major league career, at least so far. He had appeared in each of the seasons from 2019 to 2023 but never reached 35 innings pitched in any of those. In 2024, he made 60 relief appearances, logging 63 2/3 frames. He allowed 2.83 earned runs per nine innings in that time. His 26.1% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 51.4% ground ball rate were all better than league averages. He added another two appearances in the postseason.

Now the Padres and Morejón will have to decide what’s next. The southpaw came up as a starting pitching prospect and was highly regarded as a minor leaguer. The Cuban lefty secured an $11MM signing bonus from the Padres in 2016, before the league introduced the hard-capped international amateur spending system that currently exists. Baseball America considered him one of the top 100 prospects in the league from 2017 to 2021, with Morejón getting as high as #52 going into 2019.

But his trajectory slowed down since that peak of his prospect hype, largely due to injuries. In 2019, he made his major league debut but missed time due to a shoulder impingement. The 2020 season was shortened by the pandemic and there were no minor league games, limiting him to just nine appearances and less than 20 innings that year. In 2021, he required Tommy John surgery after just two starts. He was off the injured list by June of 2022 but missed time in the second half of that year due to shoulder inflammation. In 2023, he spent time on the IL due to a left elbow sprain and right knee inflammation, limiting him to just nine major league innings and less than 30 on the farm.

With all of those injuries, the Padres understandably kept him in a relief role this year. As mentioned up top, he stayed healthy and thrived in the bullpen. Based on the way the past few years went, the club might be tempted to just keep Morejón in the bullpen. With Tanner Scott set to reach free agency, Morejón arguably projects as the club’s best southpaw reliever for 2025, ahead of Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui.

But there’s upside to considering the alternative, with Garrett Crochet being a best-case scenario example of what’s possible. Like Morejón, Crochet was a top prospect who had spent the early parts of his career either hurt or pitching in relief. The White Sox stretched him out for a rotation role in 2024 with fantastic results, as he posted a 3.58 ERA over 146 innings. Even those numbers sell him short, as that club’s poor defense seemingly contributed to a .318 batting average on balls in play for Crochet this year. He struck out 35.1% of batters faced, limited walks to a 5.5% clip and got grounders on 45.1% of balls in play. If it weren’t for that high BABIP, he probably would have kept some more runs off the board, which is why his 2.69 FIP and 2.53 SIERA were far better than his ERA.

That’s not to say that the Padres should consider such a performance from Morejón to be likely, but it demonstrates the proverbial pot of gold they could chase. Crochet is now a borderline ace and he will likely be the top trade candidate of this offseason, with the White Sox looking at bringing back a king’s ransom in terms of young prospects.

Morejón threw five different pitches in 2024, suggesting there’s potentially still a starter’s repertoire in there, without him relying on any one pitch too much. His sinker, slider and four-seamer were all thrown between 23 and 36% of the time, while he also sprinkled in a splitter 7.6% of the time and a sweeper at a 2.6% clip. That helped him avoid the extreme splits that can often doom a pitcher to a specialized relief role. Lefties hit .255/.303/.367 off Morejón this year while righties were only slightly better at .257/.321/.405.

Due to Morejón spending so much time on the IL, he has managed to accrue more than four years of major league service time. That means that, despite his limited track record, he’s slated for free agency after 2026. But the missed time has also prevented him from increasing his earning power. He made $850K this year, barely above the $740K league minimum. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a modest bump to $1.8MM in 2025. He’d be able to secure one more arbitration raise for 2026 before hitting the open market.

That price point is important for the Padres. Due in part to the collapse of their broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group, the club had to cut the payroll last winter. They flipped Juan Soto to the Yankees to help them duck under the competitive balance tax while also adding some needed starting pitching depth.

Starting pitching is again a concern for the Friars going into 2025, with the recent news that Joe Musgrove is set to miss all of next year recovering from Tommy John surgery. Michael King, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish give the club a strong front three but they have question marks at the back end. Matt Waldron had a 3.71 ERA in the first half but an ugly 8.10 ERA in the second half. Randy Vásquez had a 4.87 ERA this year but with a tepid 14.4% strikeout rate and he also had an 8.21 ERA in his Triple-A starts. Musgrove will hopefully be back by 2026 but King and Cease are both slated for free agency after 2025, meaning there’s even less certainty in the future.

Improving the rotation will undoubtedly be a focus for president of baseball operations A.J. Preller this winter but the budget might again be an issue. The Friars already have an estimated $231MM CBT number for next year, according to RosterResource, just shy of next year’s $241MM base threshold. Assuming the club wants to avoid the tax again in 2025, that doesn’t give Preller a lot to work with and even back-end starters often get eight-figure deals in free agency. Last winter, Kyle Gibson got $13MM on a one-year deal, Lance Lynn got $11MM, Wade Miley and Alex Wood each got $8.5MM while Martín Pérez got $8MM.

In addition to filling out the rotation, Preller will be looking to replace lost offensive production. Each of Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Donovan Solano, David Peralta and Kyle Higashioka are slated to reach free agency, putting some notable dents in the lineup.

Given the club’s tight budget and long to-do list, it would be a great solution if Morejón could become a starter next year. That would be far cheaper than filling a rotation spot via the open market. There’s also the trade market but the Padres have sent out a lot of prospects in recent years and would probably love to avoid doing more of that, if possible.

But despite all the attraction of Morejón jumping into the rotation, there’s also the risk of another injury cropping up. In that scenario, it’s entirely possible that the Padres fall short of upgrading the rotation and also subtract a key lefty from the bullpen mix.

What do you think the Padres should do? Give him a shot at the rotation or stick with what’s working? Have your say in the poll below!

Where should the Padres put Adrián Morejón in 2025?
Bullpen 52.28% (824 votes)
Rotation 47.72% (752 votes)
Total Votes: 1,576

Trade Candidate: Taylor Ward

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The Angels are coming off the worst season in franchise history. They lost 99 games for the first time. Only the White Sox, Rockies and Marlins had a worse run differential. The Angels are playing like a rebuilding team, even if they haven’t gotten here intentionally.

Halos brass continues to resist the rebuilding label. Owner Arte Moreno said two weeks ago that he plans to approve a payroll increase and expects the team to compete for a playoff spot. General manager Perry Minasian expressed similar sentiments at his end-of-season press conference. The Angels aren’t about to tear the roster to the studs. At the same time, they can’t run things back while only tinkering with the bullpen (as they did last offseason) and expect markedly better results.

Whether they embrace a short-term reset or look to balance the MLB roster without dealing from one of the league’s worst farm systems, there’s a case for moving Taylor Ward. The 30-year-old left fielder has been the subject of trade speculation dating back to last offseason. The Pirates and Royals reportedly checked in at the most recent deadline. Nothing came together. Pittsburgh ended up acquiring Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins instead. The Royals didn’t address their outfield at the deadline but claimed Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers a few weeks later.

Trading Ward over the summer would have been selling a bit low.  After a strong first couple months, he had a dismal stretch between June and July. From June 1 to the start of play on deadline day, Ward hit .175/.280/.313 while striking out at a 28% clip. He had a .227/.309/.401 season line at that point. He wasn’t trending well as a lineup boost for a contender.

Ward hit much better once the deadline passed. From July 30 on, he turned in a stout .282/.348/.471 slash over 230 plate appearances. He cut his strikeouts to a more manageable 23.9% clip and drilled nine home runs. Ward concluded the season with 25 longballs and a .246/.323/.426 showing that’s about in line with his career trajectory. He’s a slightly above-average hitter who plays roughly league average defense in left field. He has crushed left-handed pitching (.315/.374/.509) over the past two seasons while putting up league average numbers (.229/.314/.399) without the platoon advantage. It’s not a star profile, but that’s a valuable regular.

The Halos control Ward for another two seasons. He qualified for early arbitration in 2023 as a Super Two player, so he’s already in line for a notable salary. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $9.2MM sum next season, the highest in the Halos’ arbitration class. He’ll probably be in line for around $12-14MM in his final year of club control.

Ward isn’t too dissimilar from Lane Thomas, whom the Nationals traded to the Guardians at this year’s deadline. Thomas was a little more affordable, playing on a $5.45MM deal in his penultimate arbitration year. The midseason trade meant Cleveland was picking up a year and a half of his services rather than two full seasons. Washington landed a trio of prospects, headlined by recent second-round pick Alex Clemmey and upper minors utility infielder José Tena. That’s a general comparison point for what the Angels could seek for Ward if they were willing to move him for prospects.

Based on Moreno’s and Minasian’s comments, that might not be a consideration. The Angels haven’t merely said they believe they can compete in 2025. Their deadline activity backed that up. Los Angeles didn’t trade anyone who was not an impending free agent despite fielding interest in players like Ward, Luis Rengifo and Tyler Anderson.

Even if the Halos don’t want to make a trade with a firm eye to the future, they could look to deal Ward to net big league pitching. The Angels have one of the worst rotations in MLB. They’ve tended to shy away from significant free agent investments in pitchers, an organizational preference that seems to stem from ownership since it crosses multiple front offices. Trading prospects for rotation help only continues the trend of short-sighted moves that got them in this position.

There aren’t many players they’ll probably be willing to move off the MLB roster. They’re not going to trade Logan O’Hoppe or Zach Neto. Rengifo’s value dropped when he underwent season-ending wrist surgery in August. Anderson had a poor second half and has minimal appeal on a $13MM salary. Trading him for a modest return subtracts one of their few stable sources of innings.

The Angels aren’t exactly overflowing with outfield talent either, but left field is a comparatively easier position to address. That could come internally. Mike Trout has already said he could move off center field in an effort to stay healthy. His arm probably fits better in left than in right. Even if they move Trout to right (or kick Ward to that corner so Trout can handle left field), that could block one of the simplest paths to adding some punch to the lineup. This is a decent class for free agent corner outfielders, with players like Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill and Michael Conforto available. Trading Ward for a starter would clear a path for a free agent pursuit from someone in that group.

Pittsburgh and Kansas City could renew their interest. The Bucs got very little out of De La Cruz, while Grossman and Pham are free agents.  The Reds, Phillies, Braves, Blue Jays and Padres are other teams that could look for corner outfield help this winter. The Tigers and Red Sox are among the teams that’ll be seeking right-handed bats.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

The David Bednar Question

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David Bednar has been the subject of trade speculation for the past few seasons. For the most part, that was a testament to his effectiveness. Bednar broke out as a leverage reliever with 60 2/3 innings of 2.23 ERA ball during his first season with the Pirates in 2021. He carried that into the ninth inning. Between 2022-23, the big righty combined for a 2.27 ERA while striking out more than 30% of batters faced over 111 appearances. He locked down 58 games, including an NL-leading 39 saves in 2023.

That production came on rebuilding teams. Pittsburgh was nowhere close to the postseason. Other teams no doubt tried to pry Bednar away, but the Bucs never seemed interested in moving him. He’s a Pittsburgh native who looked like a lockdown late-game weapon. The Bucs control him through 2026 and surely envisioned fielding a playoff team before then.

Bednar could resurface as a trade candidate in the coming weeks but under much different circumstances. He’s coming off by far the worst season of his career. The question now is not whether the Pirates should sell high on an affordable, breakout closer. It’s whether to move on in a cost-saving measure at a time when his trade value has hit a low ebb.

Even with the understanding that reliever performance can be volatile, Bednar’s 2024 season is confounding. After rattling off consecutive sub-3.00 performances in his first three full seasons, he allowed 5.77 earned runs per nine this year. That’s not a reflection of poor batted ball results that could be dismissed as luck. Bednar’s peripherals tanked across the board.

His strikeout rate had landed between 28% and 33% in each of his first three years. That fell to 22.1% this past season, slightly below the league average for relievers. Bednar’s walk percentage jumped from the 7-8% range to nearly 11%. He allowed more home runs (nine) in 57 2/3 innings this year than he’d given up (seven) across 119 frames in the previous two seasons combined. Bednar lost a lot of whiffs on both his four-seam fastball and curveball compared to prior seasons. Opponents teed off on the heater, in particular, hitting .256 and connecting on six longballs.

Bednar started the season terribly, allowing 14 runs in 10 innings through the end of May. He managed much better results over the next two months, albeit without the level of swing-and-miss to which he’d been accustomed. Bednar missed a couple weeks leading into the All-Star Break with an oblique strain. The wheels came completely off coming out of the Break, as he gave up 16 runs over his next 14 2/3 frames.

The Pirates, who had plummeted from contention, pulled Bednar from the ninth inning at the end of August. By that point in the year, the focus was on getting him right going into the offseason. Bednar’s run prevention in September was better, as he allowed a manageable five runs (four earned) over 10 2/3 frames. Yet he walked another 10 hitters with nine strikeouts in mostly low-leverage spots. It wasn’t a resounding finish.

It’d be easier to explain the dip in performance if Bednar’s velocity had tanked coming back from the oblique strain. That’s not the case. His fastball averaged north of 97 MPH from the start of May onward. His 97.2 MPH average heater for the season was the highest of his career. Bednar didn’t lose any life on his splitter or curveball. His stuff hasn’t dramatically deteriorated. His results never consistently turned the corner, though.

That leaves GM Ben Cherington and his front office in a difficult spot. Bednar’s early-career dominance earned him a solid $4.51MM salary during his first run through arbitration. He’ll be due a raise even on the heels of a down year. Arbitration salaries are designed to escalate as a player accrues service time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Bednar for a $6.6MM sum if tendered a contract for 2025. That’s the highest figure in Pittsburgh’s arbitration class and would make him the fourth-highest paid player on the roster as things stand.

A $6.6MM salary would be a bargain if Bednar pitched at anywhere near the level he showed from 2021-23. It’s clearly not the kind of money the Pirates (or any team) would want to devote for his ’24 results. The Pittsburgh front office annually works with a tight budget from ownership. That didn’t stop the Pirates from committing a $10.5MM salary to Aroldis Chapman last offseason, suggesting they’re willing to take some chances on talented but volatile relief pitching.

They’ll weigh the risk on Bednar alongside the need for multiple additions to a well below-average offense. Pittsburgh doesn’t have a great bullpen, though someone like Colin Holderman or waiver find Dennis Santana could get a closing opportunity if the Pirates dealt the two-time All-Star.

It’s unlikely the Bucs would non-tender Bednar. He should be too talented to give up without getting anything in return. A sell-low trade is plausible. There are presumably teams that have more budgetary flexibility than the Pirates possess that would be happy to gamble something like $6.6MM on a return to form. That’d be a tough pill for a Pittsburgh front office that has surely declined much better offers over the years than the ones that’ll be on the table this winter.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Offseason Outlook: Toronto Blue Jays

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Quick postseason exits in 2022 and 2023 left the Blue Jays wondering last winter if their core roster was good enough to compete for a World Series.  Heading into this offseason, the question is now if the Jays' core can even still contend at all, after the team cratered to a 74-88 record.  In what could potentially be Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s last season in Toronto, the Jays are under enormous pressure to turn things around.

Guaranteed Contracts

Other Commitments

2025 financial commitments: $117.72MM
Total future commitments: $246.22MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

After a comparatively average 2023 season, Guerrero responded with a huge year that re-established him as one of baseball's top hitters.  Daulton Varsho also improved to roughly league-average offense, and continued his exceptional glovework in Toronto's outfield.  Alejandro Kirk has quietly become something of the catching equivalent of Varsho, as a standout defender whose bat leaves something to be desired.  Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt were more good than great this season but they bring a lot of durability and general effectiveness to the rotation.  They'll be joined in next year's staff by Bowden Francis, whose sudden emergence in the second half made him like a budding ace, let alone simply worthy of a starting role.

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How Cole Ragans Built On His Breakout Season

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After losing 106 games in 2023, the Royals responded to the embarrassing result by going on a relative spending spree last winter.  Bobby Witt Jr.’s 11-year, $288.78MM extension naturally drew most of the attention, but Kansas City spent $110.5MM on free agent contracts, most notably bringing Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha to bolster the pitching staff.  The strategy paid off handsomely, as the Royals rebounded for their first winning record and playoff berth since 2015.

Not content to just make the postseason, K.C. defeated the Orioles in the Wild Card Series before falling to the Yankees in four games in the ALDS.  This playoff run provided a bit of a national showcase for Cole Ragans, who had a sterling 0.90 ERA in 10 innings and two postseason starts.

Witt’s MVP-level performance, Salvador Perez’s strong bounce-back year, and the immediate impact of Lugo and Wacha rightly drew a lot of credit for the Royals’ success, yet they also somewhat overshadowed Ragans’ continued excellence since coming to the Royals in June 2023.  Continuing the “under the radar” theme, Ragans’ season would be drawing a lot of Cy Young Award buzz if Tarik Skubal wasn’t such a heavy favorite for the trophy.  In fact, Skubal is the only AL pitcher who had a higher fWAR than Ragans, and only Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler topped Ragans among the National League’s arms.

Ragans posted a 3.14 ERA over 186 1/3 innings, and his 29.3% strikeout rate and 31.8% whiff rate both ranked in at least the 88th percentile of all pitchers.  Ragans did a good job of limiting hard contact and avoiding home runs, which couldn’t be entirely attributed to pitching at Kauffman Stadium — the left-hander’s road ERA (2.87) was actually better than his home ERA (3.40).  A below-average 8.8% walk rate was the only real flaw in Ragans’ arsenal, though he at least improved on his 10.5% walk rate from the 2023 season.

The changeup has been Ragans’ most consistently solid pitch over his three MLB seasons, and batters only hit .183 against the offspeed offering in 2024.  The big difference in arsenal this season, however, was that Ragans started to more fully capitalize on his 95.4mph fastball’s elite spin rate.  Ragans’ fastball was ranked by Statcast as a below-average pitch in 2022 and 2023, but adding about 1.2 inches of vertical break on the pitch from 2023 to 2024 seemed to unlock something special, as his four-seamer was suddenly among the more effective pitches in all of baseball.

This big year only continued the sudden success Ragans enjoyed after he was traded to the Royals (along with outfield prospect Roni Cabrera) from the Rangers for Aroldis Chapman in June 2023.  Selected 30th overall in the 2016 draft, Ragans’ career was put on hold for the entirety of the 2018-20 seasons due to two Tommy John surgeries and then the canceled 2020 minor league season.  He pitched well enough after his return to action to eventually earn his first MLB call-up in 2022, and Ragans had a 4.95 ERA over nine starts and 40 innings for Texas in his rookie season.

Working out of the bullpen in 2023, Ragans had struggled to a 5.92 ERA in 24 1/3 relief innings at the time of the trade, but the Royals immediately gave him another look in the rotation.  As if a switch was flipped, Ragans posted a 2.64 ERA in 12 starts and 71 2/3 innings over the remainder of the 2023 campaign, and the Royals suddenly had a rotation building block as a silver lining within their dismal season.

After now a full season of success for Ragans, that Royals/Rangers trade is looking like one of the more impactful win-win deadline deals in recent memory.  Calling it a “deadline deal” is perhaps a misnomer since it came a month before the trade deadline, as the Royals were already in sell mode and the Rangers were desperate to shore up their badly struggling relief corps.  Teams tend to have higher asking prices in trade talks further in advance of the deadline, yet moving Ragans was a price the Rangers were willing to pay in order to achieve bullpen help as quickly as possible.

While Chapman wasn’t exactly airtight during his time in Arlington, he pitched well enough down the stretch and in the playoffs to help Texas secure its first World Series championship.  The “flags fly forever” mantra is a pretty good salve for any regrets the Rangers or their fans might have about letting Ragans go for a rental reliever, while the K.C. organization is undoubtedly thrilled with everything they’ve seen from their new ace.

Ragans turns 27 in December, and still has another full season remaining before reaching salary arbitration.  Locking up Ragans to a contract extension would help the Royals get some cost certainty over a pitcher whose ceiling only seems to be rising, plus the rotation could use some solidification since Wacha will surely exercise his opt-out clause and test free agency again.  On the flip side, since Ragans is under team control through his age-30 season and already has two Tommy John surgeries on his resume, the Royals might well hold off on any serious extension talks and just go year-by-year with Ragans for now.

Deciding how to best deal with the unexpected windfall of a frontline pitcher is a nice problem for the Royals to have, and in hindsight the Ragans trade was the first sign that K.C. was going to able to rebound from its 106-loss disaster.  An inability to develop homegrown pitching prospects stalled the Royals’ rebuild for years, so there is some irony in the fact that the team’s emergence has now been led in part by another team’s seemingly stalled prospect.

Poll: Who Will Win The ALCS?

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Yesterday, the Guardians punched their ticket to the ALCS with an emphatic 7-3 win over the Tigers that included a Lane Thomas Grand Slam off of likely AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, allowing Cleveland to take the fifth and and final game of the series.

As the NLCS (the result of which you can vote on here) kicks off between the Dodgers and Mets today, the Guardians will be traveling to New York for Game 1 against the Yankees, which is scheduled for tomorrow night. The Yankees spent the early part of the weekend waiting to see who their opponent would be after dispatching the Royals in four games. The early finish to the series gave the club three days off to realign their rotation and rest their bullpen for the upcoming seven-game set, a welcome breather given the fact that the Orioles hung around the AL East race deep into September.

No one should be surprised the Yankees have made it this far. After all, just two years after Aaron Judge’s herculean 62-homer effort delivered the club to the postseason despite virtually no support from the rest of the lineup throughout the second half of the season in 2022, Judge delivered arguably an even more impressive season in 2024 that should earn him his second AL MVP trophy. Perhaps even more important than Judge’s dominant season, however, is the fact that this year he had help in the form of Juan Soto. The Yankees were aggressive in pursuing Soto when the Padres made him available last winter, and ultimately gave up a five-player package headlined by right-handers Michael King and Drew Thorpe to acquire another star who could complement Judge in the lineup. Soto delivered on that promise and then some, slashing a sensational .288/.419/.569 in 157 games amid the best season of the 25-year-old’s career.

While the Yankees were widely expected to make some noise this season after adding Soto, the Guardians entered the 2024 season as little more than an afterthought. The club went just 76-89 last year and made few major changes over the offseason besides hiring Stephen Vogt to take over in the dugout after longtime manager Terry Francona elected to depart the club amid health issues, and an early-season injury to Shane Bieber in his final year under club control appeared to many to be the final nail in the club’s coffin this year.

That’s not how things turned out, however, as the Guardians managed to ride strong production from Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan in the lineup in conjunction with an otherworldly effort from the club’s bullpen to 92 wins, enough to dominate a resurgent and highly competitive AL Central division. While the entire Cleveland bullpen was extremely impressive, with a collective 2.57 ERA that was more than half a run better than the league’s second-best relief corps, closer Emmanuel Clase put together one of the most impressive seasons by a reliever in MLB history. Among all relief seasons with at least 50 innings of work since the start of the modern era in 1901, Clase’s ERA- of 15 ranks second to only Zack Britton’s dominant 2016 season. Even looking beyond Clase, however, the Cleveland bullpen has been something to behold this year as Eli Morgan, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, and youngster Cade Smith each joined Clase in posting sub-2.00 ERAs, though none were quite as dominant as their closer’s 0.61 figure.

The Guardians, without any notable players on the verge of returning from injury or suffering from known day-to-day issues that could take them out of discussion for the roster, aren’t facing much uncertainty regarding their roster as they prepare to submit their final roster decisions tomorrow. The same cannot be said for the Yankees, who plan to wait until Monday to finalize decisions not only on how many pitchers the club will carry into the ALCS but also on the status of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who suffered two broken fingers in the final days of the regular season and was unavailable during the ALDS.

In the rotation, it seems fair to say the Yankees have a substantial advantage. While neither side has announced a probable starter for Game 1, the club has penciled veteran ace Gerrit Cole in to start Game 2 and with breakout rookie Luis Gil expected to take the ball later in the series, it seems likely that either lefty Carlos Rodon or righty Clarke Schmidt will be on the bump for New York in Game 1, with Marcus Stroman also available as a potential depth option for the rotation if necessary.

The Guardians, meanwhile, relied on the trio of Tanner Bibee, Matthew Boyd, and Alex Cobb to get them through the ALDS. Cobb will be the only one on full rest in time for Game 1, making him the club’s most likely option to start the game, but it’s worth noting that both he and Boyd combined for just 11 starts during the regular season and managed just 9 2/3 innings across their three starts during the ALDS. Dominant as the Guardians’ bullpen has been this postseason, it remains to be seen if the club can rely on their relievers to throw nearly 60% of the team’s innings in a seven-game series as they did during their five-game set against the Tigers.

How will the ALCS play out? Which team is headed to the World Series, and how competitive will this series be?

What Will Be The Results Of The ALCS?
Yankees In 6 32.40% (2,434 votes)
Guardians In 6 21.42% (1,609 votes)
Yankees In 5 20.86% (1,567 votes)
Guardians In 7 12.29% (923 votes)
Yankees In 7 4.66% (350 votes)
Guardians In 5 3.53% (265 votes)
Yankees In 4 3.08% (231 votes)
Guardians In 4 1.77% (133 votes)
Total Votes: 7,512

Poll: Who Will Win The NLCS?

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The Dodgers punched their ticket to the NLCS last night. Solo home runs from Enrique Hernández and Teoscar Hernández were enough to push L.A. to a 2-0 victory over the Padres in the rubber match of their Division Series. The Dodgers blanked San Diego in consecutive games to take the series in five.

They’ll welcome the Mets to Dodger Stadium tomorrow. New York has waited for its destination since finishing off the Phillies in four games on Wednesday. Almost no one would’ve seen this coming when the Mets bottomed out at 11 games under .500. The nadir of their season coincidentally came at the hands of the Dodgers, who swept New York at Citi Field to drop them to 22-33 in late May. The Mets caught fire after that, playing above .500 ball in each of the final four months of the season.

L.A. and New York closed the regular season as the hottest teams in the National League. Their 20-10 record over their final 30 games tied them with the Tigers for best in MLB. The Dodgers secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs by finishing with an MLB-leading 98 wins. New York clawed back to 89 wins and clinched a Wild Card spot on the last day of the regular season. They’ve had a flair for the dramatic in October, coming from behind in four of their five playoff wins.

Both teams have already come back from the edge of elimination. The Mets needed Pete Alonso’s ninth-inning heroics against Devin Williams to escape the Wild Card series in Milwaukee. The Dodger pitching staff silenced San Diego’s bats in consecutive elimination games in the Division Series.

New York has the slight benefit of two extra days of rest. They’ve had three off days since their last game, while the Dodgers get one rest day before starting the series. Each team’s entire bullpen should be in play for Game 1. The Mets will have their rotation outside of Jose Quintana on regular or extended rest at the beginning of the series. The Dodgers turned to Yoshinobu Yamamoto for five scoreless innings last night. They used a bullpen game on Wednesday.

Neither team has revealed a probable starter for Game 1, but the Dodgers are almost certain to turn the ball to Jack Flaherty before going with Walker Buehler in Monday’s Game 2. The Mets could turn in a few different directions. They have Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Kodai Senga all ready to go. Andy Martino of SNY tweeted yesterday that Senga was likely to get the ball in Game 1, though the Mets won’t finalize that decision until today. The righty is on tight workloads after losing the second half of the season to a calf injury. He’ll probably be limited to two or three innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Senga threw two innings and 31 pitches in Game 1 of the NLDS, his first appearance since late July.

The teams have until tomorrow morning to finalize their rosters for the series. The Mets could have an important change. Jeff McNeil has been on the injured list for over a month with a right wrist fracture. Manager Carlos Mendoza said a couple days ago that McNeil had a good chance to be activated. The left-handed hitter started what’ll hopefully be a two-game stint in the Arizona Fall League last night to readjust to game speed.

McNeil made it through the first game with no issues, he told reporters last night (link via Jesse Borek and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). While the Mets probably won’t make the decision until tomorrow, it seems McNeil will be active. That’d probably push Luisangel Acuña off the roster unless the Mets decide to drop to 12 pitchers despite the longer series.

On the Dodgers’ side, the main injury to monitor concerns reliever Alex Vesia. (There’s also the ongoing question about Freddie Freeman’s ankle but no doubt that Freeman will be on the roster.) Vesia entered with two outs in the seventh inning last night. The left-hander fanned Jackson Merrill to end the inning. He came back out for the eighth but reported soreness in his right side while warming up. The Dodgers lifted him for Michael Kopech, who combined with Blake Treinen to close out the game.

Manager Dave Roberts said postgame that Vesia would go for an MRI today (X link via Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). The team is hopeful that the discomfort was just a cramp but wants to rule out an oblique injury. If Vesia did tweak his oblique, that’d probably shut him down for the season. Anthony Banda was the only other left-hander in Roberts’ bullpen for the Division Series. Justin Wrobleski and Zach Logue are the other healthy southpaws on the 40-man roster. Nick Ramirez remains in the organization but was outrighted last month and seems unlikely to be considered for a playoff spot.

How will the NLCS play out? Which team is headed to the World Series, and how competitive will this series be?

What Will Be The Result Of The NLCS?
Mets in 6. 30.27% (2,923 votes)
Dodgers in 6. 29.98% (2,895 votes)
Dodgers in 5. 11.87% (1,146 votes)
Mets in 7. 11.20% (1,081 votes)
Mets in 5. 6.97% (673 votes)
Dodgers in 7. 5.50% (531 votes)
Dodgers in 4. 2.42% (234 votes)
Mets in 4. 1.78% (172 votes)
Total Votes: 9,655

 

Offseason Outlook: Seattle Mariners

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The Mariners' second near-miss of the playoffs in the past two years prompted significant leadership changes before the season drew to a close. Manager Scott Servais was shown the door shortly before the completion of his ninth year on the job and replaced not an interim basis but by the full-time appointment of former M's catcher Dan Wilson as the club's new skipper. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander remain in place and will be under even more pressure to field a playoff club next year.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Julio Rodriguez, OF: $180MM through 2034 (contract could climb as high as $450MM through 2039 based on series of options/escalators)
  • Luis Castillo, RHP: $68.25MM through 2027 (contract contains 2028 vesting option)
  • J.P. Crawford, SS: $21MM through 2026
  • Mitch Garver, C/DH: $12.5MM through 2025 (includes buyout of 2026 club option)
  • Victor Robles, OF: $8.5MM through 2026 (includes buyout of 2027 club option)
  • Dylan Moore, INF/OF: $3.825MMM through 2025
  • Andres Munoz, RHP: $2.5MM through 2025 (contract contains club options for 2026-28 seasons)

Option Decisions

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Mariners' 2022 return to postseason baseball after a 20-year drought raised expectations in Seattle. Those expectations have not been reached in two subsequent seasons. The Mariners have played winning ball in each of the past two seasons but have failed to secure even a Wild Card berth. This year's loss is particularly painful for the organization, as Seattle held a dominant 10-game lead on the division in early June but had squandered it by the following month. A resurgent Astros club stormed to yet another AL West crown. There's no indication that front office changes are nigh -- team chairman John Stanton already said Dipoto would remain at his post -- but baseball operations turnover often follows coaching changes if the results don't quickly improve.

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Offseason Outlook: St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals didn't use the word "rebuild" at last week's press conference, but it's abundantly clear that they're taking a future-focused approach and stepping back from what's been a perennial goal of fielding a contender for decades. The 2025 season will be president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's final year on the job. A new era of Cardinals baseball is approaching. Let's break down what the offseason could entail.

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

As the Cardinals' lackluster season drew to a close, it became increasingly clear that changes were on the horizon. Speculation ranged from the front office to the dugout. Ultimately, manager Oli Marmol will remain in place for the 2025 season, and Mozeliak will return for an 18th season leading baseball operations -- but with a caveat. Former Rays senior vice president and Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom will oversee player development next season before taking the reins as the Cardinals' new president of baseball ops. General manager Mike Girsch has already been reassigned. In the dugout, several coaches have been let go already.

It feels almost foreign to be discussing the Cardinals, a bastion of competitive rosters in the NL Central for the past couple decades, as a team now focused not on who might be coming into the fold but rather who might be exiting the frame. That's reality, however, as much of the roster could turn over via a series of trades or surprising decisions on what otherwise seemed like straightforward option calls.

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