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)
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, weâ€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.
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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 doesnâ€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, hereâ€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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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 Shohei Ohtani 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.
Heâ€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 Pagan and workhorse Tony Santillan (80 appearances!) lead an underrated bullpen that also features fireballing rookie righty Chase Burns.
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Itâ€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 hasnâ€t won a playoff series since 1995 — the longest drought in MLB — itâ€s one step at a time.
Blown division lead be damned, Detroit is in, and as manager AJ Hinch said during the teamâ€s clinch celebration Saturday, everybody is 0-0 starting on 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 thatâ€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 werenâ€t part of last yearâ€s staff but could play pivotal roles this time around, such as Jack Flaherty and rookie Troy Melton.
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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 weâ€ve seen recently. As evidenced by what this club demonstrated collectively in the first half, the Tigers have the talent to do so, but itâ€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 franchiseâ€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 Clevelandâ€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 Ramirez atop the lineup. Ramirezâ€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.
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If his splendid debut season as skipper wasnâ€t compelling enough, Stephen Vogtâ€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. Letâ€s see if they can keep proving everyone wrong.
How the 12 playoff teams got to this point doesnâ€t matter nearly as much as who can step up and perform when the stakes are highest. (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports)
A year ago, many pegged the Padres as the most dangerous team entering October, leading to high expectations before San Diegoâ€s disappointing elimination in the NLDS against the rival Dodgers. This yearâ€s club arrives in the postseason with notably less hype — and maybe thatâ€s a good thing. While the 2025 Padres donâ€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 franchiseâ€s first World Series championship.
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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. Thatâ€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 itâ€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 wouldâ€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.
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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 more 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, Bostonâ€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 (Lucas Giolito, 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 havenâ€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 itâ€s a fairly substantial drought considering Chicagoâ€s status as one of baseballâ€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 baseballâ€s best in the first half.
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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 thereâ€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.
Itâ€s a bit more complicated on the mound, with the brutal news of rookie Cade Hortonâ€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 gameâ€s best defense playing behind them. San Diego is a staunch first opponent, but donâ€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 yearâ€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 yearâ€s wide-open American League field.
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Judgeâ€s outsized presence as a historically great slugger speaks for itself — though itâ€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. Itâ€s Cody Bellingerâ€s rock-solid presence on both sides of the ball, Jazz Chisholm Jr.â€s power-speed dynamism, big swings from Trent Grisham and Ben Riceâ€s bountiful breakout. And donâ€t forget Giancarlo Stanton; he has hit a handful of homers in October, if I recall correctly.
Thereâ€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 donâ€t become this teamâ€s untimely undoing — the Yankees could find themselves back in the Fall Classic with a shot at redemption and a 28th World Series title.
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.
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Bo Bichetteâ€s ongoing absence due a sprained knee has dampened Torontoâ€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 Torontoâ€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. Seattleâ€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 yearâ€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.
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Whether or not he wins AL MVP, catcher Cal Raleighâ€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 Seattleâ€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.
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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.â€s leadoff hitter. While Ohtaniâ€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.â€s modest win total — by its sky-high standards, anyway — is reflective of a team that didnâ€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.
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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 baseballâ€s best road record at 45-36. And while the Brewers arenâ€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 itâ€s no accident that Pat Murphyâ€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 clubsâ€, but these Brewers have very few obvious weaknesses. Now itâ€s time for them to use that sample of success as a springboard for something much more meaningful in October.
Although they couldnâ€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.
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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, itâ€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 Harperâ€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 weâ€ve got quite the month ahead of us to find out who really has what it takes.
Let the games begin.
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