MLB Power Rankings: Who’s No. 1 on our winter list?
Players soon will be reporting to camps, and yet, some of the top free agents still haven’t signed. So while we wait, let’s take a look ahead toward the start of the 2024 season.
Where does every team stand heading into spring training? Did the Dodgers’ offseason acquisitions push them to the No. 1 spot? Where are the reigning World Series champions in our rankings? And where do Aaron Judge and Juan Soto’s Yankees sit?
Our expert panel has combined to rank every team in baseball based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far this offseason and what we already knew from 2023. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Buster Olney, Jesse Rogers and Alden Gonzalez to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Way-too-early MLB Power Rankings
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 3
The Dodgers’ offseason has been an absolute dream. They splurged for a billion dollars on a transformative two-way player in Shohei Ohtani and a 25-year-old starting pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is coming off three consecutive MVPs in Japan. In case that wasn’t enough, they acquired one of the most prized pitchers on the trade market, Tyler Glasnow, and arguably the best corner outfielder in free agency, Teoscar Hernandez. They’re an absolute force, even more so on the heels of another 100-win season.
But it’s still fair to wonder about their rotation. Ohtani won’t pitch until 2025, Yamamoto hasn’t faced major league hitters, Glasnow is not far removed from Tommy John surgery, and Walker Buehler is coming off a second such procedure. Their other starting pitching acquisition, James Paxton, comes with his own injury concerns. — Gonzalez
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 1
With last season’s record-setting lineup returning, the Braves could have had a quiet offseason, but instead they made two of the more interesting transactions of the winter, trading for left fielder Jarred Kelenic and pitcher Chris Sale. Kelenic was once a top-10 overall prospect but never lived up to the hype in Seattle; he’s still just 24, however, and did improve last season (.253/.327/.419). Sale made 20 starts for Boston last season, his most since 2019, and fanned 125 in 102⅔ innings. He still has top-of-the-rotation stuff if he can remain healthy. — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 9
Houston advanced to the American League Championship Series for the seventh consecutive season in 2023, and there are a lot of reasons to believe the Astros could do that again — maybe more so than in past seasons — behind Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman and the newly signed Josh Hader. But how dangerous Houston is may largely depend on whether Framber Valdez rediscovers his sinker, which largely abandoned him late in the year. Over his last 10 regular-season starts, he averaged 4⅔ innings and had a 4.29 ERA, and his ERA was 9.00 in the postseason. Houston’s season might come down to this: Can Framber find it? — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 5
Is a reunion with Jordan Montgomery inevitable? Don’t bet against it, as agent Scott Boras is in a good position with Rangers brass. Boras directed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to Texas and undoubtedly helped in moving Montgomery and Max Scherzer there as well via trade last summer. As the Rangers’ RSN situation clears up, they should be able to pounce and set themselves up for a repeat run. And don’t forget, Jacob deGrom is waiting in the wings as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Texas is in a good position to contend, no matter what happens the rest of the spring. — Rogers
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 2
In Corbin Burnes, Baltimore now has the veteran ace it needed, and you’d assume that with the promise of financial backing from potential new ownership, the Orioles will add bullpen depth. The O’s won 101 games last season, yet already, this is a much more complete team than in 2024 — and now there’s no question about whether the front office and the owners will spend to plug holes at the trade deadline. Now O’s fans can wonder — and dream — about how quickly Jackson Holliday will make an impact in the big leagues. He is the easy front-runner to win AL Rookie of the Year. — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 6
Other than re-signing Aaron Nola and making a run at Yamamoto, it’s been a quiet offseason. They showed interest in relievers Jordan Hicks and Robert Stephenson but failed to sign either one. For now, that leaves Cristopher Sanchez as the No. 5 starter, rookie Orion Kerkering with a prominent role in the bullpen and Johan Rojas and Cristian Pache in center field (with Brandon Marsh in left). In other words, the Phillies didn’t make up any ground on the Braves. — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 16
If this master plan had played out the way owner Hal Steinbrenner wanted, Yoshinobu Yamamoto would have taken the Yankees’ money and slotted in behind Gerrit Cole in the rotation. But that didn’t happen, and now the Yankees will go into the season with uncertainty about their rotation depth. Will Nestor Cortes stay healthy? Will the Yankees get what they paid for in the second year of Carlos Rodon‘s contract, at a time when he’s on double-secret probation with Yankees fans? Will Clarke Schmidt evolve? Will they make a late-winter addition? — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 4
Maybe the biggest question for the Rays going into the offseason was whether Wander Franco — who was supposed to be the face of the franchise — would be available to the team in 2024. His future status seems more uncertain than ever, because no matter when his legal situation is resolved, he still faces discipline from MLB, as well as persistent visa questions. Without Franco, can the Rays come close to matching their offensive production of 2023, when they led AL East teams in runs? — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 12
The D-backs have responded to their surprising World Series run by doubling down, adding Eduardo Rodriguez to the middle of their rotation and injecting Eugenio Suarez and Joc Pederson into the middle of their lineup. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was brought back, too, solidifying left field. Arizona has done a nice job adding the pieces that would make its roster more complete. The concerns it had heading into October about the depth in the rotation and the back end of the bullpen are not nearly as prevalent. The D-backs’ biggest question heading into 2024 is more overarching: Are they good enough to once again take down the mighty Dodgers? — Gonzalez
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 8
It really seems impossible that Toronto didn’t win a playoff game last season despite having the best rotation in the majors, but that fact really underscores how poorly the offense performed in 2023. The Jays were 16th in home runs and 14th in runs scored in the majors, surprising numbers for a team that has Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., so the mystery surrounding Toronto in 2024 is: How can a lineup that is largely the same be better? The one major change so far is the addition of Justin Turner, who effectively replaces free agent Brandon Belt. — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 11
Deep breath. With a perhaps lower-than-anticipated payroll budget, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has been up to his usual creative approach to team building. To recap: Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, Luis Urias, Mitch Haniger, Luke Raley, Samad Taylor, Seby Zavala, Carlos Vargas and Austin Voth are in. Gone are Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez, Robbie Ray, Jarred Kelenic, Justin Topa, Anthony DeSclafani (who was only barely here), Jose Caballero, Mike Ford, Tom Murphy, Marco Gonzales and Isaiah Campbell. Is the new group better? Hard to tell. The rotation remains intact, although bullpen depth looks like an issue, and Haniger and Urias will have to bounce back from miserable seasons. — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 13
Unlike the Rangers’ relationship with Boras, the Cubs haven’t lined up with his clients over the recent past. It’s a built-in roadblock to a reunion with Cody Bellinger or a match with third baseman Matt Chapman. And it’s a risky game of chicken for both sides. Bellinger might not have another big market available to him, while the Cubs won’t have much of an offense without him. The team isn’t likely to blink, believing their second-ranked farm system, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, is about to explode. Will Boras blink? Perhaps he’ll be forced to accept a smaller deal — but no one knows how this will shake out. — Rogers
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 7
Is Milwaukee in transition or can it continue to contend with new manager Pat Murphy? Signing Rhys Hoskins addressed several needs, as the Brewers have had a rotation of first baseman over the past several seasons. Not anymore, though — Hoskins should provide power and leadership on a team that lost its stalwarts on the mound, first Brandon Woodruff to free agency and now Corbin Burnes in a trade with Baltimore. So one step forward on offense but one step back on the mound, where Milwaukee will struggle to replace quality innings lost. It’s the big question heading into spring: Who will step forward at the top of the rotation after Freddy Peralta? — Rogers
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 15
Cincinnati worked more quickly than a lot of teams in shoring up its pitching staff this offseason, signing four free agent pitchers and corner infielder Jeimer Candelario. If anything, the Reds might have to alleviate a logjam in the infield, but that’s a good problem to have. Their spring is about keeping their team healthy — especially a staff that lost youngsters Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft last season. There should be no excuses this year as the Reds have talent throughout the roster. They could be a sneaky pick in a wide-open division. — Rogers
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 10
No team seems more affected by the murky RSN situation than the Twins, who spent the winter more focused on managing payroll than on upgrading the roster. They lost ace Sonny Gray to free agency, traded Jorge Polanco and largely bypassed winter markets. All of that means that more than ever the Twins will need their core stars to stay on the field — and Byron Buxton (who says he intends to return to center field), Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis all have extensive injury histories. — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 17
The Padres, still shaken by the death of revolutionary owner Peter Seidler, decided to cut costs this offseason and will field a far less talented team in 2024. Juan Soto and Hader are gone. Eventually Blake Snell will be, too. They’ve replaced them with a slew of controllable starting pitchers — largely through Soto’s trade to the Yankees — and a completely replenished bullpen. But they still desperately need help in the outfield and could use another bat at first base and/or designated hitter. Another top-of-the-rotation starter would certainly help, too, but it would have to come via trade. — Gonzalez
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 19
Theo Epstein is going to go down in history as the greatest general manager ever because he conquered the Mount Everest and the K2 of World Series droughts, with the Red Sox in 2004 and then the Cubs in 2016. But it seems strange that adding him to the front office will be the biggest move of the offseason for a Red Sox team that needs help all over the place. Boston needs more offensive production, more pitching — but the front-burner question is whether manager Alex Cora signs an extension. — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 22
Are the Mets good? Are they bad? Somewhere in the middle? Probably somewhere in the middle. Their big goal was to sign Yamamoto, and once that didn’t happen, they focused on second-tier (Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Harrison Bader) and third-tier free agents (Jorge Lopez, Joey Wendle). They acquired Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers. They’ll need bounce-back seasons from Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil and improved results from youngsters Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty. — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 25
The Cardinals filled all their holes this offseason but did quantity replace quality? Age was the theme of their pitching acquisitions, but that’s at least offset by 21-year-old shortstop Masyn Winn, who is on the verge of taking over up the middle. And don’t forget outfielder Jordan Walker, who has a year under his belt and quietly performed well for a bad team last year. But the biggest questions surround starters Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn. Can they perform at the back of the rotation while Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas hold down the front? That answer will go a long way to determining the outcome of the Cardinals season. — Rogers
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 21
If you’re looking for a sleeper pick, you could do worse than Detroit climbing in the AL Central after an improved second-half showing. The talent that the Tigers have collected in recent years is beginning to manifest. But look, Detroit is not going to climb unless there is more consistent offense; the Tigers finished 28th in runs scored in 2023. Will young players such as Riley Greene and older players such as Javy Baez generate more runs? — Olney
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 20
Everyone loves the young rotation here, as Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen all had promising rookie seasons, but Cleveland has failed to address what was the worst power-hitting outfield in the majors in decades (a combined 18 home runs). They did acquire Estevan Florial from the Yankees and he hit 28 home runs in Triple-A but with a ton of swing-and-miss (144 strikeouts in 101 games). Prospect George Valera hasn’t developed the power once expected and hit .211 in Triple-A. Where will the offense come from? — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 18
The Giants ranked dead last in innings from their starting pitchers last season. They’ve responded by … signing a longtime reliever whom they’ll convert to a starting pitcher and trading for a former ace who won’t return until midseason at the earliest. Maybe Jordan Hicks is excellent out of the rotation and Robbie Ray, coming off Tommy John surgery, miraculously finds his Cy Young form over the last two months of the regular season. But there are nonetheless major questions within this rotation, not the least of which is Alex Cobb‘s return from hip surgery. The lineup also has plenty of holes, even after the Jung Hoo Lee signing. — Gonzalez
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 14
The Marlins made the playoffs in 2023 — and have essentially sat out the offseason, which isn’t quite the same as the fire sale that followed the 1997 World Series title but isn’t exactly encouraging for Marlins fans, either. New president of baseball operations Peter Bendix has done more evaluation than maneuvering, which isn’t necessarily the wrong decision here for a team that was outscored by 57 runs, has a weak farm system and will be without Sandy Alcantara while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 23
Other than signing Aroldis Chapman, the Pirates haven’t made many changes to their roster this winter. They might simply be hoping that this is the year their young but talented group comes through for longer than a month or two. Pittsburgh garnered headlines last spring but faded as the calendar turned to summer and the pitching staff crumbled. But former first overall pick Henry Davis got his feet wet, the young staff got needed experience and shortstop Oneil Cruz is healthy again. It’s still probably not enough to compete for six months, but the Pirates will be a thorn for some teams with manager Derek Shelton keeping his players motivated through good and bad times. — Rogers
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 24
The Angels were dealt the most devastating blow imaginable when they lost Shohei Ohtani to the crosstown rival Dodgers this offseason. They have yet to replace him as a starting pitcher and haven’t really replaced him as a hitter, either. Angels GM Perry Minasian has done a nice job deepening his bullpen but hasn’t done much else outside of adding veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks. The Angels, with a farm system that ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently ranked dead last heading into 2024, need plenty more help offensively and could use a top-of-the-rotation starter to boost a young staff. But unless they splurge on Cody Bellinger or Snell, it’s hard to see how they access that without significantly compromising their active roster. — Gonzalez
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 29
Hey, at least the Royals are trying to get better, although there are mixed opinions on the overall quality of the additions: Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Garrett Hampson, Adam Frazier, Hunter Renfroe. Lugo and Wacha are the biggest keys, two guys who were pretty good last season and will help what was a terrible rotation. If Brady Singer bounces back and Cole Ragans is indeed the real deal that he was in the final two months of 2023, it will be the best rotation for the Royals since their World Series years. — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 26
The Nationals acquired Nick Senzel from the Reds and signed Joey Gallo, two moves that would have been much more exciting a few years ago. Senzel was the second overall pick in 2016 but battled injuries and put up a 77 OPS+ over five seasons with the Reds. He’ll get a chance to be the regular third baseman. Gallo has two 40-homer seasons and hit 38 as recently as 2021, but his batting averages haven’t been great the past three seasons: .199, .160 and .177. Since going to the Yankees at the trade deadline in 2021, he has produced just 1.2 WAR. — Schoenfield
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 27
The White Sox are treating the offseason like they’re coming off a 100-win year instead of the 102 they actually lost. It has translated to some interesting pickups but mostly on the margins. Erick Fedde is an example. He’s part of a rebuilt starting staff that still features Dylan Cease — but for how long? Cease is likely to begin, but not finish, the season with the team, as trade talks will heat up again come summertime. The biggest question marks this offseason are in right field and second base, positions Chicago hasn’t nailed down for several years. Newcomer Nicky Lopez will get time at second while Gavin Sheets might be the Opening Day right fielder. Rinse and repeat. The White Sox are stuck in neutral — at best. — Rogers
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 28
The Rockies’ pitching staff, which will be without both German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela for at least the first half, posted a major-league-worst 5.67 ERA last season. The front office responded with the additions of Cal Quantrill, Dakota Hudson and Anthony Molina, the latter a Rule 5 pick. That probably won’t cut it. The offense — despite playing half its games at Coors Field, of all places — was only 20th in OPS. Rather than make additions there, the Rockies will seemingly just hope for more health from Kris Bryant, more development from Ezequiel Tovar and more awesomeness from Nolan Jones. So, yeah, there are still plenty of questions about the Rockies heading into 2024. It’s much harder to find answers, frankly. — Gonzalez
Final 2023 regular-season ranking: 30
The big question for the A’s heading into 2024 is a simple one: When are they actually going to try again? They stripped their roster down to the studs while seeking a permanent home last season, and though they have since settled on Las Vegas, they still seemingly have no idea where they will play from 2025 to 2027. The A’s have lost a combined 214 games over the past two seasons, and there’s no indication they won’t lose at least another 100 more in 2024. All of their offseason additions have come on the margins. — Gonzalez
Gunner Stockton passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns, including three to tight end Lawson Luckie, and No. 9 Georgia overcame Trinidad Chambliss and No. 5 Mississippi’s powerful offense to rally for a 43-35 win over the Rebels on Saturday.
Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) rallied after trailing 35-26 at the start of the fourth quarter. Stockton’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Luckie with 7:29 remaining gave Georgia a 40-35 lead.
Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1) was denied its first road win over a top 10 team under coach Lane Kiffin even though the Rebels scored touchdowns on their first five possessions.
Stockton completed 26 of 31 passes and added a 22-yard scoring run in the crucial SEC showdown.
“It was a great day,” Stockton said. “We just played for each other and that’s the best part of our team.”
Stockton and the Bulldogs had no turnovers.
In previewing the game, Kiffin said winning at Georgia would mean the Rebels have taken “another step” in their move up the SEC. That looked likely when they scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions, taking a nine-point lead in the third quarter.
Suddenly, the Ole Miss offense lost its magic as Georgia did not give up another first down.
Following the first punt of the game by either team with 12:44 remaining, Stockton led a nine-play, 67-yard drive capped by the 7-yard scoring pass to Luckie that gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the second half.
Following another stop by Georgia’s defense, Stockton led a 10-play drive to set up Peyton Woodring‘s third field goal of the game, a 42-yarder, to stretch the lead to eight points with 2:06 remaining.
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World Series Drought-Buster Watch: Which MLB playoff teams could end longest runs without titles?
Editor’s note: This file originally ran on Oct. 2, 2025 with seven teams that have gone longer than 30 years without a title remaining and will be updated with teams removed as they are eliminated from the 2025 postseason
Mathematical probability, in a perfectly equitable distribution of championships, means each MLB team would win a World Series once every 30 years. That is not the world we live in, of course, so many franchises have experienced long title droughts that have stretched into multiple decades. There is even one that has never appeared in the Fall Classic.
That establishes a super fun element to this year’s postseason. We have several playoff teams who have gone longer than 30 years since their last World Series championship — including the Milwaukee Brewers, who have never won, and the Seattle Mariners, who have still never reached the World Series 48 years into their franchise history.
Maybe, just maybe, some team’s long-suffering fans will experience that euphoria of winning the final game of the season.
Yes, it’s the year of the World Series Drought-Buster Watch. Let’s look at those seven franchises, what went wrong through the years, and why this may finally be The Year.
Milwaukee Brewers
Last World Series title: None (franchise debuted in 1969, moved to Milwaukee in 1970).
Last World Series appearance: 1982 (lost to the Cardinals in seven games).
Closest call since then: Lost the 2018 NLCS to the Dodgers in seven games.
Three painful postseason moments:
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Leading 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning in Game 7 of the 1982 World Series, the Cardinals load the bases with one out. Keith Hernandez hits a two-run single off Bob McClure and George Hendrick follows with a go-ahead single as the Cardinals go on to a 6-3 win. Brewers fans will always wonder what the outcome might have been if Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers, who got injured in September, had not missed the World Series.
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Pete Alonso‘s three-run, go-ahead home run in the ninth inning off Devin Williams in last year’s Game 3 of the wild-card series.
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Leading the Nationals 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth of the 2019 wild-card game, Josh Hader loads the bases with a hit batter, single and walk. With two outs, Juan Soto singles to right field and rookie Trent Grisham overruns the ball, allowing all three runners to score.
Why they haven’t won: Lack of offense has led to early playoff exits.
For a long time, the Brewers were just bad. They didn’t have a winning season from 1993 to 2006. Current owner Mark Attanasio bought the team from the Selig family in 2005, however, and after a breakthrough season in 2008, the Brewers have mostly been competitive since, despite the challenges of playing in MLB’s smallest market. The Prince Fielder-Ryan Braun teams were built around offense, but the teams under managers Craig Counsell and now Pat Murphy have centered more on pitching, defense, speed and doing the little things well.
While Christian Yelich was an MVP in 2018 and runner-up in 2019, the recent teams have often lacked one true offensive star to anchor the lineup. That’s one reason the Brewers have had trouble scoring enough runs in the postseason, and that has led to losses in that 2019 wild-card game and wild-card series in 2020, 2023 and 2024. They were in the NLDS in 2021, but scored just six runs in four games, including two shutouts. Overall, the Brewers have gone 2-10 in the playoffs since 2019 entering this year and have hit just .229/.290/.351.
Why this could be the year: Even though the Brewers still don’t have that superstar hitter and rank below average in home runs, this is a deep, good offensive team. Only the Yankees and Dodgers scored more runs during the regular season. Only the Blue Jays struck out less among the playoff teams. And the Brewers do have guys who can hit home runs: Yelich has had his best power season since 2019; Brice Turang has slugged over .500 in the second half; Jackson Chourio can hit it out; and William Contreras hit nine home runs in August, so if he gets hot at the right time, he can help carry a lineup.
The Brewers also earned the No. 1 overall seed and have played well at home, with a 51-29 record. That could be a nice advantage. And even without the injured Trevor Megill, this is a strong bullpen with hard-throwing Abner Uribe capable of closing down leads. The Brewers had the best record for a reason: They’ve quieted skeptics and have remained the most consistent team all season long.
Seattle Mariners
Last World Series title: None (franchise debuted in 1977).
Last World Series appearance: None.
Closest call: Lost the 1995 ALCS to Cleveland and the 2000 ALCS to the Yankees, both in six games. Also lost the 2001 ALCS in five games. Were up 2-1 in the 1995 ALCS against Cleveland, but a powerful Mariners lineup got shut out twice in the final three games.
Three painful postseason moments:
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Leading 1-0 and looking to tie the 2001 ALCS against the Yankees at two games apiece, New York’s Bernie Williams ties the game with an eighth-inning home run off Arthur Rhodes, and Alfonso Soriano hits a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth off Kazuhiro Sasaki.
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Rhodes again. In Game 6 of the 2000 ALCS, the Mariners are leading the Yankees 4-3 in the seventh when David Justice blasts a three-run homer off Rhodes and sends Yankee Stadium into a deafening roar.
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Back in the playoffs in 2022 for the first time since 2001, the Mariners lead the Astros 7-3 in the eighth inning in the division series. Alex Bregman hits a two-run homer in the eighth. With two on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, manager Scott Servais summons starter Robbie Ray out of the bullpen to face Yordan Alvarez. Wrong decision. Alvarez blasts a game-winning three-run homer.
Why they haven’t won: Bad offenses and, for the longest time, bad drafting. And just missing the playoffs.
The Mariners couldn’t win in the mid-to-late ’90s despite a roster that featured Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez and Edgar Martinez. Then came the miracle season of 2001, when they won a record 116 games with only Martinez still on the roster. Then came the long playoff drought, from 2002 to 2021. Those teams were marked mostly by inept offense: They once finished last in the AL in runs four straight seasons. In 2010, they traded for Cliff Lee and went all-in on pitching and defense. ESPN The Magazine put them on its cover. They lost 101 games.
Jerry Dipoto was hired as GM after the 2015 season and began turning things around. He drafted Logan Gilbert and George Kirby in the first round in 2018 and 2019, Cal Raleigh was a third-round pick in 2018, Bryan Woo was a sixth-round pick in 2021. The organization signed Julio Rodriguez in 2017. Since 2021, the Mariners have had five straight winning seasons and are seventh in the majors in wins — but this is only their second playoff appearance, having just missed in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Why this could be the year: With Raleigh’s historic campaign leading the way, this is the best offense the Mariners have had in 25 years, with their highest wRC+ since 2001. Dipoto’s deadline trades for Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez created one of the best one-through-nine groups in the majors. They ranked third in the majors in home runs, and Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena and Naylor (!) each stole 30 bases. The Mariners’ bullpen isn’t super deep, but the late-game foursome of Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier has been reliable.
As that stretch of 17 wins in 18 games in September showed, the starting pitching might finally be living up to the preseason expectations following a stellar 2024 season. The concern is Woo’s health. Seattle’s best starter all season with 15 wins and a 2.97 ERA, Woo left his final start with inflammation in his pectoral muscle. The Mariners still have Gilbert, Kirby and Luis Castillo, but if the only franchise never to reach a World Series is to get there, a healthy Woo feels necessary.
Last World Series title: 1993
Last World Series appearance: 1993 (beat the Phillies in six games).
Closest call since then: Lost the 2015 ALCS in six games to Kansas City. Also lost the 2016 ALCS, in five games, to Cleveland.
Three painful postseason moments:
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Game 6 of the 2015 ALCS is tied in the eighth when Kansas City’s Lorenzo Cain draws a leadoff walk. Eric Hosmer then singles to right field with Cain heading to third, and when Jose Bautista throws the ball into second base, Cain keeps on sprinting home for the winning run in a 4-3 victory.
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In Game 2 of that series, the Blue Jays lead 3-0 in the seventh, but manager John Gibbons leaves in a tiring David Price to give up five hits and five runs.
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The Blue Jays blow an 8-2 lead at home in Game 2 of the 2022 wild-card series against Seattle. The winning runs come up when J.P. Crawford clears the bases with a bloop double to center field as a diving George Springer collides with Bo Bichette.
Why they haven’t won: A tough division and the bats going dry in October.
After back-to-back World Series titles in ’92 and ’93, the Blue Jays went 20 years without a playoff appearance even though they were rarely bad in that period. They just couldn’t beat the Yankees and Red Sox or, later, the Rays and Orioles. They finally broke through and won the American League East in 2015 with the Josh Donaldson/Jose Bautista team that scored 127 more runs than any other AL team. They lost to the Royals in the ALCS that year and to Cleveland in 2016 — when the Jays scored just eight runs in five games. Remember when Cleveland had to start an obscure minor leaguer named Ryan Merritt, who had started one game in the majors, in Game 5 because they had no other starters? He tossed 4⅔ shutout innings.
In recent years, the Blue Jays went 0-6 in wild-card series in 2020, 2022 and 2023, scoring three runs in 2020, getting shut out once in 2022, and scoring one run in two games against the Twins in 2023. Entering 2025, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has hit .136 in six playoff games (no home runs, one RBI) and Bichette .273 with the same no home runs and one RBI.
Why this could be the year: This is a better Blue Jays club than those past three playoff teams. They have home-field advantage throughout the AL bracket and went 54-27 at home. Since May 27, only the Brewers have a better record, and they do things that work in postseason baseball: They play good defense and they had the lowest strikeout rate in the majors. Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber give them a strong 1-2 punch and rookie Trey Yesavage could be a huge secret weapon, either as a starter or reliever, despite just 14 innings in the majors. Plus, Guerrero and Bichette (if he’s healthy) are due to finally do something in October.
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