
Way-too-early 2024 MLB power rankings
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David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior WriterNov 1, 2023, 11:00 PM ET
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The Rangers have done it! They’ve won their first World Series in franchise history, beating the Diamondbacks in five games in what was one of the most surprising Series matchups ever.
Now that the Fall Classic is over, it’s time to turn our attention to 2024 — and we’re kicking that off with some way-WAY-too-early power rankings.
Where do Texas and Arizona rank after their exhilarating World Series runs? Were the Braves and Dodgers hurt by their division-round knockouts? And where did the Orioles and Astros land? Let’s get right into it!
Final 2023 regular-season Power Rankings | Grades for every team
2023 record: 104-58
2023 final ranking: 1
After losing to the Phillies in the division series for a second straight season, there was a lot made in Atlanta about the Braves lacking the necessary intestinal fortitude required to win in October. It can’t be a coincidence. Changes need to be made. The one player Braves fans seemed to defend the most was Spencer Strider, even though he’s 0-3 against the Phillies in those two series.
Let’s not forget that many of these same players were part of a World Series roster just two years ago. What, you want to trade Ronald Acuna Jr.? Dump Ozzie Albies and his $7 million-per-year contract? Look, no doubt the rotation was a bit of a mess by the end of the season, with Charlie Morton injured, Max Fried pitching through a blister issue and Bryce Elder struggling. Alex Anthopoulos will no doubt address the bullpen and perhaps add a veteran starter, but the lineup that became the first ever to slug .500 remains intact, and that will make the Braves the team to beat.
2023 record: 90-72
2023 final ranking: 5
Well, that was quite the ride … and there are reasons to expect the Rangers will be even better in 2024. An offense that led the AL in runs will now be adding Evan Carter for a full season, and 2023 first-round pick Wyatt Langford looks like a potential superstar after hitting .360/.480/.677 and reaching Triple-A in his pro debut. All the starting pitching options will be back except for free agent Jordan Montgomery, and given his postseason success you wonder if the Rangers will make a hard pitch to bring him back. You can never have too much starting pitching, especially given the various health concerns with Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Jacob deGrom. You can also never have too much relief pitching either, and that will be the offseason priority. How about signing free agent Josh Hader as the new closer?
2023 record: 101-61
2023 final ranking: 2
When the Rangers swept Baltimore in the ALDS the general reaction seemed to be, “Oh, the Orioles weren’t really that good anyway,” which felt like an in-the-moment dismissal of a team that won 101 games. Perhaps that win-loss record did overrate the Orioles’ true talent level — their Pythagorean record was 94-68 — but the good news is there is more young talent on the way to join Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez, including Jackson Holliday who emerged as the game’s top prospect — plus Heston Kjerstad, Coby Mayo and catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo, who hit .313/.402/.551 while reaching Double-A at 19.
The question: How will Mike Elias reinforce the pitching staff? Starting pitching is the strength of an otherwise weak free agent class: Nola, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray and Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is expected to be posted after a sensational season (1.16 ERA, just two home runs allowed in 171 innings), top the list. Whether the Orioles fork over a nine-figure contract remains to be seen, maybe they’ll trade from their prospect depth instead. Either way, it’s time for the organization to make a big move for the rotation.
2023 record: 90-72
2023 final ranking: 6
There are two ways to view the Phillies: (1) They’ve defeated the Braves two years in a row in the postseason; (2) They’ve finished 14 games behind the Braves in the NL East each of the past two seasons. That’s aside from the shocking loss to the Diamondbacks in the NLCS, which did expose a few weaknesses: The lineup, even with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, doesn’t draw a lot of walks; they also strike out a lot. In other words, some of these guys can be pitched to, and Arizona exploited those holes. The other problem, of course, was Craig Kimbrel. He’s a free agent, and the team will need a new closer — either from within or perhaps Philadelphia will be among the teams chasing Hader.
Still, few can match the Phillies’ frontline talent, and they return all their key players except longtime starter Aaron Nola, who heads into free agency. Re-signing him — or replacing him — will be an offseason priority (with an eye towards Zack Wheeler’s free agency after 2024 as well). Maybe they’ll count on top prospect Mick Abel (fellow prospect Andrew Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in July), but Nola’s durability is a big plus, and you have to think Dave Dombrowski will make a run at bringing him back.
2023 record: 90-72
2023 final ranking: 9
Losing all four home games in the ALCS was the exclamation point on a weird season for the Astros, one in which they battled injuries and had a losing record at home and then ended with Dusty Baker announcing his retirement.
Was winning 16 fewer games than they did in 2022 a sign that the Astros are finally getting old? Not really. Alex Bregman is entering his age-30 season, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker will be 27 and Jeremy Pena 26. Yainer Diaz should take over as the regular catcher after hitting 23 home runs as a rookie, and that will improve the offense. Jose Altuve is 34 but coming off a .311/.393/.522 season. Depth remains an issue for Houston offensively, but not star power. In the rotation, the Astros will have Justin Verlander for a full season but need Cristian Javier to show up more often in the regular season and Framber Valdez to rediscover his sinker.
Overall, the Astros will be loaded with hopes of another championship run. Indeed, the biggest issue may simply be mentally gearing up for another 162-game regular season. At some point they’ll have to rebuild — Bregman and Altuve are entering the final years of their deals — but that time has yet to arrive.
2023 record: 99-63
2023 final ranking: 4
The Rays are a tough team to evaluate. They’re coming off an impressive 99-win season with the third-highest run differential in the majors, but the injuries to the starting rotation had piled up by the end of the season, and they’ll be without Shane McClanahan in 2024 after Tommy John surgery. Tyler Glasnow’s salary also jumps from $5.35 million to $25 million, which might put him on the trade block. Plus, there’s the uncertainty of the Wander Franco investigation.
Still, the offense was terrific. Top prospects Junior Caminero and Curtis Mead should be ready to play major roles, and Shane Baz should be back from Tommy John surgery. And they’ll probably find three relievers off the waiver wire and turn them into dominant arms.
2023 record: 100-62
2023 final ranking: 3
Deep breaths here. The Dodgers aren’t facing an impending organizational collapse. Yes, that playoff loss to the Diamondbacks was embarrassing and all kinds of awful, and the rotation at season’s end was messier than a 4-year-old eating a chocolate ice cream cone. Clayton Kershaw is a free agent with an unknown future, and Julio Urias will not be back. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May will miss 2024 after Tommy John surgeries. That leaves Bobby Miller, a returning Walker Buehler, Emmet Sheehan and Ryan Pepiot as the rotation heading into the offseason — plus a group of interesting starting pitching prospects in the upper minors, including Gavin Stone, Nick Frasso, River Ryan and Landon Knack. The cupboard isn’t exactly barren here.
Plus, you know … there’s Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. And Will Smith. And Max Muncy. And James Outman had a nice rookie season. They’ll have Gavin Lux back. Oh … and they have plenty of payroll room to spend over the winter. Rumor is they may be looking at getting a certain superstar to make a 31.4-mile trip up I-5. Look, there are real concerns here: An unproven rotation, a lineup that was mostly a bunch of 30-somethings in 2023. But bet against the Dodgers at your own peril.
2023 record: 88-74
2023 final ranking: 11
In an all-time foot-in-his-mouth moment, Mariners baseball operations head Jerry Dipoto told reporters during his end-of-season news conference that “We’re actually doing the fan base a favor in asking their patience to win the World Series.” He then explained his theory that winning 54% of games over a decade is the team’s aspiration. The Mariners won 54% of their games in 2023 — and missed the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Mariners have seen the Rangers leapfrog right over them in the AL West.
The rotation gives Seattle a high floor — although I think that group is a little overrated. The Mariners were just 12th in the majors in rotation ERA on the road. Still, it’s a strong foundation with Bryce Miller lining up behind Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. They’ll hope to get Marco Gonzales back and Robbie Ray could return from Tommy John surgery later in the season. The offense finished eighth in the majors in runs on the road, but strikeouts were a problem — second most in the majors. That’s just too many whiffs to make a deep playoff run — if they get in. What do they need to win, oh, 56% of their games? A left-handed, power-hitting DH would be nice. Know anybody who fits the bill?
2023 record: 83-79
2023 final ranking: 13
The Cubs ended up missing the postseason by one win after losing five of their final six games, which head of baseball operations Jed Hoyer described as “Painfully, we did not finish the race. And you can’t call something that falls short of your goals a success.” Still, after posting a plus-96 run differential that ranked 10th in the majors, the Cubs are headed in the right direction, including having a slew of young players such as September call-ups Jordan Wicks and Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cade Horton, Ben Brown, Kevin Alcantara and even 2023 first-round pick Matt Shaw who could impact the major league roster in 2024.
They’ll have to decide whether to pursue re-signing Cody Bellinger, and Marcus Stroman has an opt-out, so that could mean there are two big holes to fill. With Crow-Armstrong ready to take over in center field, maybe they let Bellinger walk, although that opens up a hole at first base where Matt Mervis may or not be the answer. Still, with so much promising young talent on the way, the Cubs have the flexibility to pursue free agents to plug some gaps.
2023 record: 89-73
2023 final ranking: 8
Is there more in the tank here? After seasons of 92 and 89 wins that both ended in two-game sweeps in the AL Wild Card Series, the Jays are kind of stuck between contender and pretender with no clear path to improvement. On the positive side, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi all return after making 30-plus starts with ERAs under 4.00. If Alek Manoah can figure out what went wrong, the rotation should again be one of the best in the majors. On offense, Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt and Kevin Kiermaier are all free agents so this lineup could look different in 2024. After ranking eighth in the AL in runs, they’ll need to fill those holes. John Schneider is back as manager after his dubious decision to pull Berrios in the playoff game that was questioned by his own players and front office. I’m not sure he’s a strength here — given the health of the rotation in 2023, it’s hard to say he got the most out of this club.
2023 record: 84-78
2023 final ranking: 12
The Diamondbacks squeaked into the postseason for the first time since 2017 and then had a memorable playoff run in beating the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies to reach the World Series. It will be interesting to see what kind of offseason the front office pursues. After all, this was a team that was outscored during the regular season and relied on a red-hot bullpen in the postseason. There is an exciting young core here that should keep the D-backs in contention in upcoming years: Corbin Carroll will be 23, Gabriel Moreno 24, Alek Thomas 24, Geraldo Perdomo 24, with top prospect Jordan Lawlar ready to break into the lineup as well.
They’ll have to improve the back of the rotation — beginning with improvement from playoff hero Brandon Pfaadt, who had a 5.72 ERA in the regular season but showed in October that he has potential to be much improved in 2024. Ryne Nelson (5.31 ERA) will be given another opportunity in the rotation, and it makes sense to go after a veteran starter — even an innings-eater like Kyle Gibson would help — but the Diamondbacks should sense some weakness in the Dodgers and Padres and aim higher.
2023 record: 82-80
2023 final ranking: 17
I hate to use the term luck since you make your own luck, but the Padres were one of the unluckiest teams in MLB history, finishing 10 wins worse than their Pythagorean record. That came courtesy of a 9-23 record in one-run games, including 2-12 in extra innings. By FanGraphs’ “clutch” factor, they were also the least clutch offensive team in the majors (they hit .210 in high-leverage situations).
They do have two premier free agents to replace in likely Cy Young winner Blake Snell and closer Josh Hader and will need yet another new manager with Bob Melvin leaving for the Giants. The frontline talent is here to compete for a division title, and given how much the Padres have invested in this roster it seems unlikely they’ll back off now. That’s not to dismiss the possibility they trade Juan Soto as he enters his walk year and A.J. Preller hasn’t exactly proven he can build the depth around his stars. Still, I think the Padres will be more competitive in 2024.
2023 record: 87-75
2023 final ranking: 10
Ahh, the benefits of playing in a division where two teams are a mess, one is rebuilding and one is too cheap to improve its roster. OK, maybe saying that much of their success is simply the AL Central is a bit unfair to the Twins, who were six games over .500 outside the division (frankly, they should have done better within the division). Most importantly, the Twins ended that horrific 18-game postseason losing streak with a wild-card series win over the Blue Jays.
The strength of the team in 2023 was a starting rotation that led the majors in strikeout rate, but Cy Young contender Sonny Gray is a free agent, as are Kenta Maeda and (the often injured) Tyler Mahle, so that’s 57 starts to fill. The offense was fifth in the AL in runs scored as Edouard Julien looks like he’ll be an on-base machine, and Royce Lewis showed signs of potential stardom if he can stay healthy. If Lewis, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton can all post and produce, the offense could be really good, but they are three big ifs given their health history. The offseason focus will likely center on adding a starting pitcher to replace Gray and perhaps a corner outfield bat (Joey Gallo was not a solution).
2023 record: 82-80
2023 final ranking: 16
No team has more on the line this offseason than the Yankees, who are coming off their worst winning percentage since 1992 (although they avoided a losing season) and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Is Brian Cashman getting an unfair rap? After all, the Yankees won 99 games in 2022 and 100 and 103 in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Maybe, but the World Series drought is now at 14 years and the lack of left-handed power in recent years has been a strange approach to lineup construction given their home park.
The Yankees’ best solutions have always been to just spend money (although not enough in recent years, according to Yankees fans), but the free agent market won’t be too helpful here unless they can lure Shohei Ohtani to the Bronx (and they’re kind of stuck with Giancarlo Stanton at DH already). This feels like a spot where they could overpay Cody Bellinger for his big 2023. Still, the pitching might be very good-to-dominant if Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes bounce back from injuries and with Michael King looking like a nice starter based on his late-season performance in the rotation. For now, we’ll put them in the middle of the pack and note that there is upside here with the right tweaks and better health.
2023 record: 78-84
2023 final ranking: 19
Chaim Bloom is out after four years as chief baseball officer, and former Red Sox reliever Craig Breslow, who has been in the Cubs’ front office since 2019, takes over. No doubt owner John Henry has given him the mantra to win now, replacing Bloom’s more cautious approach.
Luckily for Breslow, the Red Sox have a nice offensive foundation and Bloom did a nice job rebuilding what had been a weak farm system. On top of breakout seasons from Triston Casas and Jarren Duran, prospects like Ceddanne Rafaela, Marcelo Mayer and Nick Yorke might be ready to contribute in 2024, with Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel perhaps a year away.
The problem is the rotation ranked 22nd in the majors in ERA. If ownership wants to win now that will mean purchasing some arms in free agency or trading away some of that young position player talent.
2023 record: 92-70
2023 final ranking: 7
Of the six division winners, the Brewers feel like the team most likely to fall. First off, manager Craig Counsell — arguably the best in the game — is unsigned. Maybe he ends up going back to Milwaukee, or maybe David Stearns, his former boss, lures him to manage the Mets. We already know they’ll be without Brandon Woodruff for all of 2024. The bullpen, which led the majors in win probability added, is likely to regress at least a little. Then there’s the status of Corbin Burnes, with one season left until he’s a free agent. Trading him might be an opportunity to add a young bat or two to a lineup that ranked 14th in the NL in slugging and OPS, with only Willy Adames cracking the 20-homer barrier.
2023 record: 75-87
2023 final ranking: 22
Hey, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer did end up reaching the LCS — just not with the Mets, after the club gave up on 2023 at the trade deadline. What we know: Buck Showalter and Billy Eppler are out, and former Brewers GM Stearns takes over the baseball operations department. What we don’t know: Are the Mets all-in for 2024? At his introductory news conference, Stearns played it down the middle: “We are going to do our best to put together a team in 2024 that is competitive. And we’re going to do it in a way that does not detract from our competitiveness in the future years.”
Stearns did more with less in Milwaukee, but now he’ll have to prove he can do more with more. That didn’t work for the Mets in 2023 and we’re left to wonder if perhaps 2022, when the Mets won 101 games, was just a fluke season spliced between what remains a mediocre base of talent. Perhaps the best way to “thread the needle” — as Stearns put it — is to simply use owner Steve Cohen’s money to go after Ohtani and Yamamoto, two players who will help in 2024 … and beyond.
2023 record: 78-84
2023 final ranking: 21
The Tigers appear to finally be moving in the right direction. They had a winning record in the second half, when the rotation had the seventh-best ERA in the majors. Tarik Skubal was a beast when he returned in July, with a 2.80 ERA in 15 starts and terrific peripherals. Reese Olson had a promising rookie season. If they can keep Matt Manning healthy (he had two separate IL stints after getting hit twice in the right foot), get Casey Mize back from Tommy John surgery and have Eduardo Rodriguez stick around (he has an opt-out clause), this could be a really good rotation.
That leaves the offense, which was better — Spencer Torkelson finally broke out in the second half and finished with 31 home runs — but still needs a lot of help. Colt Keith should plug the hole at third base after hitting .306 with 27 home runs in the minors. Getting Miguel Cabrera’s $32 million off the books will be nice and, frankly, the Tigers have a lot of payroll room here. I’m not sure this is the year president of baseball ops Scott Harris decides to ramp up the payroll, especially given the weak market for free agents, but even some second-tier free agents would help the lineup depth.
2023 record: 82-80
2023 final ranking: 15
Look, there’s no doubt the Reds were one of the fun stories of 2023, hanging in the wild-card race until the final few days of the season. Maybe I’m underrating them here; after all, there is the exciting class of rookie position players in Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Noelvi Marte to build upon (plus starters Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson). De La Cruz became an instant highlight sensation, but he’s more hype than production right now (144 strikeouts and a .300 OBP in 98 games). I can’t get past the rotation questions: a 5.43 ERA, 28th in the majors, and it didn’t really improve over the course of the season. Cincinnati will have to upgrade the pitching — perhaps dealing from that excess of young infielders — to look like anything more than a .500 team.
2023 record: 76-86
2023 final ranking: 20
There are reasons to be optimistic about what Cleveland might do in 2024: The AL Central remains soft, and rookie starters Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams all impressed, combining for a 3.35 ERA across 65 starts. Hopefully, Triston McKenzie will be at full strength after injuries limited him to four starts, and Shane Bieber is still here — although he’s in his final year of arbitration, which means a trade is possible. The Guardians have to replace Terry Francona, however, and while it’s impossible to give an exact number on wins a manager can add, we may just find out how valuable Francona has been. More problematic: fixing the offense, which ranked last in the majors in home runs, including at pathetic 18 from its outfielders.
2023 record: 76-86
2023 final ranking: 23
Are the Pirates making progress? Manager Derek Shelton thought so by the end of the season, saying he was encouraged by the team’s final two months. “We’re playing better baseball but we’re also — and this may sound a little different — we’re getting things out of the way,” he said. I’m not sure exactly what Shelton meant, but it sounds like a nice way of saying this is no longer the atrocious 100-loss teams of 2021 and 2022. GM Ben Cherington even said the team would “have the resources we need to get better and to compete and contend” in 2024.
Of course, given owner Bob Nutting’s history, what does that mean? Increasing payroll from $71 million to $100 million? Bottom line: The Pirates still have a long way to go. They were 24th in the majors in rotation ERA and 13th in the NL in runs. Top prospects Endy Rodriguez and Henry David hardly looked like impact players, and Davis had to play out of position in right field. It will help if No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes is ready to jump into the rotation, but they need to upgrade the infield.
2023 record: 84-78
2023 final ranking: 14
It was an exciting season for the Marlins: Their first winning season in a full schedule since 2009, their first playoff appearance in a full season since 2003, Luis Arraez winning the batting title, young starters Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett making 30 starts for the first time and Eury Perez flashing signs of future stardom. So why the low ranking? The season ended with the controversial departure of GM Kim Ng and the stability of the organization once again teeters on the ledge.
I just don’t think Miami enters the offseason in a strong position. The Marlins were minus-57 in run differential, with their record propped up by a 33-14 record in one-run games (and it’s not like the bullpen was especially effective). They were last in the NL in runs scored. Ace Sandy Alcantara will miss the season with Tommy John surgery and the farm system is weak. The owner may be a problem. Good luck to the GM.
2023 record: 71-91
2023 final ranking: 25
The Cardinals suffered their first losing season since 2007 and their first 90-loss season since 1990, so the front office will be tested more than it has been in decades in reshaping the club for 2024. There’s certainly more talent here than your typical 91-loss team, but it’s also important to remember that Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado produced an estimated 67 fewer runs than in 2022 — and they’re not getting any younger. Of course, the biggest challenge is fixing a rotation that ranked 26th in the majors with a 5.08 ERA — and that could put president of baseball ops John Mozeliak in the uncomfortable position of spending some money on free agents.
2023 record: 79-83
2023 final ranking: 18
The Giants lost 83 games and fired manager Gabe Kapler — and they may have overachieved just to do that well (at least in the first half, when they were eight games over .500). Bob Melvin takes over at manager, and perhaps some of the thinking there is hiring the understated Melvin will help bring free agents to San Francisco. The second half exposed the team’s lack of star talent, which is why Vegas oddsmakers have made the Giants one of the favorites to land Ohtani and why baseball operations president Farhan Zaidi made a recent trip to Japan to scout Yamamoto. GM Pete Putila was also in South Korea scouting center fielder Jung-hoo Lee. They’ll also need to replace Brandon Crawford, the team’s long-time shortstop. Marco Luciano was once the heir apparent, but his prospect hype has faded, and he may not be the answer.
2023 record: 73-89
2023 final ranking: 24
Take away Ohtani’s 10.0 WAR and what are you left with? Let’s do some quick math. With Ohtani, the Angels ranked 21st in the majors in WAR. Subtract 10 and they fall to 26th. Which is about where I’m putting them here. There’s a non-zero chance they trade Mike Trout — but given Trout played just 82 games and had the worst OPS of his career while turning 32 in August and is owed a ton of money through 2030, that feels unlikely. Obviously, their offseason hinges on re-signing Ohtani, but you do wonder what their Plan B might look like.
2023 record: 71-91
2023 final ranking: 26
The Nationals were last in this space a season ago and finished with a more respectable record than anticipated, avoiding the 100 losses many believed were coming. They worked in some young guys, with mixed results. The underlying talent here is still thin: They were last in the NL in home runs while allowing the most home runs, and that’s not going to work. The rotation was also healthy with the top five starters combining for 143 starts — that probably won’t happen again. If Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore make a leap forward and James Wood and Dylan Crews can impact the offense in the second half, Washington will at least be interesting, but it wouldn’t shock me to see regression back to 100 losses (unless additions are made in the offseason).
2023 record: 50-112
2023 final ranking: 30
Wait, not last? The franchise more interested in promoting architectural renderings of a new ballpark in Las Vegas than winning games in Oakland? The franchise with an owner in John Fisher who is so disliked that pitcher Trevor May retired and deplored him to sell the team to “someone who actually takes pride in things they own”? The franchise that just lost 112 games? Well, the A’s will certainly be bad in 2024, but they did improve in the second half, dropping their run differential from minus-248 to minus-91. After a nightmare first half, the rotation lowered its ERA from 6.32 to 4.97 — which isn’t anything to brag about but is a small indicator that the team won’t be quite so awful again.
2023 record: 56-106
2023 final ranking: 29
The Royals have two starters rostered who made more than 12 starts in 2023 — and both had ERAs over five and a half. They don’t have a single reliever returning who pitched at least 20 innings and had an ERA under 4.00. They do have Bobby Witt Jr. and Cole Ragans, who had a breakout performance the final two months and looks like a potential top-of-the-rotation starter. A healthy Vinnie Pasquantino will help, and maybe Nelson Velazquez will show up, but the pitching staff basically needs to be completely re-constructed — with a farm system that has little to offer.
2023 record: 59-103
2023 final ranking: 28
The worst offensive team in the majors via wRC+ (weighted runs created), Colorado has to find some hitters. Just once, wouldn’t it be fun for the Rockies to bring in some superstar sluggers? They have some hitting prospects of interest down on the farm, although I’m lukewarm about most of them. Guys like Jordan Beck, Yanquiel Fernandez and Zac Veen all scuffled when they reached Double-A, so I don’t see any impact in 2024 from that group. The Rockies are coming off 103 losses. Hopefully that will be rock bottom, but this is an organization wandering in the baseball desert without any grand plan.
2023 record: 61-101
2023 final ranking: 27
That was a disaster. The White Sox lost 101 games, their most since 1970 (a team so bad it averaged fewer than 6,000 fans per game). Longtime executives Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn were fired in August with farm director Chris Getz taking over as general manager, even though the farm system hasn’t exactly been pumping out quality prospects. Pedro Grifol will get another chance as manager even though the team fell apart in the second half (23-47, minus-133 run differential). Maybe they’ll spend some money in the offseason, and maybe some of the better players will rebound, but the White Sox enter the offseason as the most dysfunctional organization of 2023.
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Sports
No team has repeated in a quarter century. Are the Dodgers different?
Published
5 hours agoon
October 3, 2025By
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Alden GonzalezOct 3, 2025, 08:00 AM ET
Close- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
WHEN THE LOW point arrived last year, on Sept. 15 in Atlanta, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts broke character and challenged some of his players in a meeting many of them later identified as a fulcrum in their championship run.
This year, he attempted to strike a more positive tone.
It was Sept. 6. The Dodgers had just been walked off in Baltimore, immediately after being swept in Pittsburgh, and though they were still 15 games above .500, a sense of uneasiness lingered. Their division lead was slim, consistency remained elusive and spirits were noticeably down. Roberts saw an opportunity to take stock.
“He was talking to us about the importance of what was in front of us,” Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said in Spanish. “At that time, there were like seven, eight weeks left because we only had three weeks left in the regular season, and he wanted all of us, collectively, to think about what we were still capable of doing, and the opportunity we still had to win another championship.”
Later that night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto got within an out of no-hitting the Baltimore Orioles, then he surrendered a home run to Jackson Holliday and watched the bullpen implode after his exit, allowing three additional runs in what became the Dodgers’ most demoralizing loss of the season. The next morning, though, music blared inside Camden Yards’ visiting clubhouse. Players were upbeat, vibes were positive.
The Dodgers won behind an effective Clayton Kershaw later that afternoon, then reeled off 16 wins over their next 21 games — including back-to-back emphatic victories over the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the playoffs.
It took a day, but Roberts’ message had seemingly landed.
“We needed some positivity,” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said, “to remove all of the negativity that we were feeling in that moment.”
As they approach a highly anticipated National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers once again look like one of the deepest, most fearsome teams in the sport.
But the journey there was arduous.
A Dodgers team many outsiders pegged as a candidate to break the regular-season-wins record of 116 ultimately won only 93, its fewest total in seven years. Defending a championship, a task no team has successfully pulled off in a quarter-century, has proven to be a lot more difficult than many Dodger players anticipated. But they’ve maintained a belief that their best selves would arrive when it mattered most. And whether it’s a product of health, focus, or because the right message hit them at the right time, they believe it’s here now.
“We’re coming together at the right time,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said amid a champagne-soaked celebration Wednesday night, “and that’s all that really matters.”
BUSTER POSEY’S San Francisco Giants became the most dominant team in the first half of the 2010s, during which they captured three championships. They won every other year — on even years, famously — but could not pull off the repeat the Dodgers are chasing. To this day, Posey, now the Giants’ president of baseball operations, can’t pinpoint why.
“I wish I could,” Posey said, “because if I knew what that one thing was, I would’ve tried to correct it the second, third time through.”
Major League Baseball has not had a repeat champion since the New York Yankees won their third consecutive title in 2000, a 24-year drought that stands as the longest ever among the four major North American professional sports, according to ESPN Research. In that span, the NBA had a team win back-to-back championships on four different occasions. The NHL? Three. The NFL, whose playoff rounds all consist of one game? Two.
MLB’s drought has occurred in its wild-card era, which began in 1995 and has expanded since.
“The baseball playoffs are really difficult,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “You obviously have to be really good. You also have to have some really good fortune. The number of rounds and the fact that the very best team in the league wins around 60% of their games, the very worst team wins around 40% — now you take the upper-echelon in the playoffs, and the way baseball games can play out, good fortune is a real part of determining the outcomes.”
The Dodgers, now 11 wins shy of a second consecutive title, will hope for some of that good fortune this month. They’ve already encountered some of the pitfalls that come with winning a championship, including the one Posey experienced most vividly: the toll of playing deep into October.
“That month of postseason baseball — it’s more like two or three months of regular-season baseball, just because of the intensity of it,” Posey said.
The Dodgers played through Oct. 30 last year — and then they began this season March 18, nine days before almost everybody else, 5,500 miles away in Tokyo.
“At the time, you don’t see it,” Hernández said, “but when the next season starts, that’s when you start feeling your body not responding the way it should be. And it’s because you don’t get as much time to get ready, to prepare for next season. This one has been so hard, I got to be honest, because — we win last year, and we don’t even have the little extra time that everybody gets because we have to go to Japan. So, you have to push yourself to get ready a month early so you can be ready for those games. Those are games that count for the season. So, working hard when your body is not even close to 100%, I think that’s the reason. I think that’s why you see, after a team wins, next year you see a lot of players getting hurt.”
The Dodgers had the second-most amount of money from player salaries on the injured list this season, behind only the Yankees, the team they defeated in the World Series, according to Spotrac. The Dodgers sent an NL-leading 29 players to the IL, a list that included Freddie Freeman, who underwent offseason surgery on the injured ankle he played through last October, and several other members of their starting lineup — Will Smith, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman and Hernández.
The bullpen that carried the Dodgers through last fall might have paid the heaviest price. Several of those who played a prominent role last October — Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips — either struggled, were hurt or did not pitch. It might not have been the sole reason for the bullpen’s struggles — a combined 4.94 ERA from free agent signees Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates played just as big a role — but it certainly didn’t help.
“I don’t know if there’s any carryover thing,” Treinen said Sept. 16 after suffering his third consecutive loss. “I don’t believe in that. We just have a job, and it’s been weird.”
IN FEBRUARY, ROJAS made headlines by saying that the 2025 Dodgers could challenge the wins record and added they might win 120 games at full health. An 8-0 start — after an offseason in which the front office added Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto, Hyeseong Kim, Scott and Yates to what was arguably the sport’s best roster already — only ratcheted up the expectations.
The Dodgers managed a 53-32 record through the end of June — but then, they went 10-14 in July, dropped seven of their first 12 games in August and saw a seven-game lead in the National League West turn into a one-game deficit.
From July 1 to Aug. 14, the Dodgers’ offense ranked 20th in OPS and 24th in runs per game. The rotation began to round into form, but the bullpen sported the majors’ highest walk rate and put up a 1.43 WHIP in that stretch, fifth highest.
The Dodgers swept the San Diego Padres at home in mid-August, regaining some control of the division, but then Los Angeles split a series against the last-place Colorado Rockies and lost one in San Diego. The Dodgers swept the Reds, then lost two of three to the Arizona Diamondbacks, dropped three in a row to the Pirates and suffered those back-to-back walk-off losses to the Orioles.
Consistency eluded the Dodgers at a time when it felt as if every opponent was aiming for them.
Before rejoining the Dodgers ahead of the 2023 season, Rojas spent eight years with the Miami Marlins, who were continually out of the playoff race in September and found extra motivation when facing the best teams down the stretch. Those matchups functioned as their World Series.
“I think that’s the problem for those teams after winning a World Series — you’re going to have a target on your back,” Rojas said. “And it’s going to take a lot of effort for your main guys to step up every single day. And then, at the end of the regular season, you’re going to be kind of exhausted from the battle of every single day. And I think that’s why when teams get to the playoffs, they probably fall short.”
Travis d’Arnaud, now a catcher for the Los Angeles Angels, felt the same way while playing for the defending-champion Atlanta Braves in 2022. There was “a little bit more emotion” in games that otherwise didn’t mean much, he said. Teams seemed to bunt more frequently, play their infield in early and consistently line up their best relievers. Often, they’d face a starting pitcher who typically threw in the low-90s but suddenly started firing mid- to upper-90s fastballs.
“It’s just a different intensity,” said A.J. Pierzynski, the catcher for the Chicago White Sox teams that won it all in 2005 and failed to repeat in 2006. “It’s hard to quantify unless you’re playing in the games, but there’s a different intensity if you’re playing.”
BEFORE A SEASON-ENDING sweep of the Seattle Mariners, the 2025 Dodgers were dangerously close to finishing with the fewest full-season wins total of any team Friedman has overseen in these past 11 years. Friedman acknowledged that recently but added a caveat: “I’d also say that going into October, I think it’ll be the most talented team.”
It’s a belief that has fueled the Dodgers.
With Snell and Glasnow healthy, Yamamoto dialing up what was already an NL Cy Young-caliber season and Shohei Ohtani fully stretched out, the Dodgers went into the playoffs believing their rotation could carry them the way their bullpen did a year earlier. Their confidence was validated immediately. Snell allowed two baserunners through the first six innings of Game 1 of the wild-card round Tuesday night, and Yamamoto went 6⅔ innings without allowing an earned run 24 hours later.
“For us, it’s going to be our starting pitching,” Muncy said. “They’re going to set the tone.”
But an offense that has been without Smith, currently nursing a hairline fracture in his right hand, has also been clicking for a while. The Dodgers trailed only the Phillies in slugging percentage over the last three weeks of the regular season. In the Dodgers’ first two playoff games, 10 players combined to produce 28 hits. Six of them came from Mookie Betts, who began the season with an illness that caused him to lose close to 20 pounds and held a .670 OPS — 24 points below the league average — as recently as Aug. 6. Since then, he’s slashing .326/.384/.529.
His trajectory has resembled that of his team.
“We had a lot of struggles, really all year,” Betts said. “But I think we all view that as just a test to see how we would respond. And so now we’re starting to use those tests that we went through earlier to respond now and be ready now. And anything that comes our way, it can’t be worse than what we’ve already gone through.”
The Dodgers still don’t know if their bullpen will be good enough to take them through October — though Sasaki’s ninth inning Wednesday night, when he flummoxed the Reds with triple-digit fastballs and devastating splitters, certainly provided some hope — but they believe in their collective ability to navigate it.
They believe this roster is better and deeper than the championship-winning one from last fall. And, as Rojas said, they believe they “know how to flip the switch when it matters most.”
“It’s been a long year,” Muncy said. “At this point, seven months ago, we were on the other side of the world. We’ve been through a lot this year, and to end up in the spot we’re in right now — we’re in a great spot. We’re in the postseason. That’s all that matters. That’s what we’ve been saying all year. Anything can happen once you’re in October.”
Sports
Bama’s shot at revenge, high stakes in the ACC and the 29 biggest games of Week 6
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October 3, 2025By
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Bill ConnellyOct 3, 2025, 07:30 AM ET
Close- Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.
It feels like we know less about the college football landscape now than we did a month ago. Virginia is ranked, and Clemson very much isn’t. Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Texas A&M are unbeaten and ranked in the AP top six, and Texas, Alabama, Georgia and LSU are not. If you knew nothing about college football history and dove into this crazy world only this season, you would believe that Indiana, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt are three of the most elite programs in the country.
It’s into this murky world that we wade for Week 6. Last week boasted serious headliners that clarified the Big Ten’s hierarchy (Oregon over Penn State) and very much blurred the SEC’s (Bama over Georgia, Ole Miss over LSU). Week 6 doesn’t feature the same marquee matchups, but we still get Miami-Florida State, plus many games that are far bigger and better than we expected — Bama against unbeaten Vandy, Virginia against unbeaten Louisville, Texas Tech against unbeaten Houston, and Iowa State against a scorching Cincinnati.
Welcome to October. It’s hard to see where this season is taking us, but that makes the journey awfully fun. Here’s everything you need to follow in a surprising, mysterious Week 6.
All times Eastern.
Revenge time in Tuscaloosa?
No. 16 Vanderbilt at No. 10 Alabama (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Part of succeeding a legend is that we notice anytime you don’t live up to the legend’s standards. Granted, Kalen DeBoer has proven adept at continuing Nick Saban’s relative success against Kirby Smart’s Georgia, but DeBoer’s track record otherwise has some holes. He has already lost four games to unranked teams, as many as Saban lost in 17 years. Not great.
Saban was particularly good at putting upstarts in their place — think of Michigan State and Washington in the College Football Playoff. Or Missouri in the SEC championship game. Or Mississippi State every time the Bulldogs thought they were good. He was also good at revenge. His Crimson Tide bopped Tim Tebow’s Florida in 2009 and beat LSU by three TDs when they got a second shot at the Tigers in the 2011 BCS Championship Game. They lost to Auburn four times but won the following year by an average of 25 points.
You might remember what happened the last time Alabama played Vanderbilt.
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Vanderbilt fans storm field after historic win over Alabama
Vanderbilt hangs on for its first-ever win over a No. 1 ranked team in a thrilling 40-35 victory over Alabama.
Vandy has to go to Tuscaloosa this time, which sets up a revenge opportunity. But the Commodores are much better this time. They’re 11th in SP+, and they’re scoring 49 points per game. Diego Pavia is third nationally in Total QBR (and maybe the second-best power conference quarterback to date), completing 75% of his passes and averaging nearly 7 yards per non-sack carry. Backs Sedrick Alexander and Makhilyn Young are averaging 6.9 yards per carry, tight end Eli Stowers is catching everything and receiver Junior Sherrill has scored on five of his 17 receptions.
The Commodores are combining ruthless efficiency with above-average explosiveness.
Because Vandy has so thoroughly taken care of business through five games, Pavia hasn’t had to do as much — he had taken contact 108 times through five games last year (and battled wear-and-tear issues later in the season), but he’s at only 65 hits this year. If he needs to run more in the bigger games, he can probably handle it.
The Commodores’ defense isn’t amazing, but it’s also better than it was last season. Vandy plays decent run defense with great big-play prevention against the pass; safety CJ Heard is excellent, and linebackers Bryan Longwell and Khordae Sydnor swarm well.
Alabama remains an unfinished picture. The Crimson Tide’s defense looked downright unprepared in Week 1 against Florida State, but it has allowed only 11.7 points per game since. The Crimson Tide don’t create nearly enough negative plays, but they don’t give up big plays either, and safety Bray Hubbard keys a frustrating zone defense.
The offense has been the star of the show. Ty Simpson looked disheveled against Florida State, but he has been brilliant since, and the Tide are up to sixth in points per drive despite a below-average run game. They couldn’t quite close out Georgia after a brilliant first half, but Simpson is incredibly sharp, and the offensive line has shored up a lot of its Week 1 breakdowns.
After what happened in 2024, this game is symbolically huge. But it’s also just part of a huge stretch for both teams. Alabama just took down Georgia, but five of the Tide’s next six opponents rank 17th or better in SP+. At absolute worst, they’ll need to win four of six to keep their CFP hopes alive. Meanwhile, five of Vandy’s past seven opponents are also 17th or better. Without an obvious quality win yet, they’ll probably need to win five of seven. Now would be an apt time for Bama to throw its weight around and remind everyone who’s supposed to be the boss. But based solely on 2025 to date, the Commodores might yet be the Tide’s equal.
Current line: Bama -10.5 | SP+ projection: Bama by 2.5 | FPI projection: Bama by 6.9
A high-stakes doubleheader in the ACC
Virginia’s upset of Florida State last week damaged the hype value of one ACC matchup but heightened another. FSU hosts unbeaten Miami on Saturday evening in desperate need of a turnaround win, but the winner of the afternoon’s Virginia-Louisville game — a matchup of the teams with the second- (Louisville) and fourth-best (Virginia) ACC title odds, per SP+ — will be positioned wonderfully, too.
No. 3 Miami at No. 18 Florida State (7:30 p.m., ABC)
In some ways, you could say that Florida State was flying a little too high. The Seminoles had been nearly perfect in 2024, manhandling Alabama and humiliating two buy-game opponents (East Texas A&M and Kent State), and they were due a bad break or two. The defense hadn’t faced a tough and efficient run game like Virginia’s (including Alabama’s), and the offense had faced barely a down of adversity. Regression ran its course in Charlottesville last Friday night, when FSU lost an early fumble, gave up an acrobatic red zone interception and saw a juggling overtime touchdown catch go incomplete by millimeters. Stuff happens.
Even in the playoff era, though, a “stuff happens” loss can wipe out your margin for error. Thanks to early-season collapses from Clemson and Florida, Miami is the last SP+ top-40 opponent on FSU’s schedule, meaning this is likely the Seminoles’ last chance at another high-visibility win.
On paper, this one’s awfully even. Miami has its own solid, physical run game like Virginia’s, one with a bit better blocking but fewer yards after contact. The Hurricanes also have Carson Beck and a passing attack that rules third downs. It’s lacking explosiveness — Beck is averaging just 11.9 yards per completion — and therefore doesn’t generate loads of easy points. But it’s an efficient attack, and FSU’s defense has allowed a few more third-and-long conversions than is preferable.
With how well Notre Dame’s offense has played since, Miami’s Week 1 defensive performance against the Fighting Irish (24 points and 5.4 yards per play allowed) looks awfully impressive. But FSU’s offense has quite a bit to offer, even with the misfires against Virginia. The Seminoles rank first in points per drive and second in yards per play. Virginia hemmed in quarterback Tommy Castellanos and forced him to throw instead of making plays on the perimeter — it’s the key to keeping a lid on a Castellanos attack — but FSU still scored 35 points in regulation and averaged 6.4 yards per play. The ceiling is high even if teams defend the Noles correctly. Gavin Sawchuk and Ousmane Kromah average a combined 5.8 yards per carry with a 59% success rate, and Duce Robinson and Micahi Danzy have combined for 24 catches and 514 yards. And this is still one of the best Net YAC teams in the country.
Considering Miami took down Florida in part due to physical running, whoever generates more success in this regard could have a huge advantage.
With tackle Rueben Bain Jr. at full force and getting help from disruptors such as linebacker Mohamed Toure and nickel back Keionte Scott, Miami’s defense might be even better than Bama’s. It will land some shots, but if FSU can hold Beck and the Canes to 24 or fewer points, you have to like the Seminoles’ chances.
Current line: Miami -4.5 | SP+ projection: Miami by 2.1 | FPI projection: Miami by 3.9
No. 24 Virginia at Louisville (3:30 p.m., ESPN2)
What’s Virginia’s reward for winning a big game against an explosive Florida State offense? A big game against an explosive Louisville offense! Granted, Cardinals quarterback Miller Moss is more of an efficiency player, but wideout Chris Bell has big-play potential, and if or when the Louisville running back corps is healthy, look out. Isaac Brown and Duke Watson have battled injury, and they’ve combined for only 56 carries this year, but Brown is averaging 8.1 yards per carry (6.1 after contact!), and Watson averaged 8.9 in 2024.
Brown and Watson should be as close to full speed Saturday as they’ve been all year, and that’s good because Louisville has played against two SP+ top-50 defenses and averaged just 4.8 yards per play against them. The defense has improved a bit after slippage in recent years, thanks mostly to a pass rush led by star transfers Clev Lubin and Wesley Bailey, but for the Cardinals to live up to growing expectations, the run game will need to shift into gear.
Virginia, meanwhile, has already exceeded expectations. Obliterated them. Blown them to smithereens.
The transfer portal provides miracles for some teams each year and disaster for others, and it smiled on the Cavaliers with the potent additions of quarterback Chandler Morris, running back J’Mari Taylor, receivers Cam Ross and Jahmal Edrine and about 10 new rotation defenders, including star edge rushers Mitchell Melton and Daniel Rickert and nickel back Ja’son Prevard. The defense allows too many big plays and has allowed touchdowns on 80% of opponents’ red zone trips (125th nationally), and that was costly in a Week 2 loss to NC State. But the Hoos rule third downs on offense and defense, and that will take you pretty far. UVA has won more than eight games in a season just once in 17 years, but SP+ says there’s a 57% chance of at least a 9-3 finish. What a world.
Current line: Louisville -6.5 | SP+ projection: Louisville by 9.2 | FPI projection: Louisville by 1.4
This week in the Big 12
Five weeks into the 2024 season, we thought we had a decent read on the Big 12. BYU and Iowa State were still unbeaten, and Kansas State and Utah were 4-1 and looking good. Per SP+, those four teams had about a two-in-three chance of winning the conference. Arizona was 3-1 and hoping to make a run. 3-2 Oklahoma State and 3-1 Arizona State had equal long shot odds.
But the conference had all sorts of surprises in store. Utah lost seven games in a row, and Kansas State lost three of four down the stretch. Arizona and OSU went a combined 1-14 the rest of the way, while Arizona State transformed into a top-10 caliber team in November and won the conference title.
We probably don’t know anything about this conference race yet, in other words, no matter how much it feels like we do. Texas Tech has looked spectacular in its first four games, and Iowa State, BYU, Utah and Arizona State are all positioned pretty well. But Week 6 sends the top two favorites on the road against upstarts and offers a few teams with early losses a chance to get right and stay in the race. We have some plot-twist opportunities for a conference that loves nothing more than delivering them.
No. 11 Texas Tech at Houston (7 p.m., ESPN)
Texas Tech has been genuinely awesome this season, walloping three bad teams as an elite team should and then physically manhandling Utah in Salt Lake City two weeks ago. They’ve been awesome at pretty much everything — they’re fifth in yards per play on offense and defense — and aside from a predilection for penalties and some injury-prone tendencies for quarterback Behren Morton, we don’t really know their weaknesses yet.
Houston’s a little bit easier to figure out. Defense: good. Offense: not so much. The Cougars are ninth in yards per play allowed and are very much in the best quadrant of this chart.
Willie Fritz lost defensive coordinator Shiel Wood to Tech, but the UH defense has been even better with replacement Austin Armstrong. But the Conner Weigman-led offense remains a work in progress. The Coogs go three-and-out nearly 39% of the time (124th), and that will probably be their downfall in this one. But if the defense sets up some easy scoring opportunities, this one quickly moves into “upset watch” territory.
Current line: Tech -10.5 (down from -12.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Tech by 13.9 | FPI projection: Tech by 7.0
No. 14 Iowa State at Cincinnati (noon, ESPN2)
If you combined Cincinnati’s offense with Houston’s defense, you’d have a potential top-10 team. Last Saturday’s 37-34 win at Kansas inserted the Bearcats into the Big 12 title conversation. We’ll see if the Bearcats have the defensive chops to remain a factor — their run defense is strong thanks in part to star tackle Dontay Corleone (who’s as questionable this week), but they’re 136th, last nationally, in completion rate allowed. But quarterback Brendan Sorsby is on a roll, and Cincy ranks first nationally in rushing success rate. Track meets could work out well for the Bearcats.
Iowa State is not a track meet team. The Cyclones have allowed more than 16 points just once in five games, but they’ve also topped 24 only twice. ISU runs a lot on first down but doesn’t get very far, so quarterback Rocco Becht has to convert a lot of third downs. He usually pulls it off, though, either with deep shots to Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell or passes to any of four tight ends.
The ISU defense is strong once again. The Cyclones rarely invade the backfield, but Domonique Orange occupies space up front (he’s listed as probable this week), and they tackle well, prevent big plays and pounce on mistakes. Sorsby hasn’t made many mistakes lately, though.
Current line: Cincy -1.5 | SP+ projection: ISU by 3.2 | FPI projection: ISU by 0.3
Kansas State at Baylor (noon, ESPN+)
Kansas State suffered a three-week funk after losing to Iowa State in Dublin, Ireland, but quarterback Avery Johnson just enjoyed, by far, his best game of the season, and RB Dylan Edwards is finally healthy. The Wildcats still have only one conference loss, but their next four games — at Baylor, TCU, at Kansas, Texas Tech — will require a sustained A-game. Sawyer Robertson and the prolific Bears also have one conference loss and could easily stay in the conversation with a strong performance.
Current line: Baylor -6.5 | SP+ projection: Baylor by 3.4 | FPI projection: Baylor by 2.6
Kansas at UCF (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
UCF makes a lot of big plays but can’t keep a quarterback healthy and missed a solid upset opportunity with a poor performance at Kansas State last week. With last week’s defeat to Cincinnati, meanwhile, Kansas has dropped eight of its past nine one-score finishes since late 2023. Iowa State weathered a similar streak recently before flipping that script, and if KU does the same, it’s not too late to get into the race. It’s now or never, though.
Current line: Kansas -4.5 | SP+ projection: Kansas by 1.2 | FPI projection: Kansas by 1.5
A CFP eliminator of sorts
Boise State at No. 21 Notre Dame (3:30 p.m., NBC)
Last week was great and terrible for Notre Dame. On one hand, the Fighting Irish looked spectacular in making Arkansas quit in a 56-13 road blowout. The offense is improving rapidly, and CJ Carr is quickly becoming one of the nation’s best quarterbacks. Meanwhile, despite injuries to star corner Leonard Moore and tackle Donovan Hinish, among others, the defense finally showed some life after a poor start to 2025. Notre Dame is the projected favorite in every remaining game.
On the other hand, the Irish’s potential CFP résumé, should they win out and get to 10-2, took a hit. USC’s loss to Illinois hurt their potential for a top-10 win, and four other upcoming opponents all lost. It will be difficult for the Irish to stand out in a pile of two-loss teams, even if they deliver blowouts.
The blowouts must continue regardless. And we’ll see how that goes against a Boise State team that has shifted nicely into gear. The running back trio of Sire Gaines, Dylan Riley and Malik Sherrod combined for 190 yards from scrimmage last week against Appalachian State, while Maddux Madsen threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns. The pass rush, led by Jayden Virgin-Morgan and Braxton Fely, delivered five sacks. The Mountain West has a growing number of potential contenders this season — UNLV, Fresno State, perhaps New Mexico or San Diego State — but the Broncos still lead the pack.
Under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has been either ridiculously rude or ridiculously accommodating to aspirational Group of 5 opponents. The Irish fell 26-21 to Marshall in 2022 and, famously, 16-14 to Northern Illinois last year, but they also pummeled excellent Army and Navy teams last fall. Boise State has looked like Boise State since the demoralizing Week 1 dud against South Florida, and an upset here would push the Broncos back to the top of the pile in the Group of 5. Both of these teams have big-play capabilities, plus defenses that have been a little too willing to give up a chunk play or two. Let’s see if BSU can keep up with an increasingly ruthless Notre Dame attack.
Current line: Irish -20.5 (up from -17.5) | SP+ projection: Irish by 13.5 | FPI projection: Irish by 18.8
Week 6 chaos superfecta
We’re once again using this space to will chaos into existence, looking at four carefully curated games with pretty big point spreads and mashing them together into a much more upset-friendly number. Houston’s overtime win over Oregon State cost us a fourth win in five tries — how could you do that to us, Coogs? — but 3-for-5 is still pretty good.
Going 4-for-6 is even better, though. SP+ tells us there’s only a 55% chance that Nebraska (81% win probability against Michigan State), Illinois (85% over Purdue), Michigan (88% over Wisconsin) and Ohio State (90% over Minnesota) all win. It’s time to take down a Big Ten favorite.
Week 6 playlist
Here are some more games you should pay attention to if you want to get the absolute most out of the weekend, from both information and entertainment perspectives.
Friday evening
West Virginia at No. 23 BYU (10:30 p.m., ESPN). I’m sticking this one in the Playlist instead of the Big 12 section above because of the larger point spread. BYU overcame a poor performance to remain unbeaten against Colorado, and the Cougars could probably withstand another iffy game this weekend. But it feels like a race to get quarterback Bear Bachmeier — 48th in Total QBR, 51st in yards per dropback — ready for an epic run of high-stakes Big 12 games on the horizon.
Current line: BYU -18.5 | SP+ projection: BYU by 22.4 | FPI projection: BYU by 23.5
New Mexico at San José State (10 p.m., FS1). I’m not sure anyone in college football is having more fun than New Mexico.
You Know The Vibes™️#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/Ix1Nx8lPxZ
— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) September 27, 2025
The Lobos frustrated Michigan, stomped UCLA and beat rival New Mexico State for the Chile Roaster trophy. Now, with trips to San José and Boise in the next two weeks, we find out if this is a fun bowl push or a fun Mountain West title push.
Current line: SJSU -2.5 | SP+ projection: UNM by 1.0 | FPI projection: UNM by 0.9
Early Saturday
Clemson at North Carolina (noon, ESPN). One of the most noteworthy ACC games in the preseason — Dabo Swinney’s top-five Clemson versus Bill Belichick’s North Carolina! — still packs intrigue, but it’s mostly negative. Clemson has lost to all three of its power-conference opponents, and UNC has lost to two by a combined 82-23. Clemson likely has too much talent for the Heels, but, well, that hasn’t stopped the Tigers from playing like they have thus far.
Current line: Clemson -14.5 | SP+ projection: Clemson by 7.7 | FPI projection: Clemson by 8.3
No. 22 Illinois at Purdue (noon, BTN). Illinois responded well to its humiliation at Indiana two weeks ago, beating USC in a nailbiter in Champaign. Now comes a different kind of test. Purdue has a spry passing game and an aggressive (if spectacularly dysfunctional) defense, and if the Illini are caught looking ahead to next week’s Ohio State game, the Boilermakers could land some punches.
Current line: Illinois -9.5 | SP+ projection: Illinois by 16.7 | FPI projection: Illinois by 7.0
Kentucky at No. 12 Georgia (noon, ABC). Kentucky nearly beat Georgia last season before the wheels totally fell off in Lexington, but four games into 2025, the Wildcats still haven’t put the wheels back on. This is a get-right opportunity for Kirby Smart’s surprisingly mediocre (by their standards) Dawgs before Ole Miss visits in two weeks.
Current line: UGA -20.5 | SP+ projection: UGA by 17.4 | FPI projection: UGA by 17.0
Wisconsin at No. 20 Michigan (noon, Fox). Michigan is a week away from a huge trip to USC, but the Wolverines must first handle a Wisconsin team that has just continued to fall into further depths. Badgers quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. should finally be near full strength, which can’t hurt, but they have just been lifeless this year.
Current line: Michigan -17.5 | SP+ projection: Michigan by 18.8 | FPI projection: Michigan by 15.8
Air Force at Navy (noon, CBS). Air Force might have found its next awesome option quarterback in sophomore Liam Szarka. Unfortunately, the Falcons’ defense has allowed at least 44 points against all three of its FBS opponents. Will that matter or will this become the typical battle of attrition that service-academy rivalry games frequently become?
Current line: Navy -12.5 | SP+ projection: Navy by 18.7 | FPI projection: Navy by 13.2
Saturday afternoon
No. 9 Texas at Florida (3:30 p.m., ESPN). I wouldn’t have guessed this one would be relegated to the Playlist, but here we are. Florida’s defense is excellent and could absolutely frustrate Arch Manning & Co., but the Gators have scored 33 points in three games against FBS opponents, and Texas has the best defense in the country, per SP+. It’s hard to think of anything else mattering beyond that.
Current line: Texas -6.5 | SP+ projection: Texas by 9.9 | FPI projection: Texas by 7.8
Washington at Maryland (3:30 p.m., BTN). On Christmas Day in 1982, Washington’s Tim Cowan outdueled Maryland’s Boomer Esiason, throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns — including the game winner with six seconds left — as the Huskies won a 21-20 Aloha Bowl thriller. I just listed the entire football history between these two new conference mates.
Current line: UW -6.5 | SP+ projection: Maryland by 1.6 | FPI projection: UW by 0.5
Michigan State at Nebraska (4 p.m., FS1). Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola have made nice strides this season, but only Raiola is getting help from his defense. Can Chiles, receiver Omari Kelly and the Spartans’ offense suck the Huskers into a track meet or is the NU pass defense — first nationally in yards per dropback — too much?
Current line: Nebraska -11.5 | SP+ projection: Nebraska by 13.7 | FPI projection: Nebraska by 13.1
No. 7 Penn State at UCLA (3:30 p.m., CBS). Penn State should get back on track after last week’s frustrating loss to Oregon, but I’m highlighting this game primarily to point out that, per SP+, UCLA is a projected underdog of at least 16 points in every remaining game and has a 61% chance of finishing 0-12. It was easy to see this season perhaps not going well, but wow.
Current line: PSU -25.5 | SP+ projection: PSU by 32.5 | FPI projection: PSU by 20.2
Kent State at No. 5 Oklahoma (4 p.m., SECN). OK, yes, OU will win by a lot. But with John Mateer out because of injury, we’ll get a look at how backup Michael Hawkins Jr. runs the Ben Arbuckle offense and what kind of chance the Sooners might have against Texas next week.
Current line: OU -45.5 | SP+ projection: OU by 48.0 | FPI projection: OU by 46.3
Saturday evening
Mississippi State at No. 6 Texas A&M (7:30 p.m., SECN). Texas A&M nearly suffered a “stuff happens” loss last week, dominating Auburn statistically but winning by only 6, but the Aggies remain unbeaten and are projected favorites in the next three games. This one’s interesting, though. A&M makes and allows big plays, while Mississippi State, having already played in two down-to-the-wire finishes with more to come, makes and allows few.
Current line: A&M -14.5 | SP+ projection: A&M by 4.9 | FPI projection: A&M by 9.0
Minnesota at No. 1 Ohio State (7:30 p.m., NBC). Ohio State faced one of the best offensive teams in the country (to date) last week at Washington and brushed the Huskies aside with relative ease. Now, the Buckeyes face one of the most reliably solid defenses in the country. Minnesota tackles well and generates loads of negative plays, which will provide Julian Sayin & Co. with a different type of test. I’m guessing they’ll ace this one too.
Current line: OSU -23.5 | SP+ projection: OSU by 20.7 | FPI projection: OSU by 23.1
Colorado at TCU (7:30 p.m., Fox). As with BYU, TCU is a Big 12 contender facing a theoretically easier challenge this year. Granted, all three of Colorado’s losses were by one score, and the Buffaloes could score an upset or two down the stretch (especially with more stable QB play). But TCU should control the line of scrimmage in this one and move to 4-1.
Current line: TCU -13.5 (down from -15.5) | SP+ projection: TCU by 12.4 | FPI projection: TCU by 9.0
UNLV at Wyoming (7 p.m., CBSSN). UNLV is unbeaten and has scored at least 30 points in every game; the Rebels’ defense, however, is dreadful, especially against the run. Wyoming backs Samuel Harris and Sam Scott are both strong yards-after-contact players, and the Cowboys might have a shot at making this one awkward for an ambitious conference rival.
Current line: UNLV -3.5 (down from -5.5) | SP+ projection: UNLV by 4.9 | FPI projection: UNLV by 6.6
Late Saturday
Duke at California (10:30 p.m., ESPN). Washington-Maryland feels like the most geographically ridiculous conference game of the week, but this one isn’t much better. It’s a pretty big one, though, with the teams a combined 3-0 in ACC play. Duke’s offense (31st in points per drive) facing Cal’s defense (29th) could be appointment viewing. Cal’s offense (86th) against Duke’s defense (99th), not so much.
Current line: Duke -2.5 | SP+ projection: Duke by 6.1 | FPI projection: Duke by 2.9
Nevada at Fresno State (10:30 p.m., CBSSN). Since a poor Week 0 performance against Kansas, Fresno State is unbeaten. Plus, the Bulldogs are projected underdogs in only one remaining game, meaning they’re Mountain West contenders until proven otherwise. Nevada doesn’t have much to offer, but the Wolf Pack have a randomly explosive run game with backs Herschel Turner and Caleb Ramseur.
Current line: Fresno -13.5 | SP+ projection: Fresno by 18.9 | FPI projection: Fresno by 14.7
Smaller-school showcase
Let’s once again save a shout-out for the glorious lower levels of the sport. Here are three games you should track.
FCS: Yale at No. 8 Lehigh (noon, ESPN+). We’re looking at a ferocious Ivy League race among Harvard (fourth in FCS SP+), Yale (10th) and Dartmouth (18th) — one that has FCS playoff implications because the Ivy is sending a team now. But first, Yale gets a huge nonconference showdown with a Lehigh team that has won 11 of its past 12 games thanks, in part, to backs Luke Yoder and Jaden Green (combined: 207.2 rushing yards per game) and a ferocious and diverse pass rush.
SP+ projection: Lehigh by 1.8.
Division III: No. 5 Wisconsin-La Crosse at No. 10 Wisconsin-Whitewater (2 p.m., local streaming). It’s the first weekend of one of college football’s most exciting conference races: the WIAC, which has four of the top 11 teams in Division III, based on SP+. Two of them meet Saturday. Whitewater has dominated this series through most of the 2000s, but La Crosse, led by prolific quarterback Kyle Haas, has won the past two games.
SP+ projection: UWW by 6.4.
Division II: No. 9 UT Permian Basin at No. 5 Angelo State (7 p.m., FloCollege). Angelo State is unbeaten and averaging 39 points per game this season behind backs Cameron Dischler and Jayden Jones and a relentless, deep run game. UTPB? Also unbeaten and averaging 38.8 points per game thanks to quarterback Kanon Gibson and a prolific passing game. Track meet: likely.
SP+ projection: Angelo State by 7.6.
Sports
Source: LaCombe extension richest ever for Ducks
Published
8 hours agoon
October 3, 2025By
admin
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Greg WyshynskiOct 2, 2025, 02:43 PM ET
Close- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
The Anaheim Ducks have locked up defenseman Jackson LaCombe, a key part of their rebuilding team, on an eight-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
The deal carries a $9 million average annual value, a source told ESPN on Thursday, the same AAV as the deal defenseman Luke Hughes signed with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, although that was on a seven-year term.
LaCombe’s contract is the largest ever given out by the Ducks and will begin in the 2026-27 season and end in 2033-34. He has one year left on a two-year bridge deal ($925,000 AAV) that he signed in 2024.
Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek said extending LaCombe was “a priority” for the team and that the young defenseman has “all of the tools to be an anchor on our back end for many years to come.”
“Both sides were looking at long-term deals, so I think it came together pretty quickly,” Verbeek said after the Ducks’ practice in Irvine, California. “What we’re all trying to gauge the landscape of where salaries are going [with the future NHL salary cap], so I feel really comfortable with the contract and the character of Jackson LaCombe. And the player, and I still think there’s lots of upside and growth in his game. I think the best is still to come from Jackson.”
LaCombe, 24, was selected No. 39 in the 2019 NHL draft. He has 60 points in 148 NHL games, with a career-best 14 goals and 29 assists in 75 games last season for the Ducks as he formed an effective pairing with bruising veteran defenseman Radko Gudas.
LaCombe said it was an “easy decision” to go long term in Anaheim.
“I love it here,” LaCombe said. “I love being here. I love playing here. I love all my teammates here, too, so for me it was an easy decision. … It’s easy to live here. You could say the weather [is a positive] and the place is so nice, but just the group we have has been great for me. Everybody has been so welcoming for the last two years, so I’m grateful for that and I’m just excited to be here for a long time.”
A Minnesota alum, LaCombe was invited to the U.S. men’s Olympic orientation camp, putting him in contention for a spot on the 2026 men’s hockey team that will contend for gold in Italy. LaCombe helped the U.S. win gold at the 2025 world championships — the Americans’ first gold at the event in 92 years.
LaCombe is the first player to re-sign in the Ducks’ large class of restricted free agents coming up next summer. He was slated to be an RFA alongside center Leo Carlsson, left wing Cutter Gauthier and defensemen Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov.
“Jackson is the first domino to fall, and we’re working on other stuff as well,” Verbeek said.
Overall, LaCombe is the second big signing for Verbeek in the past week. The Ducks and restricted free agent center Mason McTavish agreed to a six-year, $42 million extension Saturday, ending a contentious negotiation that kept him out of training camp.
Anaheim is seeking its first playoff berth since 2018.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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