It is possible that some team will make a charge in the season’s final weeks to grab a Wild Card spot. Entering Saturday, the Rangers, Royals, Rays, Guardians, Giants, Reds and D-backs all were within six games of a berth.
But it’s more likely -- far more likely, if you believe FanGraphs’ playoff odds -- that we already know the 12 teams that will be playing in the postseason. If it turns out that way, I have to say: We are going to have some extremely compelling matchups.
Because the seedings are going to be so fluid, with the difference between the Nos. 1 and 6 seeds being in some cases just a matter of a couple of games, we could have all sorts of compelling possibilities for American League and National League Championship Series matchups. There are a total of 30 that are possible among those 12 teams.
Here are, to our eyes, the 12 most compelling of those potential LCS pairings.
1. Dodgers-Padres
The Dodgers are forever the rabbit the Padres are chasing. The Dodgers are the far more high-profile half of this Southern California rivalry. But San Diego was extremely aggressive at the Trade Deadline, with an explicit goal of catching Los Angeles in the NL West.
The last three times the Padres have made the postseason, they have run into the Dodgers. Add that to the fact that these teams always seem to be on the verge of having some sort of brawl, and this is a no-brainer of a No. 1. If these two teams meet in the NLCS, be careful of a potential tilting of the Earth’s axis.
2. Brewers-Cubs
Can you believe we’ve never seen a Brewers-Cubs postseason series? These two geographic neighbors -- these cities are a mere 90-minute train ride away from each other -- have never run into each other in October. It probably shouldn’t be too surprising. The Brewers didn’t join the NL until 1998 and did go through a 35-year stretch in which they only made the playoffs twice. The Cubs ... well, you know their history.
This one has more than just the NL Central juice, of course: You may remember Craig Counsell being the Brewers' manager, to considerable renown, before moving to Wrigley Field. His replacement, Pat Murphy, has kept the winning going in Milwaukee, despite more high-profile departures. But neither skipper has gone to the World Series yet. This would push that whole "Midwest nice" thing to its uppermost limit.
3. Red Sox-Yankees
Probably don’t need to explain too much here, but it should be noted that other than the AL Wild Card Game in 2021 -- which the Red Sox won 6-2 -- these bitter rivals have only met in the postseason once since their notorious 2004 ALCS. Boston won that other series, the 2018 ALDS, in four games, and it’s worth a reminder that the last time the Yankees beat the Red Sox in a postseason series, it involved the current Yanks manager launching a knuckleball deep into the Bronx night.
4. Phillies-Mets
Like Red Sox-Yankees, this one doesn’t require too much explanation, and not just because it’s a rematch of last year’s NLDS. That series was the first time the teams had met in the postseason, which means they’ve never had the endless late-night exhaustion of an epic seven-game series, which just feels like something that has to happen at some point. One wonders if this would feel like a bit of a last stand for the Phillies, who are getting older as the Mets start to fill out the roster with one of the best farm systems in the entire sport.
5. Brewers-Padres
Not only are these two plucky franchises which believe they currently have one of their best teams in their history, this is the one possible LCS matchup among the 12 current playoff teams that would feature two franchises that have never won a World Series. The Padres have reached two -- but won just one game combined in those -- and the Brewers haven’t been there since 1982. (That’s so long ago that the team that beat them, St. Louis, is now a division rival.) This series would mean so much to each of these teams.
6. Dodgers-Mets
This is a rematch of last year’s NLCS, of course, with two of baseball’s biggest spenders, with some of the most well-known and recognizable stars in the entire sport. I mean, this was a star-stuffed NLCS last year, and Juan Soto wasn’t even a part of it yet. This is a little bit of an oversimplification, but on the whole, the Mets want to be the new Dodgers moving forward. But you’ve got to get through the Dodgers to be the Dodgers.
7. Yankees-Blue Jays
One of the most pivotal series of this entire season came back in early July, when the Blue Jays swept a four-game series from the Yankees to take over first place in the AL East, a position they haven’t let go of since. The Yankees are longtime tormentors of the Blue Jays, but that dynamic has never been tested in the postseason. This would be a particularly raucous environment, in both stadiums.
8. Tigers-Red Sox
Would you be up for two, or even three, separate matchups between Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet? I very much would be. Imagine those two going at it in a decisive Game 7.
9. Astros-Mariners
This would be quite the culmination of an AL West battle that has been going on all year, as well as a sort of referendum on the future of the division itself. Also, don’t forget which team beat the Mariners during their only other playoff appearance since 2001. (It was the Astros, in 2022.)
10. Cubs-Phillies
If the Phillies are wondering whether Kyle Schwarber can be a huge postseason hero for them, well, the Cubs can certainly remind them that he has very much been just that. Also, these two teams have never met in a postseason series. Larry Bowa would have to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at least once, right?
11. Astros-Tigers
This would be the A.J. Hinch Bowl, to say the very least, with the guy who won a World Series with the Astros -- and is still beloved there -- facing off against his former mates with a team that has emerged as one of the most enjoyable stories in baseball over the last 13 months. (A stretch that includes Detroit sweeping Houston in last year’s Wild Card Series.)
12. Mariners-Blue Jays
Two fanbases that have been in the World Series wilderness for a long time, battling it out for the right to finally have their breakthrough. (Tigers-Mariners or Tigers-Blue Jays are other options for this, too.) Plus, the color scheme in this series would be wonderful.