It may be the first Sunday of the NFL season, but September baseball takes precedent. As the final weeks of the season play out, the playoff picture will finally start to take shape. But for 18 MLB teams, the 2026 season will end in disappointment. That means no playoff appearance, no banner and an immediate pivot to the offseason and a looming lockout.
The Houston Astros are not one of those 18 teams. Rather, the Astros are in prime position to win the AL West, a division some fans would argue doesn't deserve a postseason representative. Houston is operating without one of their core leaders in Carlos Correa, but are planning for his return weeks in advance. That is where we'll start.
Astros could ask Carlos Correa to switch positions
If Correa is able to return from injury in time for the postseason, Houston is expected to test out a new defensive alignment. Essentially, the Astros would prefer Correa play second base, since he offers limited range defensively especially after an injury. That would push Jose Altuve to DH, Isaac Paredes back to third base, and Yordan Alvarez to left field. Is it the best defensive setup? Likely not, as Correa and Alvarez are questionable at best defensively. But it does allow Houston to get all of their best hitters in the lineup for the playoffs.
As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported, Correa and Peña would basically give the Astros two shortstops up the middle, even if one is fairly limited post-injury. Paredes would be a liability defensively at second base, since he has limited experience there.
It also helps that the schedule should work in the Astros favor to get Alvarez some experience in left field. Houston finishes up the season in Sacramento and Seattle, two ballparks that don't exactly have expansive outfields on the left-hand side.
Mets better hope Bo Bichette doesn't opt out
Despite a subpar season by his standards, there remains a chance that Mets infielder Bo Bichette opts out of his contract. The free-agent market is light on bats this winter, which means a player like Bichette — who is a former All-Star in his own right — could receive a long-term deal. Bichette has just 0.7 bWAR on the season and a .708 OPS, which is a good 82 points below his career average. While he's played better in the second half than the first, he also hasn't been worth $42 million, which is what the Mets will have paid for one season of subpar production if Bichette opts out.
"It will be a disastrous signing for the New York Mets if infielder Bo Bichette opts out of his contract after the season. It would mean that the Mets wasted a cool $42 million, getting precious little return with Bichette having the worst year of his career in the Mets’ ugly season," Bob Nightengale wrote.
The Mets felt the need to land a big fish in free agency last offseason, especially after losing Pete Alonso. Yet, there's something to be said of spending money just for the sake of it. Bichette's signing could go down as an all-time lapse of judgement from David Stearns and Steve Cohen.
Diamondbacks could extend catcher Gabriel Moreno
One of Blue Jays president of baseball operations Ross Atkins' worst moves was trading Gabriel Moreno to the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he has absolutely thrived. Moreno has a 5.2 bWAR and .842 OPS. He's having his best season to date, and could be in line for a historic contract extension as a result. Playing in Arizona, Moreno's season has been...quiet for someone playing as well as he is. An Arizona postseason run would go a long way in correcting that, of course.
"Arizona Diamondbacks prized catcher Gabriel Moreno, the gift that keeps on giving in a trade from Toronto, could be in line to become the game’s richest catcher. Moreno, 26, who’s hitting .300 with 12 homers and an .841 OPS, with the second-highest WAR in the National League since late May, is eligible for salary arbitration a second time this winter," Nightengale wrote.
Nightengale floated the possibility of Moreno receiving the most expensive contract extension for a catcher in MLB history this winter, which would surpass the mark set by Dodgers backstop Will Smith. Given the uncertainty of a looming lockout, that could be a smart decision from the D'Backs.
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