With less than three weeks left in the MLB regular season, teams in the hunt for October are gearing up for the final push. And while the trade deadline is behind us, there's still room to improve rosters on the margins. Sometimes that means making a difficult cut or demotion.
Let's dive into all 12 teams currently in the MLB playoff picture and determine a potential change — be it a waiver claim, a demotion or a promotion — that could be necessary in the weeks ahead.
Tampa Bay Rays: Move Griffin Jax to the bullpen
The Rays made the bold, very Rays-y decision to move Griffin Jax, one of the best high-leverage relievers in baseball, to the starting rotation this season. He has mostly kept his head above water with a 3.82 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, notching 101 strikeouts in 94.1 innings. Obviously, Jax has had to rein himself in at times to keep a sustainable pace, but he's clearly functional as a mid-rotation starter.
That said, Tampa needs to decide who to start and who to use out of the bullpen once the playoffs arrive. And while Jax has put a solid case on paper, some worrisome volatility lies under the hood. Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez and Freddy Peralta are already ticketed for postseason starts, while the hope is that Shane McClanahan can return in time from the IL. Tampa probably gets the most bang for its buck with Jax out of the 'pen, where he's had so much success in the past.
Chicago White Sox: Bench Luis Castillo
The White Sox' big deadline acqusition was right-hander Luis Castillo, a three-time All-Star with a long track record of excellence in Seattle. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old was on a sharp decline with the Mariners and it has not let up on the South Side. Castillo has made six starts for the White Sox, pitching to a 7.32 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 26.1 innings.
Castillo made a career out of missing barrels and generating soft contact. He's far too reliant on a meaty fastball these days, giving up eight home runs (one every three innings or so) since the trade. It's not like the White Sox are brimming with quality starters; relying on Davis Martin or Erick Fedde in a postseason game isn't much more appealing. That said, Castillo simply can't be part of their October plans. One can't help but wonder if Chicago regrets pigeonholing rookie Hagen Smith in the bullpen.
Houston Astros: Bench Daulton Varsho
The Astros made a couple marginal moves at the deadline, including a trade for ex-Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho. Just last year, Varsho tore through MLB over the second half of the season. He was electric during Toronto's World Series run, providing serious thump at the plate on top of elite defense in center field.
Varsho can still provide value with his glove, but the bat is M.I.A. since joining the Astros. Varsho has been in a funk all season, really, but his production has entered especially dire territory — batting .173 with a .582 OPS — in Houston. The Astros simply cannot afford to keep him in the lineup unless there's a quick and dramatic turnaround. Since he's on an expiring contract, Varsho could end up on the chopping block.
New York Yankees: Demote Jasson Domínguez
This is probably more difficult for the Yankees than their fans, as patience is wearing thin for former top prospect Jasson Domínguez. It's helpful to remind yourself that he's 23 years old, a full two years younger than potential AL Rookie of the Year winner Parker Messick. And yet, Domínguez has received every opportunity to carve out an everyday role for New York, to no avail.
He continues to make mind-numbing errors in the outfield with poor instincts all around. There's no shortage of natural pop off the bat, but Domínguez struggles to get the barrel on the ball frequently enough for it to matter much. The Yankees probably need him to stay in Triple-A a while — or perhaps an offseason trade is in order.
Boston Red Sox: Demote Andruw Monasterio
Andruw Monasterio played an outsized role in Boston's turnaround and won over the hearts of Red Sox fans, so this will truly be difficult. That said, Boston has a surplus of middle infielders with the return of Trevor Story, plus top prospect Franklin Arias is itching for a late-season call-up. While it would be not-unpopular to call for Story's job instead, the veteran is paid too handsomely for the team to jump ship. Plus, he's quietly producing extremely well since coming off the IL.
Monasterio is a fine enough hitter on balance, with a .696 OPS and 91 wRC+, but he's nothing special. Worse yet, he's a truly abysmal defender, which makes it hard for Boston to trust him over the likes of Story, Nick Sogard or Isiah Kiner-Falefa when rubber meets the road.
Cleveland Guardians: Call up Ralphy Velazquez
The "difficult" part is not calling up Ralphy Valezquez, who's arguably the most purely talented non-José Ramírez hitter in the Guardians organization. He's long overdue for his MLB debut. The challenge is figuring out how to make space. The Guardians acquired Nathaniel Lowe at the deadline, which bumped Kyle Manzardo down to Triple-A. There's a line of left-handed sluggers at first base blocking Velazquez's path, and Cleveland's outfield depth chart is equally tight.
That said, Velazquez — with his .928 OPS and 29 homers in the Minors this season — is too talented not to take a look at. The Guardians are once again short on slugging in the heart of the order, a need Velazquez can directly and expeditiously address. However Cleveland needs to reorganize the MLB roster, it's worth taking a few risks to get Velazquez in the building.
Milwaukee Brewers: Move Dustin May to the bullpen
When the Brewers acquired Dustin May at the deadline, the collective eye roll of MLB fans was palpable. No team fine-tunes and maximizes pitchers better than Milwaukee, and May has always had plenty of talent, even if he has struggled to actualize it in terms of production. Despite some promising flashes earlier this season in St. Louis, however, May has not moved the needle for Milwaukee. He has a 6.17 ERA in 23.1 innings across six starts in a Brewers uniform.
The best bet for Milwaukee at this point is accepting the sunk cost — May was not the cheapest rental — and bumping the righty to the bullpen come October. Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Kyle Harrison is a rock-solid top three for the playoff rotation, while rookie Shane Drohan has consistently outperformed May this season and probably deserves the nod as their fourth starter despite recent turbulence.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Bench Kyle Tucker
In reality, the Dodgers are going to ride Kyle Tucker until the wheels fall off, hoping he can come out of his season-long slump and hit his stride in the playoffs. That said, he really does not deserve full-time reps in right field on such a deep and talented roster. It's hard to argue with a $240 million investment, but at the very least L.A. could benefit from a platoon situation with Alex Call.
If the Dodgers want to get truly bold, top prospects Josue De Paula or especially James Tibbs III could be ready to contribute for the stretch run. Both are incredibly productive in the Minors, with real power and poise at the plate. Tucker looks lost at sea and his body language is unacceptable, but the Dodgers are the one team in baseball designed to survive a misspent nine-figure salary.
Atlanta Braves: Demote AJ Smith-Shawver
The Braves recently moved Bryce Elder to the bullpen in an effort to get AJ Smith-Shawver some starting reps down the stretch. It's an admirable gamble, as Smith-Shawver is very talented; he should be a staple of the rotation come 2027. That said, Atlanta should tread carefully with so much on the line — not only in the division race, but in the race to surpass L.A. and claim a first-round bye.
Smith-Shawver has been unlucky and unsharp in four scattered starts this season, with a 7.13 ERA and 1.76 WHIP across 17.1 innings. He's better than those numbers suggest, but the Braves are running out of time to get Smith-Shawver up to speed. The rotation is a real worry, but at this point, Atlanta's best bet is to roll out Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle and Martin Pérez as their top postseason starters, perhaps with Grant Holmes, Elder and Smith-Shawver all eating multiple innings in a more by-committee approach.
Philadelphia Phillies: Bench Justin Crawford
Philadelphia caught a spark in August and is hoping to stay hot through October. Their rotation is elite, but questions crop up around the bullpen and especially the lineup, which has a maddening tendency to disappear in big moments, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper notwithstanding. The Phillies could really use an extra jolt. One potential avenue might be benching 22-year-old Justin Crawford, even if it means momentarily sidetracking his development.
The Phillies have remained faithful to Crawford through ups and downs all season, much to their benefit. Crawford hit .306 with a .761 OPS in August. That said, he's already on a mild downturn in September, and his ground ball-heavy, slap-hitting style typically does not translate to the postseason in the modern age. Philadelphia could look at Derek Hill or Bryan De La Cruz as options with a bit more power toward the bottom of the lineup.
Chicago Cubs: Bench David Peterson
The Cubs acquired David Peterson on the cheap in June, once the Mets were out of the postseason scramble. It's been a rocky campaign for the veteran southpaw. Despite some occasional highs since joining the North Siders, he still has an underwhelming 4.58 ERA in 59.0 innings since the move. There are ample criticisms of this Cubs pitching staff, really top to bottom, but Peterson feels like the most vulnerable as we enter the final stretch.
Chicago is expected to welcome back Edward Cabrera and maybe even Justin Steele from the IL, with both slated for relief roles. Peterson, meanwhile, should probably get the axe before the postseason, with Clay Holmes, Shōta Imanaga, Kevin Guasman and Matthew Boyd in line for October starts. Even Javier Assad continues to produce with remarkable stability, even if the metrics tell us it's all a mirage. That mirage has lasted for three years now, so the Cubs can't ignore it.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Cut Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has been a staple of the Diamondbacks lineup for four years, including an All-Star berth in 2023, but the wheels have fallen off in his contract year. The 32-year-old appears lost at the plate, with a .532 OPS and 46 wRC+ contributing to a -1.0 fWAR — a full win below replacement level. Gurriel has regressed defensively these past couple years, too, so he's not making up for his nonexistent offense elsewhere.
The Diamondbacks are well equipped in the outfield now between trade deadline newcomer Lars Nootbaar and the ascending Ryan Waldschmidt, not to mention 24-year-old Jordan Lawlar producing admirably in a reserve capacity. Arizona is currently neck-and-neck with San Diego in the NL Wild Card race with zero margin for error, so there's not much reason to let Gurriel finish out his contract on the MLB squad.
Add us as a preferred source on Google