Nothing tells the truth quite like October. Sure, all sorts of craziness can go down in a short series of a sport that thrives on randomness and chaos, but at the end of the day, within every upset lies a harsh reality. If you enter the postseason with a crack in the foundation, it's going to get exposed.
That's certainly true of seven teams who have already been eliminated this year. As the Division Series winds down, all seven are now faced with some tough questions to answer over the offseason — and at least one glaring weakness that cost them in the playoffs that now needs to be addressed.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Boston Red Sox: The right side of the infield
Solution: Sign Pete Alonso
The starting rotation is also a need for Craig Breslow this winter, as Garrett Crochet is in desperate need of a more reliable running mate (with all due respect to Brayan Bello). But the reason the Red Sox got bounced in the Wild Card round by the New York Yankees wasn't their pitching; it was an offense that simply didn't have enough juice, and both first and second base were big reasons why. (If you don't believe me, just listen to Breslow himself.)
The return of Triston Casas from injury might help with that, but who knows how quickly Casas can recover from serious knee surgery? And even then, there's a question at the keystone, especially if either Trevor Story or Alex Bregman decides to walk in free agency. If even one return, then Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer can slot in around him, and Alonso would round out an awfully promising infield. He'd immediately raise this team's ceiling offensively, and he's a perfect fit to hit in Fenway Park. Get Roman Anthony back healthy, and you'd really be in business.
Cincinnati Reds: An overmatched lineup
Solution: Sign Kyle Schwarber
The Reds didn't do much of anything well in a two-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card round. It felt like one year too early for Cincinnati, but that's no excuse not to add aggressively over the offseason given how much ascendant talent this team has on its roster.
The rotation is largely locked in, with Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer and Chase Burns all returning. The offense, however, could use some work: The Reds were overwhelmed by Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the playoffs, and they ranked just 21st in slugging percentage despite playing in one of the more hitter-friendly parks in baseball.
Schwarber might be hard to land given the demand for his services, but he's a local kid, and he'd be an ideal fit as the DH with Spencer Steer at first base and Gavin Lux serving as a utility man all around the diamond. He's exactly what this team has been lacking, a true middle-of-the-order tentpole, and if not now, when?
Cleveland Guardians: A moribund offense (especially against lefties)
Solution: Trade for Willson Contreras
Look, we can romanticize Guards Ball all we want, and I'm not here to take away from the fun Cleveland fans had down the stretch of the regular season. But we saw the limitations of that style all too clearly in a Wild Card loss to the Detroit Tigers: Eventually, you need to actually be able to do some damage at the plate, especially in October.
The Guardians were bad just about everywhere, in every way, but the problem was particularly acute against lefties, where the team posted a miserable .647 OPS (27th in the Majors). This team is screaming out for a lefty-masher who can hit 20-30 homers, and it just so happens that one of those might be available for trade this winter.
Cleveland is never going to seriously invest in free agency as long as the Dolans are around, but they have young pieces they can move, especially pitchers. The Cardinals are in the midst of rebuilding their starting rotation from scratch, and Contreras isn't doing much for a rebuilding team. Call me crazy, but I feel like there could be a match here, one that would do wonders for the Guards' offense.
Detroit Tigers: Too few Major League-quality hitters
Solution: Sign Alex Bregman
As if it weren't painfully obvious already that Detroit's offense wasn't good enough to get Tarik Skubal over the hump, the Tigers put an exclamation point on things by scoring just two runs across 15 innings in a brutal winner-take-all loss to the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALDS. After another frustrating October exit, the mandate for Scott Harris this winter is clear: It's time to pour some serious resources into building a winner, starting with at least one impact bat.
Of course, the Tigers tried to do that last offseason, reportedly offering Bregman a six-year, $170 million deal that he eventually turned down to head to Boston. Assuming he opts out of his current contract and hits free agency again, why not make another run? This team is in desperate need of as many professional hitters as possible, preferably from the right side given how lefty heavy they are between Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene and Colt Keith. Bregman remains an excellent defender who knows AJ Hinch well; the fit here is too clean to ignore, and if not him, the options on the open market start getting pretty thin.
New York Yankees: A true running mate for Aaron Judge
Solution: Sign Kyle Tucker
You could also focus on the pitching here, given the eye-popping numbers that the Toronto Blue Jays put up in this series. But the fact is that much of the Yankees' starting rotation is already set in stone for 2026, and you could do a lot worse than Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Cam Schlittler, Adam Warren and Luis Gil (with Gerrit Cole coming back at some point before the All-Star break).
While Fried and Rodon laid eggs in the ALDS, offense was equally responsible for sending New York home: This Yankees lineup squandered golden opportunities in both Game 1 and Game 4, with everybody not named Aaron Judge going into the tank simultaneously. Simply surrounding Judge with competent hitters won't be enough; you need stars in October, and Brian Cashman needs to find the next version of the Juan Soto trade from two winters ago.
Enter Tucker, who has some postseason demons of his own to overcome but who is statistically a top-10 hitter in the sport right now. He's tailor-made for Yankee Stadium, and he'd slot nicely into left field with either Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones taking over in center. Judge did his part in October but didn't get nearly the help he needed. Landing Tucker would give New York one more shot at a player who could take over a series.
Philadelphia Phillies: Not enough offensive depth
Solution: Trade for Adley Rutschman
Another year, another postseason in which the Phillies' star-studded offense fails to show up. Philly scored all of seven runs combined in their three losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, and that's no way to dethrone the defending champs. Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Co. did all they could, but in the end, this team simply did not score enough runs — Orion Kerkering gaffe or not.
Bringing Schwarber back should be the first order of business, but Dave Dombrowski can't afford to stop there. This team needs at least one more impact hitter, and it just so happens that the most intriguing trade asset in the sport plays a position that will be coming open in Philly this winter. J.T. Realmuto isn't what he once was at the plate, and I'd love to bet on a Rutschman bounce back after two straight injury-plagued seasons.
Baltimore figures to at least listen on their franchise catcher, who's set to hit free agency after the 2027 season. When he's right, he's as valuable a two-way player as there is, and he'd be the ideal succession plan to Realmuto while helping Dombrowski maintain some short-term flexibility.
San Diego Padres: A complete lack of pop
Solution: Sign Munetaka Murakami
It feels weird to say for a team that has names like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill in its lineup, but the Padres were one of the most punchless teams in baseball this year. To wit: San Diego ranked just 22nd in the league in slugging percentage and and ugly 28th in homers.
That reared its head in a big way come October, when this team managed to score all of five runs across three games against the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round. AJ Preller needs to come away from this winter with at least one bat that can do some serious damage on contact, other flaws in their profile be damned.
Enter Murakami, the most feared slugger in Japan over the last few years. His contact skills and defensive viability are open questions, but San Diego has an opening at first base it needs to fill, and what's not in question is that Murakami has power. The ball just goes off his bat, and that's something San Diego desperately needs. And besides, they have enough contact-oriented guys around him to compensate for the warts in his game.