The MLB postseason will be here before we know it. It's the final month of the regular season, and things are getting exciting for all of the teams still in postseason contention. There are a number teams that look like clear World Series contenders and could have a legitimate shot at making history this October.
However, each of those team does have its weaknesses, and those are worth keeping an eye on as the final month of the regular season rolls on. Such weaknesses could ultimately come back to bite these contenders in the end.
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Kansas City Royals: Offense
The Kansas City Royals upgraded their offense significantly at the trade deadline, adding veterans Mike Yastrzemski, Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier. However, producing runs still remains a weakness for this team as it looks to climb back into the race for the final AL Wild Card spot.
The Royals are 27th in Major League Baseball with 529 runs scored. Only the Cleveland Guardians have a worse mark in the American League.
Texas Rangers: Lack of a true closer
The Texas Rangers are red-hot, having won six consecutive games despite the losses of Corey Seager and Nathan Eovaldi. They have come to within 1.5 games of the final American League Wild Card spot, which is currently held by the Seattle Mariners.
Texas has a strong bullpen overall, which has posted a 3.64 ERA entering Wednesday. Their offense has also performed better than it had earlier this year. But this team lacks that shutdown back-end presence in their bullpen. Acquiring Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe helped, but Texas doesn't have a true closer in their mix, and a closer-by-committee approach can be risky as we head towards October. (It could also be the reason why the Rangers have among the worst records in baseball in one-run games this season.)
Seattle Mariners: Pitching
The Mariners have a reputation as a pitching factory, but despite the fact that the team currently holds the third Wild Card spot in the AL, their starting pitching has gotten awfully wobbly of late. Luis Castillo has posted a 6.11 ERA in his last seven starts. Seattle also hasn't gotten much out of Bryce Miller, who has posted a 5.71 ERA in just 13 starts this season.
Logan Gilbert was supposed to be the ace of this staff, but he has posted a 3.73 ERA this season — a respectable mark, but hardly befitting a No. 1. Despite the offensive additions at the trade deadline, the Mariners are built around their pitching staff. They'll need this group to improve if they want to go deep into October.
Boston Red Sox: Defense
Boston has performed very well since the Rafael Devers trade, almost as if that trade rejuvenated them. Alex Bregman is hitting well, they called up star prospect Roman Anthony and the starting rotation has even turned into something of a strength thanks to Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello.
But Boston leads Major League Baseball with 103 errors, and if that isn't cleaned up, it could be a quick exit for them in the postseason. Injuries have forced Ceddanne Rafaela to play second base rather than center field, a position at which he's elite, and outfield defense (and defensive athleticism overall) are real question marks moving forward.
New York Yankees: A two-week gauntlet
The Yankees took advantage of a stretch against the Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox last week, going 6-1 in those seven games. However, the team has a tough schedule awaiting them as we started September: New York will start with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays before later matching up with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox.
They haven't played well against Boston, and if they match up with them in the playoffs, they could be in trouble. They recently lost three out of four at home to the Red Sox.
Houston Astros: Starting pitching
The Astros upgraded their roster at the trade deadline, adding several bats, including Carlos Correa's shocking return to Houston after a few years away. Unfortunately, they didn't upgrade an injury-ravaged rotation rotation.
Houston still has Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown, and Luis Garcia just made his return. But Lance McCullers Jr. has struggled, and the rotation just isn't deep enough to go on a run as currently constituted. Unless one of Jason Alexander, Spencer Arrighetti or Cristian Javier can get back on track, it's unclear whether the Astros have the horses, especially with Josh Hader still on the shelf.
Toronto Blue Jays: The closer situation
The Blue Jays upgraded their starting rotation by acquiring Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline. They now have him, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios headlining the rotation, while Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer have also performed well.
But the man they signed to be their closer, Jeff Hoffman, has posted a 5.02 ERA this season. Without a strong presence at the end of games, Toronto could be in trouble, especially considering that marquee deadline acquisition Seranthony Dominguez has also begun to slump of late. The Jays don't have the sort of back-end firepower to go toe-to-toe with the league's elite in October, which could put a lot of pressure on this starting staff.
Detroit Tigers: Starting pitching
The Tigers have Tarik Skubal at the top of their rotation. In case you haven't heard, he'll likely win another Cy Young this year, and his 2.18 ERA leads the league. That's a pretty good start.
But beyond the star lefty, Detroit doesn't have a second starter that can be trusted in big games. If they are to lose Game 1 of a series with Skubal on the mound, the rest of the series doesn't exactly bode well for them unless Jack Flaherty or Casey Mize catch fire down the stretch. Maybe AJ Hinch can summon some more bullpen chaos and get the best out of his staff in shorter bursts, but on paper this isn't the most impressive group.
Cincinnati Reds: Offense
The Reds have a very strong pitching staff led by arms such as Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo. But their offense has been an issue lately: They were held to just two runs on Saturday night against a weak St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff. They also have a .247 batting average on the season, which is ninth in the National League.
The Reds would be a scary matchup for anybody come playoff time, but it won't matter unless they can score enough runs to get there.
New York Mets: The bullpen (but really Ryan Helsley)
The Mets bullpen was supposed to be a strength after the team went to great lengths to upgrade it at the trade deadline. New York added Ryan Helsley, Gregory Soto and Tyler Rogers, a much-needed shot in the arm that figured to take the pressure off of a shaky rotation.
However, Helsley has a 9.58 ERA since joining the Mets, and that could prove to be a problem down the stretch and in the postseason. Their bullpen ERA on the year is also just under 4; given how little length New York is getting from its starters, that's a huge concern.
San Diego Padres: Offense
The strength of the Padres would have to be their bullpen, which they upgraded by acquiring Mason Miller at the trade deadline. Even with Jason Adam on the shelf, they are quite deep in that regard, capable of shortening games come October.
However, their offense has scored the fourth-fewest runs in the National League with 585 heading into play on Tuesday, and the addition of a red-hot Ramon Laureano at the deadline has hardly moved the needle. This team desperately needs star names like Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts to get it going, or AJ Preller's push will have been for nought.
Chicago Cubs: Kyle Tucker
The Cubs have scored the sixth-most runs in Major League Baseball with 683 entering play on Tuesday. They have some solid run producers such as Pete-Crow Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki, and their top of the rotation is sturdy with Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd.
However, their marquee offseason addition, Kyle Tucker, struggled in the month of August. He still has hit 21 home runs, but has batting average has dipped to .267 on the year, and he was even benched for a few games. If he gets hot and stays hot, the Cubs should be okay, but if he reverts to his August numbers, they may be in trouble.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Starting pitching
What the Dodgers do have is pretty solid on paper, to say the least, but there are still some question marks. They have several pitchers on the IL such as Roki Sasaki, and other guys like Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Clayton Kershaw who are constant injury risks.
Shohei Ohtani has never pitched in the postseason before, and Kershaw still has yet to conquer his playoff demons.
Philadelphia Phillies: No Zack Wheeler
Like the Dodgers, the Phillies have a strong starting rotation. Aaron Nola has struggled this year, but he still can't be counted out this time of year. Jesus Luzardo, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez have also pitched well.
However, Philly lost Zack Wheeler for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder. Without him, they don't have a true ace, and their offense will need to overcome past October inconsistency to pick up the slack.
Milwaukee Brewers: The bullpen
The Brewers have had several players step up this year. Outfielder Isaac Collins is the favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, and the team has also watched Sal Frelick take steps forward as a hitter.
But Trevor Megill recently went down with an arm injury and Shelby Miller hurt his elbow on Monday. Those are two major bullpen pieces that are down at a crucial period. Without them, the Brewers perch atop the NL Central is less comfortable.