2026 MLB Division Series open thread

The Guardians, who locked up the No. 2 seed in the AL despite only 85 wins in the regular season, are set to begin their playoff run on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field. Like several other teams here, the Guards have become a regular in the postseason, as this is their eighth appearance in the last 11 seasons. Since making the World Series in 2016, however, they haven't had a deep run in the playoffs — they've made the ALCS just once (in 2024), bowing out in the ALWCS or ALDS in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2025. Even so, they have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, headlined by Parker Messick and Gavin Williams. They'll take on the White Sox, who took out the AL West-winning Astros in Houston this week. Chicago is young and hungry, coming off their first playoff series win since they won the World Series back in 2005. They have a power-heavy offense behind Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, and Munetaka Murakami, but they have one of the worst pitching staffs among the remaining playoff squads.

The Dodgers are the Dodgers, so I don't think I need to say much about them. Led by Shohei Ohtani and a plethora of other veterans, they've won the last two World Series, making the playoffs every year since 2013 and making it to at least the NLCS in seven of the last 11 seasons. The Braves eked out a series win over the Phillies in the NL Wild Card Series, and they're looking to make a run in the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 2021. They also have a bunch of veterans leading the way, with ace Chris Sale, closer Raisel Iglesias, and offensive pieces that include Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Drake Baldwin, and Michael Harris II.

The Rays, like the Guardians and Brewers, are a small market team that has become a regular in the playoffs. While they didn't make the last two postseasons, they reached five consecutive years from 2019 to 2023, including a World Series appearance in 2020. They're led by Junior Caminero on offense, with Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Díaz supporting him in the heart of the lineup. On the mound, Tampa has former Brewer Drew Rasmussen, who finished the year with a 2.67 ERA over 172 innings. They also have one of the best closers in baseball with Bryan Baker, who finished the year with 41 saves and a 1.44 ERA. The Yankees, whose offense looked pretty meh for a good chunk of the season, took it to the rival Red Sox in New York this week, scoring nine runs in both Wild Card games even without star Aaron Judge. They have a good mix of veterans like Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm, and Paul Goldschmidt to go with their young guys in Ben Rice, Luis García, Spencer Jones, and George Lombard Jr. On the mound, they have the three-headed monster of Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, and Max Fried to start games, with David Bednar closing things out.