Unlike the memorable 2025 playoffs, the 2026 version of October has been mostly devoid of drama. Outside of a couple of outstanding comebacks and a few noteworthy individual feats, the postseason has felt a bit stale, with only one extra-innings affair so far and all teams with home-field advantage making it through to the next round. Of course, this also means that fairness has prevailed, giving us a World Series between two franchises that excel at trusting the process and maximizing their resources.
In that regard, seeing the Brewers and Rays reach the biggest stage is a testament to the power of proper planning and setting clear goals during the offseason. Tampa Bay was fresh off a non-playoff year but knew they would be back to their home stadium with a better health outlook, while Milwaukee licked its wounds after a tough NLCS sweep and strengthened its roster to the point where they again were the NL’s #1 seed and finally broke through. They now have the chance to give us a Fall Classic to remember, but before that happens, let’s take a final look at the teams they just vanquished.
In the NL, the almighty Dodgers finally met their match and will head into an offseason full of question marks, albeit with a significant head start due to their inherent strengths. Meanwhile, the Guardians can feel proud about their end result, but it will still sting in many ways, as they came really close to their first pennant in a decade.
In no particular order, here are the post-mortems for the teams that just went home.
Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62) – Lost 4-0 to Milwaukee
Despite being down 3-0 in the NLCS, there was still plenty of belief around Los Angeles. The logic was that the first three games had been close, with the Dodgers holding a lead in all of them, and that forcing a Game 5 would mean that LA still had Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell ready to mount an unprecedented comeback. That belief became warranted when the Dodgers stormed to a 4-0 lead behind a cathartic three-run homer from Shohei Ohtani, whose status as a starter had been questioned as early as 24 hours before. The dream of a three-peat was alive and well… until it wasn’t.
Tyler Glasnow and the bullpen were unable to hold that lead, as the Brewers slowly and methodically mounted a comeback using patience, power, and fundamental baseball. As LA’s offense was unable to score again, reality kicked in for the Dodgers, as they suffered their first four-game sweep as a franchise since 1966. The improbability of this moment and what led to it left the whole of Los Angeles shocked, from the crowd to the dugout to the field, as the Dodgers had been as inevitable as it gets in baseball. Even when they eliminated Atlanta despite not being impressive, it felt as if LA’s playoff presence and star power were enough to sway any short series in their favor.
Alas, the Brewers were on a mission and would not be denied, leaving the Dodgers with their first rough offseason in a few years. At the forefront, expect any and all discussions around the lockout and possible loss of games to focus on the Dodgers, which will make their mere existence an annoyance to many. This season revolved around the idea of whether LA was ruining baseball, and while their losing this time around can contain some of the criticism, the reality is that the franchise followed the same playbook as it used in its title seasons and has no incentive to be different unless the system changes drastically.
The Dodgers have been swept by the Brewers and are eliminated from the 2026 MLB postseason. pic.twitter.com/ueoCHLMs9T
— ESPN (@espn) October 16, 2026
LA’s massive payroll has allowed its front office to patch up and almost ignore any kind of injury or underperformance, which was again evident in 2026. Big free agent additions Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz combined for a negative 0.2 fWAR, while the likes of Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernández had down years. Shohei Ohtani’s season essentially ended in mid-August, as injuries left him unable to pitch and severely limited on offense, while Yamamoto was the only pitcher with at least 25 starts on the staff. Despite all this negativity, the Dodgers still cruised to their 13th division title in 14 years, posting yet another 100-win season.
On the other hand, seeing the Dodgers humbled and battered by Milwaukee has raised several questions about their future, especially after fielding the league’s oldest lineup and seeing many of their core veterans struggle at the same time. Most of their erstwhile playoff heroes of 2024-25 failed to come up at clutch moments, but most of the attention will naturally center around Ohtani. Having started the season on an MVP pace while also posting Cy Young-caliber numbers on the mound made many dream of his best season yet, but injuries were not only debilitating enough to deny that, but they have also added uncertainty to his near future. We know that even a DH-only Shohei is a force, but maybe not enough to carry an offense that has little in the way of speed and variety.
LA was again a top-five offense in the league, but its dependency on homers saw its attack fizzle out in October. The emergence of Andy Pages as the team’s best all-around hitter was a nice surprise, while having Freeman, Betts, and Max Muncy gives the team a high floor despite their age, but this October exit may prompt the front office to get creative and search for a couple of younger bats that can add a new dimension to their core. Enrique Hernández and the newly retired Miguel Rojas will not be on the roster, while prized rookie Josue de Paula already had a cup of coffee in MLB and is bound to become a fixture of the lineup. Any kind of salary cap may force the Dodgers to avoid pricey free agents, but they have enough talent in the minors to swing a trade or they could also deal from their surplus of highly paid pitchers, if necessary.
Speaking of pitchers, Skubal will become a free agent once a champion is crowned, and he is ready to become the belle of the ball for all teams that can afford him. Again, the looming possibility of a salary cap could remove LA from the conversation, but he will still be linked to them as the favorites to retain his services. The lefty started slow but gave the Dodgers 12 excellent starts between the regular season and playoffs, cementing his status as a capital-A ace. With Snell, Glasnow, and Yamamoto headlining the rotation, along with the surprising star turn of Justin Wrobleski and the continued maturation of Roki Sasaki, the staff is still in prime position, but expect LA’s front office to still push for more quality arms, as has been their prerogative for more than a decade now.
Aside from the lockout and all that it will entail, the Dodgers could also face some scrutiny regarding their ownership group, but that may not become a factor in the early stages of the winter. Instead, expect the team to operate as normally as possible, albeit with a sense of urgency to avenge the bad taste from their quick exit. It would not make sense to go full makeover on a team that won 100 games, but the expectation to keep on winning will make LA vie for any kind of upgrade it can get, while also monitoring Ohtani’s recovery as a priority. The Dodgers will probably start 2027 as the favorites to win it all, while also being a litmus test for how baseball sees itself amid the possibility of major changes in its competitive structure. Many fans celebrated LA’s demise in these playoffs, but the reality is that they will probably remain an October fixture for many years to come.
Cleveland Guardians (85-77) – Lost 4-2 to Tampa Bay
In the context of many teams, dare I say most teams, earning a #2 seed while falling in a tough six-game championship series would be considered a successful season. Many franchises and fan bases would even dream of that kind of scenario, as such a season would mean that the team was not only good, but also probably in the middle of a nice competitive window. However, things are probably not so rosy for the Cleveland Guardians and their fans, as they are now left with yet another painful October memory in what was probably the weakest AL playoff field they will ever encounter.
It could be argued that the Guardians were not that good to begin with, having taken advantage of a soft division and a favorable playoff draw all the way to the ALCS, where they finally ran into a much better team. And yet, for a moment, there was plenty of hope around Cleveland and their endless quest to erase a championship drought that just extended to 78 years. After coming back from an 0-2 deficit against the team-of-destiny White Sox, Cleveland stole Game 1 from the Rays and then took a 2-1 lead with two games looming at home, where the Cleveland faithful responded accordingly with plenty of noise and hoopla. After taking an early 1-0 advantage in Game 4, all of the Guardians’ hopes were slowly extinguished, as Tampa Bay flexed its superior roster en route to dominating the final three contests. While the Rays could count on two aces to go deep into games, Cleveland was left with a plethora of bullpen mix-and-matching that was unable to hold up until the end.
Cleveland had followed its familiar formula of frugal spending and smart baseball decisions to an 85-win season that was actually a three-win decrease over 2025. This time around, though, their claim to the AL Central crown was not as dramatic, with the Guardians riding a dominant September to overtake the White Sox. Before that, Cleveland had taken advantage of down years from the rest of the division to stay afloat, even as their best player, José Ramírez, suffered from injuries that led to his worst season since the bizarre 2019. In-season additions like Jo Adell and Patrick Bailey were helpful enough to produce a competent offense, while the Guardians featured their usual strong pitching with breakout rookie Parker Messick as the standout and Gavin Williams taking a star leap that lasted all the way into October.
Ramírez would eventually regain his form in the playoffs, showing why he remains the heart and soul of this franchise, but his teammates could not keep up with a formidable opponent like the Rays. Seeing José once again sad in the dugout following an elimination should create a collective sense of disappointment and urgency around the Cleveland franchise, but the reality is that they will probably trust their ideology and do more of the same in search of that elusive title.
I'm proud of the Guardians. They play meaningful baseball almost every year.
But man they are really good at ripping your heart out every year
— Sir Yacht (@SirYacht_) October 20, 2026
With the league’s lowest payroll by a significant margin and no significant free agents outside of deadline rental Foster Griffin, we will likely see the Guardians run it back and trust that the relative weakness of their division always provides a road to the playoffs. On the other hand, the American League as a whole is bound to have some positive regression and a collective sense of trying to improve, especially teams like Seattle, Houston, Toronto, and Baltimore, which usually clash with Cleveland in terms of becoming a threat once October arrives. José Ramírez will be 34 next year, and while his lineup mates are still young, none of them project as a big offensive threat, with Travis Bazzana, Angel Martínez, and Chase deLauter projecting as great complementary players with limited ceilings.
The Guardians were 27th in homers and their lack of power was exposed in the playoffs, making offense a clear priority during this offseason. Alas, do not expect the front office to go for big bats in free agency, while potential trades are more likely to be conducted during the season. As it stands today, Cleveland is a good bet to win at least 81 games next year, with the upside of a similar deep playoff run if it all breaks right. Of course, that is a big if with little margin for error, even with a superb pitching staff full of solid hurlers under the age of 30. Cleveland is a model franchise for many reasons, but until they decide (or are forced) to spend a bit more on their roster, playoff exits full of moral victories are probably what they can expect year after year.
