The 2025 MLB playoffs are well and truly underway, and the first Wild Card games are already behind us. While we can’t necessarily draw conclusions from these early games, that doesn’t stop us from looking ahead.
So, without further ado, here are the Passion MLB team’s predictions for the finalists in the next World Series and the winner of the big trophy.
At first glance, it’s safe to say that the Philadelphia Phillies are the favorites to win the World Series. The divisional series they are likely to face against the Los Angeles Dodgers could well turn out to be the National League Championship Series before its time.
On the other side of the spectrum, the American League looks a lot more open, with the Seattle Mariners the favorites to make it to the Fall Classic. The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians, who are currently backed into a corner, are our columnists’ other choices.
The team with the best record in America, the Toronto Blue Jays, is nowhere to be seen. Will they be able to confound the doubters?
No surprise here: Brian Snitker and the Braves have decided it’s best to make room for another manager going forward.
Snitker, who had been managing since 2016 and has been with the organization for 49 seasons, will therefore spend his 50th campaign in baseball as an advisor to the Braves organization.
Brian Snitker will not return as manager of the Atlanta Braves, sources tell ESPN. He informed the team of his decision yesterday. But he will remain with the organization in a senior advisory capacity.
In the end, Snitker will have had a great deal of success in Atlanta and will be recognized as a manager who won the World Series. He’ll also be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame, I’m sure.
That said, after a difficult campaign, the Braves will be looking elsewhere to manage the club. And the mandate will be a big one, since the Braves intend to have a pretty good club by 2026.
Who will be Alex Anthopoulos’ man? We don’t know. But we do know that if the club goes looking for pitchers, the manager’s job will be quite attractive.
In addition to the Braves, the Rangers, Twins, Giants and Angels are looking for a manager. The Nationals, Orioles and Rockies have an interim man, and a club like the Astros is the talk of the town.
It’s also unclear whether any of the 12 playoff teams will make a change in the event of an ugly performance at the biggest moment.
After losing the first game of their Wild Card series to the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees are already in a precarious situation.
And this is largely due to manager Aaron Boone.
Indeed, for several weeks now, the entire baseball world has been aware that the Bombardiers don’t have an excellent relief bullpen. Yet, despite the fact that Max Fried was dominant on the mound, Boone took him out of the game with one out in the seventh inning and no runners on.
What’s more, batters eight and nine would come to the plate, and Fried had just given Jarren Duran a run for his money. Sure, the left-hander had 102 pitches on the clock, but he’d surpassed that mark no fewer than eight times this year, including in his most recent start against the Chicago White Sox.
The next hitter was Ceddanne Rafaela, who was 0 for 2 against Fried in that game and 2 for 12 in his career. Conversely, Rafaela hit two home runs in six at-bats against Luke Weaver, Fried’s replacement in the game.
Not to mention the fact that the right-handed hitter has a batting average of .260 against right-handed pitchers and .220 against left-handed gunners. He was the third-worst right-handed hitter in MLB to get on base against left-handed pitchers with a low OBP of .265.
Yet Boone retired his left-hander, his best pitcher, to get a shaky right-hander in recent weeks instead.
And so it happened.
Aaron Boone is good at making the worst baseball decisions of all time… takes his ACE Max Fried out… throwing a shutout?? Luke Weaver IMMEDIATELY blows the lead? Fried’s gem wasted by a horrendous Manager pic.twitter.com/2jM4Vzt8RK
In the other dugout, skipper Alex Cora let Garrett Crochet throw 117 pitches, the most by any of the 434 starting pitchers in the last six playoffs. Then he handed the ball to his number-one reliever, Aroldis Chapman, for a four-out save.
It was old-fashioned baseball, as it should be. Cora totally outcoached his opponent.
In addition to last night’s episode, let’s remember that just last year, Boone sabotaged Game 1 of the World Series, possibly costing his team the title. And those are just two of many examples.
How long will managerial responsibility for some of the Yankees’ playoff losses be tolerated in the Bronx?
After seeing the Tigers, Cubs and Red Sox win their first playoff games, the Dodgers and Reds crossed swords in their first playoff game.
It was an important game, considering the fact that from 2022 to 2024, the 12 teams that won Game #1 of their Wild Card Series ended up advancing to the Division Series in two or three games. #Wow
Teams who win Game 1 of the Wild Card Series have advanced to the Division Series all 12 times since the current playoff format was introduced in 2022 pic.twitter.com/xvPuKNMeVt
Shohei Ohtani quickly understood the mandate. Early in the game, he hit a home run against Hunter Greene.
This clearly inspired his team-mates, as Teoscar Hernandez (three points) and Tommy Edman joined the party with home runs. That made it 5-0 after three innings, forcing Terry Francona to go to the bullpen after three innings.
Greene had the worst outing of the eight starters yesterday… and meanwhile, all was well for Blake Snell.
Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani added more after that, and Snell continued to do his job. For the first time in his playoff career, he pitched at least six innings.
No, even in the World Series in 2020, he hadn’t. We remember that, don’t we?
He finished with seven innings pitched and two earned runs… but even though the Dodgers led 10-2 when relief came on, we realized no lead was enough.
The Reds scored three runs in the eighth and, at some point, the bases were loaded. But they didn’t capitalize, and the game ended 10-5 in favor of the Dodgers.
But the Reds, who face elimination tonight, know what to do: get to the bullpen fast.
After wins for the Tigers and Cubs in the first two games of the day, the Yankees were visited by the Red Sox. It was the start of an eagerly awaited series.
Max Fried versus Garrett Crochet: it looked promising.
It was the Yankees who struck first early in the game. Anthony Volpe, who has had a difficult season and has recently got back on track, hit a long ball early in the game.
After that, the two big starting pitchers took control of the game. Hook gave up no more runs in 7.2 innings of work… and Max Fried gave up nothing at all in 6.1 innings of work.
Fried, who was 102 pitches and in control, was pulled with the bases empty… and as is too often the case in the playoffs, the arrival of the reliever had a “when the cat’s away, the mice will dance” effect for the other side’s offense. Before long, it was 2-1 to Boston.
Trevor Story and Alex Bregman then added to the lead by scoring a third run of the game. This confirmed the Red Sox victory in the first game of the series… even if the Red Sox got hot at the end of the game. #ButsRemplis
Tomorrow night, the Yankees face elimination at home.
Astros GM Dana Brown declined to discuss his contract, but said "I will tell you, I’m the GM of the Astros and that’s what I would expect to be." Asked if he has been given assurances that will be the case going forward, Brown repeated some version of that answer.
We knew that both clubs had good pitching groups, but there were a few questions about the offense of both clubs. Except that the Padres quickly found a way to score.
Xander Bogaerts produced the first run of the game.
And while the Padres’ offense continued to tear it up, the Cubs took advantage of the Padres’ bullpen woes in the eighth inning to give themselves a little extra cushion.
In the ninth inning, then, the Cubs sent Brad Keller out to close the books. And he didn’t have an easy command, as Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts would come to bat.
But in the end, Keller got the best of all three guys: he got the save in a 3-1 Cubs victory.
So the Cubs’ forward did just enough against a big group of Padres pitchers, so the home side took a 1-0 lead in the series. Shota Imanaga should get the ball from his manager, while Dylan Cease will have the task of saving his side’s season.
The Cubs needed this win: let’s see if they can close the books tomorrow, now.
Here we are. There’s already one playoff game behind us, the first Wild Card duel between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians.
And the game got off to a flying start for the Tigers, as after Kerry Carpenter reached second on a Johnathan Rodriguez error, teammate Spencer Torkelson crossed home plate in the very first inning.
However, the Guardians tied the game in the third inning with no outs against Tarik Skubal.
For his part, Skubal left the game after seven and two-thirds innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits and striking out 14 batters on three hits. He was simply smoking.
Will Vest then closed the door for an inning and a third and saved the Tigers’ first win in this best-of-three series. The Guardians had a runner on third with none out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The next game between the two teams will take place tomorrow (Wednesday), same time (1:08 p.m. Quebec time), same position. Tanner Bibee will take to the mound to try to avoid his team’s elimination. His opponent will be Casey Mize.
Major League Baseball’s New York teams live by their stars.
Perhaps the best evidence of this is the fact that the Yankees were considering selling at the trade deadline when Aaron Judge came close to missing the end of the season.
A catcher hitting 60 home runs is an amazing narrative. But here’s another:
In July, it looked like Aaron Judge might need surgery. The Yankees were preparing to sell off players in a worst case scenario, according to @martinonyc. Bellinger, Grisham, Williams all could’ve been..
Both New York teams have the means to achieve their ambitions, and this makes it difficult to think that a player is really out of reach for Hal Steinbrenner’s or Steve Cohen’s wallet.
And it was with this in mind that I developed my daring prediction (which I half-believe) of the day: Jacob deGrom will pitch his next game for the New York Mets.
The trigger, in my mind, was a sentence from Chris Young, the boss of the Texas Rangers, in connection with the announcement of the departure of Bruce Bochy, who had been the manager in town for three years.
He said that the club wasn’t going to rebuild, but that the Rangers were going to be younger in 2026 and faced some financial uncertainty.
Media had a Zoom call with Chris Young, who said that the #Rangers will not be rebuilding next season, but they will be younger and there is financial uncertainty. After explaining that to Bochy and not being able to give a clear picture of 2026, they decided to part ways. 1/2
So I figure if the Mets, who have shown they desperately need a top-notch starting pitcher, called to get deGrom out of Texas, the Rangers would listen.
And surely deGrom wouldn’t mind the project.
Steve Cohen is probably the only owner crazy enough to take on his $74 million contract guaranteed for the next two seasons. Remember that deGoat will be 38 next season and his injury history is intense.
But he dominated in 2025 and it’s a pitcher like him that the Mets, who have been victimized by David Stearns’ ugly work in the rotation, could have used. And since the Mets have stars who could leave, it’s going to take some big players in town.
Do Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz have a future on the Mets?
After failing to make the MLB postseason despite a huge $340 million payroll, the Mets have multiple stars that could dictate an important offseason.
deGrom was beloved in the city during his many seasons with the Mets and seeing what’s going on in Texas, I wouldn’t be surprised if he agreed to a return to New York, where management, the guys in the locker room and the fans would no doubt welcome him with open arms.
Fans would forget the past pretty quickly.
More and more, some teams like to go after former stars because they know what these players can bring to the locker room. The Astros’ example with Carlos Correa is blatantly obvious. #EmotiveDecision
If Steve Cohen agreed to take a good portion of the pitcher’s contract, the Mets would have almost nothing to give in return in terms of prospects. After all, the Rangers need the financial muscle.
Remember that the two organizations already negotiated a similar deal (a quality veteran pitcher with a big contract) when Max Scherzer left New York to play in Texas – with deGrom, of all places.
I see a path to such a treaty, even if it’s relatively unlikely.
And here we are! The fall dance will begin in just a few minutes. And October baseball begins, of course, with the Wild Card Series, which pits the division champions in each league who didn’t get off in the first round against the last team drafted, and then the other teams who qualify as best runners-up.
So, without further ado, here are our columnists’ predictions for the first elimination round.
MLB Passion
Tigers versus Guardians
Charles-Alexis Brisebois: Cleveland in 3. Tarik Skubal will give the Tigers a chance in Game 1. What’s next?
Félix Forget: Detroit in 3. After collapsing, the Tigers’ pride will be on board against a Guardians who’ve run out of black magic.
Maxime Trudeau: Cleveland in 3. The Guardians are in the Tigers’ heads, and what’s more, they’ve got the momentum.
Pascal Harvey: Cleveland in 3. The Guardians enter the playoffs with the wind in their sails, while the Tigers are still wondering what happened in the last month.
Sébastien Berrouard: Detroit in 3. Tarik Skubal will win his duel and the Tigers will forget their atrocious end to the season.
Padres vs. Cubs
Charles-Alexis: San Diego in 2. The bullpen will make the difference.
Félix: San Diego in 3. The Cubs’ forward will steal a game, but the Padres are a much better team overall.
Maxime: San Diego in 2. Gunners will make the difference, both starters and relievers.
Pascal: San Diego in 3. The Padres will have the upper hand thanks to a balanced attack and a more effective starting rotation than their opponents.
Sébastien: Chicago in 3. The Bears’ offense will find a way to break through the Padres’ bullpen.
Red Sox vs. Yankees
Charles-Alexis: New York in 3. Aaron Judge won’t want to be beaten by the Dodgers and Red Sox in the space of 12 months.
Félix: New York in 3. Roman Anthony could have changed the series, but without him, the Yankees’ offense will be too strong for the Red Sox’.
Maxime: Boston in 3. Veterans Alex Bregman and Trevor Story will continue their coaching and show the way to the young Red Sox.
Pascal: New York in 3. The Yankees have Aaron Judge, the Red Sox have Garrett Hook. Advantage Judge, who is an exceptional player.
Sebastien: New York in 3. The Yankees’ success offensively and on the mound will continue in the first round of the playoffs.
Reds versus Dodgers
Charles-Alexis: Los Angeles in 3. The Reds don’t have what it takes to beat the Dodgers, who have spent the year preparing for the playoffs.
Félix: Cincinnati in 2. I wouldn’t put $1,000 on it, but Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott could play a trick on the Dodgers.
Maxime: Los Angeles in 2. I didn’t see the Reds coming in the playoffs and I don’t think I’ll see them for long either!
Pascal: Los Angeles in 2. Dave Roberts’ men will have two games to build some momentum before facing the Phillies.
Sébastien: Los Angeles in 2. The Dodgers are too powerful and experienced to escape even one game.
(@JeremyFilosa) 
