Fixing Every MLB Contender's Biggest Weakness

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, it becomes increasingly difficult to address major roster needs.

For the purposes of this exercise, we've excluded the six current division leaders—the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers—and the two teams currently in control of the top wild-card spots in each league (the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs).

It's not that they aren't contenders, but those teams will almost certainly be in the playoffs in some form. Let's instead focus on the lengthy list of clubs, particularly in the AL, fighting just to get into the postseason.

Here's a look at how these contending teams can fix their biggest issues and reach the postseason.

Philadelphia Phillies

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The Phillies' biggest weakness varies from day to day.

Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter leave something to be desired behind arguably the league's best starting rotation trio in Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo.

The Phillies have one of the five best closers in baseball in Jhoan Duran, but have had trouble getting the ball from the starter to him recently. They acquired Brooks Raley and Caleb Killian before the trade deadline, and hope that some combination of those two and Jonathan Bowlan, José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering will ultimately prove to be enough out of the 'pen.

Still, the biggest need for the Phillies is for the lineup to not be so reliant on Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. Both were All-Stars in 2026, but the latter has just a .628 OPS since the Midsummer Classic. Even when both Harper and Schwarber are locked in, two hitters isn't enough to carry you to a parade float.

Luis Arraez has given the Phillies an immediate spark since being acquired from the San Francisco Giants, but Don Mattingly and company need more from Trea Turner (.249 batting average), Brandon Marsh (.463 OPS since All-Star Game) and Alec Bohm (72 OPS+).

It helps that Bryson Stott is hitting .307 since the All-Star Break, but the Phillies need Schwarber to go on another power streak and others to emerge in the lineup to avoid another disappointing postseason exit.

Boston Red Sox

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Considering the Red Sox are 27-4 since the beginning of July, it's not easy to find much fault with interim manager Chad Tracy's club right now.

If you're trying to find one area where the Red Sox could really improve, it's just with their health. Everything isn't going to correct itself over the last eight weeks of the regular season, but if the Red Sox get even half of these players back, look out:

• Roman Anthony has been on the IL with a sprained right ring finger since May 4.
• Trevor Story had sports hernia surgery on May 22.
• Garrett Crochet—last year's AL Cy Young Award runner-up—has been sidelined with left shoulder inflammation since late April.
• Curtis Mead fractured his left wrist shortly after being acquired from the Washington Nationals, but has not been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa has missed close to two months with inflammation in his left forearm.
• Adley Rutschman has yet to play with the Red Sox, as he's been battling left wrist inflammation since shortly after the All-Star Break.

This says nothing of injured Red Sox who haven't appeared in a game yet this season, like Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, who haven't been ruled out for 2026 yet.

Arizona Diamondbacks

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The goal for the Diamondbacks—both for the remainder of 2026 and beyond—needs to be to get their pitching healthy.

Arizona could still get former NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes back from a right teres major strain sustained while working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Reliever Justin Martinez, also returning from Tommy John surgery that's prevented him from pitching at all this season, could still be back.

One guy who won't return for the Snakes in 2026 is AJ Puk, who had an internal brace procedure in June of 2025. A shoulder strain during rehab ultimately forced the Diamondbacks to shut him down for the rest of the 2026 campaign.

Still, Zac Gallen (elbow inflammation), Michael Soroka (left glute strain) and Ryne Nelson (right elbow strain) are among the other arms that could return to Torey Lovullo's pitching staff before the season ends, potentially helping the DBacks to not only hold onto a wild-card spot, but also be a formidable postseason team.

Texas Rangers

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Jacob deGrom declined on the chance to get traded before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Instead, he chose to remain with the Rangers, who could have a pretty formidable short-series postseason rotation with him, Nathan Eovaldi and MacKenzie Gore.

Of course, they need to get there first, and the best way for them to do that would be for their infield to provide more offensive production.

• Two-time World Series MVP Corey Seager has hit just .198 with a .683 OPS this season. This comes after he batted .278 with an .872 OPS over his first four seasons with the Rangers.
• Jake Burger is capable of getting scalding hot, such as when he hit 19 homers after the All-Star Break in 2024. He has 19 home runs across all of 2026.
• Ezequiel Durán should probably spend most of his time down the stretch at second base, splitting time with Nicky Lopez. That will become more of a possibility assuming starting third baseman Josh Jung—who has an .802 OPS in 2026—returns from a left calf strain.

Seattle Mariners

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For the Mariners to win the AL West or claim a wild-card berth, their key players must return to form.

• A year after arguably the greatest offensive season a catcher has ever had, Cal Raleigh is hitting .161 with a .573 OPS.
• Julio Rodríguez is hitting .429 with a 1.253 OPS in the early days of August. The M's need more of that, because the .752 OPS he has on the season isn't good enough for the three-time All-Star.
• Bryan Woo's 3.20 FIP suggests positive regression could be coming, but the Mariners need it, because his 4.31 ERA over 22 starts isn't going to cut it.
• Josh Naylor has a .675 OPS in the first season of a five-year, $92.5 million contract. Mind you, he had an .831 OPS after being acquired from Cleveland last summer.

The Mariners, on paper, should not only win the AL West, but be real threats to emerge from a wide-open American League and appear in their first World Series. Their best players will need to perform more consistently for either outcome to happen.

Minnesota Twins

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Normally, you don't talk too much about teams under .500 after the trade deadline. But even at 58-59, the Twins are still very much in the mix both in the AL Central and the AL wild-card race.

The Twins bought prior to the deadline, bolstering their bullpen with the veteran additions of Jeff Hoffman and A.J. Minter. Like many teams on this list, though, the biggest issue for Minnesota is injuries to stars.

Byron Buxton has 25 homers, but the All-Star center fielder has been on the IL twice in the last month for issues related to his right hip. The only thing that's prevented the 32-year-old from putting together a Hall of Fame resume has been his inability to stay on the field.

In addition to Buxton, the Twins also need ace Joe Ryan to hit the ground running when he returns from a strained left glute.

Even if the Twins get both Buxton and Ryan back, they could still find themselves on the outside looking in when the postseason starts. But after their selldown last summer, it's encouraging to see them even in the mix this late into the 2026 campaign.

San Diego Padres

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The Padres were dead-last in runs scored for much of the first half, so for them to be 21st now shows that a lineup led by Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill has improved.

That's not to say there aren't still some lineup concerns, but our focus here is going to go on their starting rotation. Michael King has pitched well this season, as evidenced by a 3.45 ERA across 130.1 innings. The Padres need more behind him, though, which is why the always-aggressive A.J. Preller acquired two rental starters at the trade deadline in Robbie Ray and Casey Mize.

Ray had a 3.24 ERA over 127.2 frames with the San Francisco Giants this season, but the former AL Cy Young Award winner is hardly a sure thing. Both his 4.57 expected ERA and 4.49 FIP suggest regression is coming.

Mize, on the other hand, has a chance to really make himself some money down the stretch if he rebounds from a disastrous first start with the Padres that saw him allow eight runs over 3.1 innings. The former No. 1 overall pick still has a 3.40 ERA in 17 starts for the Detroit Tigers prior to being dealt. If he can stay healthy, Mize could pitch his way into a multi-year deal in the offseason, while also helping the Padres to snag one of the wild-card spots.

One thing is for sure, with Nick Pivetta's rehab stint getting paused because of elbow tightness, Ray and Mize's additions have taken on even greater importance for the Friars.

Baltimore Orioles

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The Orioles are on this list because they're only two games out of the final wild-card spot in the AL at the time of publication. They're arguably the least likely team on here to make the playoffs, though.

If the O's are going to make an improbable run into the postseason, they need improved offensive production from a group that's 25th in runs scored since the start of July. That might not be especially likely considering they traded Taylor Ward—who had been an on-base machine, even if he didn't provide the expected power output—to the Mariners before the trade deadline.

Still, there are players who could improve their production, most notably Gunnar Henderson, who has produced a disappointing .687 OPS after being a dark horse AL MVP heading into the season. Colton Cowser (.205 batting average) and Jackson Holliday (.701 OPS) are other step-up candidates for Craig Albernaz and the Orioles. Additionally, getting Samuel Basallo back from right shoulder inflammation would be a boon to the lineup as well.

Pete Alonso has held up his end of the bargain in the first season of a five-year, $155 million deal. Perhaps you'd like to see his .795 OPS a bit higher, but he's homered 23 times and needs some help if the Orioles are going to steal a wild-card spot.

Cleveland Guardians

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Like the Twins, the Guardians are a game under .500, but still right on the cusp of being in playoff position, either via the AL Central or wild card.

Two-time defending AL Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt has the Guardians here despite a minus-22 run differential.

Cleveland is 28th in runs scored, so it's pretty easy to point to their biggest weakness. The good news is, they should be able to improve in that regard.

The Guardians acquired Jo Adell from the Los Angeles Angels. He, at a minimum, is going to mash left-handed pitching. And he's always felt like a guy who could develop into a star if he got out of Anaheim. Now, he has that chance.

Nathaniel Lowe should have the opposite effect, as the newly acquired first baseman has an .893 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2026.

Most notably, José Ramírez has returned from a left hamate fracture. Granted, his presence in the lineup has been a little inconsistent as he continues to deal with some lingering soreness. We're assuming he's going to be healthy down the stretch.

For as great of a story as the White Sox have been this season, if the Guardians lineup improves in a significant way, they should win the AL Central and have a chance to make noise in the playoffs with a rotation led by Gavin Williams, Parker Messick and Foster Griffin.

Detroit Tigers

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When you trade the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner and a former No. 1 overall pick out of your rotation, that kind of becomes the biggest hole by default.

A.J. Hinch's club remains within striking distance of the final AL wild-card spot, though, so they can't entirely be ignored just yet.

Framber Valdez has a 4.17 ERA in the first season of a three-year, $115 million deal. Particularly with Skubal no longer in the picture, the Tigers need much more from the two-time All-Star.

Another arm worth watching is Jackson Jobe, who recently returned from Tommy John surgery. The former No. 3 overall pick is still only 24 years old, so he has plenty of time to reach his potential even after the detour.

However, the Tigers are fighting an uphill battle.