National League
NL East Winner: Philadelphia Phillies (#2 Seed)
Additions: LHP Gregory Soto, LHP Tanner Banks, RHP Carlos Estevez, RF Austin Hays
Losers of five in a row, the Phillies have looked far more mortal these days after their incredible first half of the season. Still, Dave Dombrowski will stop at nothing to get one more championship, and that showed again as the Phillies went all in.
A rare trade between powerhouses brought Baltimore’s Austin Hays over to Philadelphia to create a dynamic OF platoon with Brandon Marsh. The Phillies also loaded up their bullpen, adding Banks and former all-stars Soto and Estevez. While they have been struggling, these moves should pay off once they get over their first cold spell of the season.
The Phillies will hold on to win the NL East for the first time since 2011, but they will lose their grip on home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
NL Central Winner: Milwaukee Brewers (#3 Seed)
Additions: RHP Frankie Montas, RHP Nick Mears
A team that no one is talking about, but the Brewers continue to be one of the more consistent franchises in the past decade. New leadership, new manager, new players, they keep on winning and putting themselves in position to play October baseball. Despite the concerns over Christian Yelich’s health, I believe their 6.5 game lead in a weak NL Central should hold up, despite the slow climb by St. Louis and the youngsters in Pittsburgh trying to get back in the race.
If Milwaukee can unlock the Frankie Montas that was so coveted in 2022, then they just may have enough pitching to go along with their high powered offense to be a threat in the NL.
NL West Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers (#1 Seed)
Additions: RHP Jack Flaherty, CF Kevin Kiermaier, INF Amed Rosario, RHP Michael Kopech, UTL Tommy Edman
Perhaps no team made more moves than the Dodgers. A flurry of moves in the final 48 hours brought in three new bats, and talented pitchers. The Dodgers are extremely top-heavy, but the infusion of talent and depth, added with the return of injured legends, the Dodgers will make a second half push for the best record in all of baseball.