MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers World Series wouldn't prove need for a salary cap, but facts never stopped anyone
With one week to go in the regular season, the question will soon shift to whether anyone can unseat the reigning champions in October
• 2 min read
One week from the time you're reading this, the entire 2026 regular season in Major League Baseball will be complete. As always, it's been a breathtakingly fun roller coaster ride and I'm beside myself that we now get to strap in for a month-long playoff that'll see 12 teams enter and only one emerge.
As we look ahead, this isn't "all about" one team, but there is a team sitting in the forefront in everyone's consciousness. We don't even need to say their name.
We will, though: it's the two-time defending champion Dodgers. There are multiple components at play here. Not only are they shooting to become the third franchise to ever pull off a three-peat (the Yankees have done it several times and the A's did it from 1972-74), but this would cement them as a no-doubt dynasty with four titles in seven years. Those don't come along often and we haven't seen a surefire dynasty in MLB since the 1996-2000 Yankees (we could argue about the Even Year Giants in the 2010s).
The annoying component is, of course, the upcoming CBA fight. The owners have already floated plenty of propaganda during the regular season, and if the Dodgers threepeat heading into the bout, those same owners will believe (or at least argue) that only strengthens their case due to the Dodgers' massive payroll and financial advantages.
This is where things filter down to other very prominent teams, though.
As things stand, the Milwaukee Brewers -- playing in the smallest active market in Major League Baseball (Las Vegas will be smaller, but the A's aren't there yet) and sporting the 19th-ranked payroll -- have the best record in baseball. The best record in the American League? That belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays and their 23rd-ranked payroll.
A Rays-Brewers World Series isn't proof that the league doesn't need a salary cap, just as the Dodgers winning isn't proof that the league needs one, but narratives built in the public eye skew perception for the masses.
For those who worry about such things, the prospective playoff field covers the top, middle and bottom in terms of payroll. The Dodgers are first, Yankees third, Phillies fifth, Braves sixth, Cubs seventh, Astros eighth and Padres ninth. The Red Sox are 11th, Rangers 14th and Brewers 19th. The Rays are 23rd, White Sox 25th and Guardians dead last at 30.
Again, I don't believe that what unfolds this postseason proves anything one way or the other, but no one's relying on proof in a public labor battle. Even if the Dodgers get bounced, a Phillies-Yankees World Series will create a different narrative in the public eye than a Guardians-Brewers bout.
And if the Dodgers win again, especially over the Yankees like in 2024, the owners have all the "proof" they need. Right?
Biggest Movers
2 Cubs
3 Yankees
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | With Kyle Harrison in tatters, the Brewers need someone behind Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson for their playoff rotation. Enter Robert Gasser? He's been mostly good for his last 11 starts. In his last three, he has a 1.08 ERA and worked seven scoreless innings last time out. | -- | 98-58 |
| 2 |  | I've pointed this out elsewhere but it bears repeating before a bunch of people crown them threepeat champs: The Dodgers haven't won a series over a winning team since July 20-22. Since then, they've gone 0-5 in series against the Red Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Brewers and Braves, going 2-14 in those games. They have won 14 of their last 17 games overall, but that's against a bunch of sub-.500 teams whose seasons are a week from wrapping up. Have they flipped a switch or just beaten up on weaker teams? | -- | 96-60 |
| 3 |  | Chandler Simpson has now the highest stolen base season in Rays history. Oh wait, I mean the highest non-Carl Crawford season. Crawford has the Rays' top six steals seasons (topping out at 60 in 2009) and his 2005 season is tied with Simpson for seventh at 46. | -- | 95-60 |
| 4 |  | Tyler Mahle just keeps absolutely dealing and looks like a strong No. 2 playoff starter behind the True Ace Chris Sale. Mahle's ERA since joining the Braves is 1.28. | 1 | 92-64 |
| 5 |  | That picture of Alex Bregman's upper cheek and eye area after getting hit by a foul ball is worrisome. He's been one of the best hitters in baseball since the All-Star break and one of the main reasons they are a threat in the playoffs. | 2 | 87-69 |
| 6 |  | They've now won 13 of their last 14 with a +34 run differential. Of course, since I made note of it in the Dodgers' comment, it's only fair to point out they've beaten up on all sub-.500 competition. | 2 | 87-69 |
| 7 |  | With Aaron Judge hitting the injured list, I no longer think the Yankees can make a deep postseason run. Even if he comes back, he won't be 100%. | 3 | 89-66 |
| 8 |  | While it remains true that people shouldn't overreact to really small samples early in the season, teams can definitely bury themselves. The Phillies were 10 ½ games behind the Braves through April 26. They are going to finish having outplayed the Braves since that date and still could end up playing in Atlanta in the Wild Card Series. | 2 | 86-70 |
| 9 |  | They've lost seven of their last 11. | -- | 84-72 |
| 10 |  | Yet another late surge from this squad, as they've now won five straight games. | 1 | 81-75 |
| 11 |  | The Snakes are still alive, but it's moved into miracle range. The head-to-head series against the Padres helps; they just have to root for the Dodgers to sweep San Diego in the early part of the week. | 1 | 82-74 |
| 12 |  | Losing that series in Cleveland really hurt, but the White Sox are only one game back and have the tiebreaker. Finishing with three at home against the Rockies looks promising, so the Sox need to take care of business in Kansas City. | 1 | 80-76 |
| 13 |  | The road to a winning record is clear and that isn't something anyone should scoff about. It would be the first Pirates winning record since 2018 and they lost 91 games last year. This season has been progress, even if not overwhelmingly so. | 1 | 79-77 |
| 14 |  | The path is clear for the AL West title, but there's a razor-thin margin of error. Yes, the Rangers have a one-game lead over the Astros, but the Astros won nine of the 13 head-to-head matchups and own the tiebreaker here. | 2 | 78-78 |
| 15 |  | Dylan Cease losing all that velocity and needing a shoulder exam? Yeah, they're cooked. | 1 | 77-79 |
| 16 |  | They've gone 4-10 since Sept. 4 and are still only one game out in the AL West. | 1 | 77-79 |
| 17 |  | The Sandy Alcantara save this past week was so fun. In case you missed it: he wasn't removed from the rotation. He started on Monday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 20. Wednesday the 16th was his "throw day" in between starts and the Marlins decided to use those pitches in game action with Alcantara as closer. We talk about this in the playoffs a lot and will see it in practice on occasion, but in the regular season and in this day and age, it's exceedingly rare. And, again, really fun. | 1 | 76-80 |
| 18 |  | There haven't been a ton of positives over the last two years, but picking up Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the cheap in April seems to have been a very nice move. | 1 | 75-81 |
| 19 |  | Interesting anomaly: Riley O'Brien remains the National League save leader despite an ERA over 4.00 and a negative WAR. | 2 | 76-80 |
| 20 |  | Jackson Jobe, the 24-year-old who returned from Tommy John surgery this year, is flashing his major upside this month. In three starts, he's struck out 24 against four walks in 17 ⅓ innings. He'll be on some sort of a workload limit next year, but it'll likely be his breakout season. | -- | 73-83 |
| 21 |  | Late season fun: Dean Kremer threw six scoreless innings before fellow rotation-mate Bailey Ober went three scoreless innings for the save on Sunday. It's the time for experimentation! Well, they were also playing the Angels and needed to give the bullpen a break. | 2 | 73-83 |
| 22 |  | Cal Raleigh is finishing strong with 11 homers and 25 RBI in his last 31 games. Don't be surprised if he has another big season in 2027 (no, he'll never be 2025 Cal again, but he could still have a great season). | 2 | 73-83 |
| 23 |  | CJ Abrams joined the 30-30 club on Friday. The only other player in Nationals history to achieve the feat was Alfonso Soriano (Vladimir Guerrero did it with the Expos before the move). | 2 | 73-83 |
| 24 |  | An(other) incredibly interesting offseason awaits ... | 3 | 71-85 |
| 25 |  | Elly De La Cruz is two home runs and two stolen bases away from 30-30. The list of Reds to have a 30-30 season? Eric Davis, Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips. | 3 | 72-84 |
| 26 |  | Two years ago, built around superstar Bobby Witt Jr., it looked like the Royals might be on the upswing. They regressed to 82-80 last year and this year are going to lose 90+ games. | -- | 67-89 |
| 27 |  | Bryce Eldridge continues to prove that he's a foundational piece for this franchise. He's only 21 years old. | -- | 64-92 |
| 28 |  | A 3-3 record this week gets the Angels to 63-99 and avoids another 100-loss season. Anything worse and it's officially the worst team in franchise history. The Angels' record this past week? 4-3! | 1 | 60-96 |
| 29 |  | Remember last week when I mentioned that the A's have a winning record against each of the other four AL West teams but are abysmal against everyone else? Yeah, they just went 0-6 this past week against non-West foes. It's incredible. Now, here's where things get really fun. The A's close with four games against the Astros and don't play the Rangers this week. | 1 | 61-95 |
| 30 |  | Unless the Rockies win out ... (I'm pausing for laughter) ... that will be 30 years of Rockies baseball with zero 100-loss seasons followed by four consecutive 100-loss seasons. | -- | 57-99 |
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