The 2026 MLB season has been announced and the Wild Card Series is now complete. Three of the four Wild Card series were sweeps and the home team won three of the four series. From 2022-25, only seven home teams won the Wild Card Series. The best-of-five Division Series is scheduled for this weekend. Here are the matchups;
AMERICAN COVENANT
AGE1: Yankees at Rays
ALDS2: White Sox at Rangers
CIVIL COVENANT
NLDS1: Padres at Brewers
NLDS2: Braves to Dodgers
Eight teams are still standing, making 16 possible World Series matchups. A rematch of last year’s World Series (Blue Jays vs. Dodgers) is not among them. There hasn’t been a World Series rematch since the Dodgers and Yankees squared off in 1977 and 1978.
Anyway, there are 16 possible World Series matchups, and none of them are bad! Everyone takes it in their own way, but some are stronger than others. Sometimes history (recent or otherwise), sometimes new players mix in, and so on.
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With that in mind, here are all 16 possible World Series matchups. What are these ideas in reality? History, monitoring, vibes, etc. We don’t need to be scientific. Here are our 2016 World Series no matchups.
Yes, six
16. White Sox Brewers vs
15. Guards Brewers vs
14. Padres vs. Rangers
13. White Sox Braves vs
12. Rays Braves vs
11. Rangers vs. Dodgers
Not much shared history here, unless you go back to the CC Sabathia trade between Cleveland and the Brewers in 2008. This is where I remind you that there is no bad series in the World Series! All are interesting in their own way. White Sox vs. The Brewers, if it happens, could make a fool of themselves with this order. Those are two really fun, entertaining teams. Also, something about rays vs. The Braves give off “it will go down as an all-time classic Series” vibe, too.
Notable World Series rematches
10. White Sox vs. Dodgers
The Dodgers headed west in 1958 and, one year later, played the White Sox in the World Series. The 1959 World Series saw the first World Series games played on the West Coast, and those games had record attendance thanks to the Los Angeles Coliseum’s 90,000 plus capacity. The Dodgers won the series in six games. Otherwise, there isn’t much of a connection between the two franchises that have been around since the Big Bang.
9. Guardians of the Braves vs
The 1995 World Series was the first championship won by an Atlanta-based team in the four major North American sports. It went six games and Game 6 was a classic. David Justice’s only home run for the game and two Braves pitchers (Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers) combined for one more hit. Although these two teams have been around for a very long time, their head-to-head history outside of the Fall Classic is lacking.
8. Yankees vs
Twice in the recent 1990s, the Yankees’ dynasty beat the Braves in the World Series (1996 and 1999). Atlanta won three pennants in five years but only one championship away (1995). As for the 2026 teams, the big connection is Max Fried, who started six shutout innings in Atlanta 2021 and shot in the World Series clincher Game 6. He is now New York’s co-accused with Cam Schlittler and Gerrit Cole. This matchup will scratch the nostalgia itch and also feature some of the best players in the game today. Do you think the two Schlitter vs. Chris Sale dueling in the World Series? I like it so.
7. Yankees vs
We saw this World Series matchup just two years ago, which takes some of the shine away, but doesn’t mean it’s compelling. Aaron the judge could receive from then. Your pitching matchups might look something like Cam Schlittler vs. Tarik Skubal, Max Fried vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Gerrit Cole vs. Blake Snell. You can’t do much better than that. Downside: The competition balances complaints about the salary cap supporters, and potentially the league itself, if those commercials start running again.
6. Yankees vs
The Padres reached the World Series twice and both times were one of the greatest teams in history. In 1984, they played a 104-win Tigers team that started the season 35-5. Detroit won that series in five games. In 1998, the Padres ran into the 114-win Yankees and trailed in four games. 2026 The Yankees are not one of the greatest teams in history. Maybe he will finally push San Diego over the finish line? Either way, I’m a minor in this deal. Both rosters are loaded with athletic, dynamic players.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is the engine propelling the Padres, baseball’s hottest team, into the NLDS showdown vs.
Matt Snyder
First time bits
5. Rays vs. Padres
Two pennants, two World Series losses for both teams. The Padres lost to the Tigers in 1984 and the Yankees in 1998. The Devil Rays lost to the Phillies in 2008 and the Devil Rays lost to the Dodgers in 2020. One team would leave this world with its first-ever championship, which is reason enough to watch. There’s also some history as well, namely the trade of Blake Snell and Hall of Famer Fred McGriff fitting both sides.
4. Ray Brewers vs
The two No. 1 seeds didn’t meet in the World Series when they traveled in, well, 2024, but the Brewers and the Rays No. 1 seeds are not typical of yours. They are 19 and 28 in salary, respectively, and play the type of offense that no other team does, or at least no other team does. well. Both of the bottom 10 home runs, the top three in the infield hits, and the top two in the hit. And hopefully, yeah, both teams are looking for their first ever World Series title. I’m curious to see if the baseball dissolves into contact if Junior Caminero connects with Jacob Misiorowski’s fastball.
In the top three
3. White Sox Padres vs
Finally, the opportunity to define once and for all what the team of Fernando Tatis Jr. He won the trade. From pure vibes, this would be such a powerful matchup. Maybe I have put it in the No. 1 spot? The White Sox and Padres are both offense-first teams, and right off the bat, that’s more in my book. But they can be a little bolder on both sides. That’s even more in my book. Tatis and Munetaka Murakami, Grant Taylor and Mason Miller, Sam Antonacci and Ty Gallia are locked in a battle that can be hit by multiple voices. I love the energy and the teams at the ballpark. I don’t think there could be a more electric ballpark matchup than this World Series. Petco Park will always rock and Rate Field will go nuts; especially if Leo XIV.
2. Yankees vs
The Brewers won more games than the Yankees in the regular season, yet they were going to be killed off as the underdog in this World Series because of the salary disparity. Both teams have one thing in common: They never put a bad pitcher on the mound. Both staff positions are very good and very deep. Offensively, they are complete opposites. The Brewers are a championship team without much potential. The Yankees will pitch and miss, but they will put a few balls in the seats every night. Two great teams and the underdog will be the story, even if it doesn’t match up with the regular season records. A good matchup, that is.
1. Dodgers vs. Rays
The last David vs. The Dodgers are the two-time defending World Series champions and the answer to the “what if they used up the Rays?” a question Tampa lost a lot to the Dodgers: the 2020 World Series, baseball operations head honcho Andrew Friedman, and more. It would be an ambitious amount and I suspect it would bring down the radio just about everyone outside of Southern California. You can’t find a bigger underdog story or mismatch or whatever you want to call it among this year’s possible World Series matchups.