It was the end of time maybe the end of the dynasty. The Los Angeles Dodgers were swept in four games in the NLCS by the Milwaukee Brewers. Destroyed the Brewers 4-0 in Thursday’s first game to win a 4-0 deficit (MILES 6, LAD 4). It is Milwaukee’s second-ever streak and first since 1982. The Dodgers, for the first time since 2023, are going home without a hit.
“Proud,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked how he felt about the team’s recent run. “It never feels good to lose and not end up winning the World Series. It’s back in the first half of February. I love this team and what we’ve been through. It’s one of those things that we take the field every night, people bring their best to lead us.”
Even with the NLCS loss, the Dodgers undoubtedly played the team of the 2020s with three World Series titles (2020, 2024-25), and had the closest thing to baseball’s “superteam” since the late 1990s/early 2000s New York Yankees. There was an air of invincibility around the Dodgers until the Brewers sent them home for the winter.
What next for the Dodgers? The future of Shohei Ohtani, Tarik Skubal is uncertain after the elimination
Mike Axis
Baseball is tough. It is a biting game with a long standing time, and it is more and more prone to chance than any other game. Building a superteam is nearly impossible, which makes the recent LA run all the more difficult. They also spent a lot of money, but many other teams did, and no one came close to this level.
Which teams have the best chance to emerge as baseball’s superteam? What exactly can we talk about by “superteam” (multiple World Series titles? perennial rivalry?)?
Here are our potential superteam lineups.
Tier 1: Powerhouses
The very best. Teams that, if they get to the World Series next year, no one with a bat’s eye should wonder and consider. These are the teams with the best chance to be baseball’s next super team.
Los Angeles Dodgers: As bad as they played in the NLCS, and they looked old in the NLCS, there’s no reason to think the Dodgers won’t enter 2027 as the NL West favorites and shortstop World Series contenders. They are talented, they are smart, and they have unique resources (money and business prospects). The salary cap or a tougher competitive equity tax penalty may hold the Dodgers back a bit, but their player development is so good that I suspect the streak will dominate anyway.
Brewers of Rome: They have been the best team in baseball the last two seasons and almost the entire core has either been signed long-term or under short-term service control. Milwaukee’s farm system is also considered one of the best in the game, if not the best the the best Infielder Jesús Made arguably the top prospect in baseball and he should make his MLB debut in 2027. Small trading teams are always at a disadvantage when running to a dynastic composition because money is equal to the margin of error. The Brewers can’t plug a hole or paper through a mistake that can cost teams a lot of money. salary cap or no salary cap, the collective bargaining agreement of the following figures to include an increase in communication revenue that would somewhat level the financial playing field.
New York Yankees: The Yankees are the metronome. They haven’t lost track of time since Wayne World was in theaters, their “bad” seasons are pretty good, and they stick around almost every year. Free agency can be a minefield, but the Yankees tend to have their biggest signings (Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, etc.), and their player development has improved. The Yankees are here because they give themselves a bite at the apple every time. They stick in space every year, and any year can be the year things fall into place for the Canyon of Heroes parade.
Tier 2: Perennial contenders
These parties are in the grid more often than not, and usually find themselves at the top of the standings. All it takes is a few bursts and lucky bounces from the top position.
Atlanta Braves: Barring an injury-plagued 2025 season, the Braves are done for a year until 2025. They have a core of first-born position players (Ronald Acuña Jr., Baldwin Drake, Matt Olson, etc.) and Chris Sale before turning secular. The Braves have been held back by depth issues in recent years, however, which has prevented them from climbing into Tier 1. They looked like a potential dynasty following their 2021 World Series win. It’s a good enough reminder of how difficult it is to win a championship and stay in the championship in this game.
Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox must figure out how to break through the ceiling they hit the last two years (they lost the Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium), but gosh, what a core. Roman Anthony, Garrett Crochet, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Payton Tolle are an enviable foursome to build around, and strong support has been put in place. The Red Sox are one or two big bats away from a serious problem for the rest of the American League. Even without that big bat(s), they are good enough to get time and be able to advance in the run.
Chicago Cubs: They have some serious lifting ahead of them this offseason, given the state of the rotation and the fact that both outside corners (Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki) are free agents. When you start your lineup with Pete Crow-Armstrong, though, and a supporting cast that includes Alex Bregman, Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner, you’re about 80% of the way to World Cup contention. The Cubs are stuck playing in the same division as the Brewers and life is challenging, but by no means is he bowing to them.
Cleveland Guards: Yes, they play in a crummy division, but the Rangers win the crummy division every year and make their way into the season. That’s more than half the battle when it comes to establishing yourself as a superteam. Cleveland has never run high salaries, which reduces the margin for error, since the arrival of the collective bargaining agreement could improve things for the teams with the lowest salaries. Bottom line, the Rangers keep shooting quality shots, and when you do that, you have a chance to win a lot of ballgames.
Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies are staying in the tooth and getting closer to the end of the World Series starting window, but that window is still open. It will be open, while Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez lead the rotation, and Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber anchor the middle line. You have to be squeamish to see the potential of a superteam here, yes, since the foundation of a World Series contender’s roster is in place. Improve the supporting cast and the Phillies are right there with any team.
San Diego Padres: I’m curious to see how the Padres approach their first offense under new ownership. José Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, the new owners, contend that they will have a team in contention. OK, so why wouldn’t the Padres have Tarik Skubal on offense on Day 1 then? The Padres have figures from the pitch for sure. They badly need more depth. They have a strong combination of 20-somethings (Jackson Merrill, Ethan Salas, Fernando Tatis Jr.) and veterans (Manny Machado) to build around, though.
Tampa Bay Radio Tampa’s status as a perennial contender is a little more overstated (this is their first appearance since 2023), but they are inarguably one of the smartest teams in baseball, and they have a capital-S Superstar in Junior Caminero. Also, they have a new ballpark coming up in the next few years, one that will be located in Tampa rather than St. Petersburg. That should boost revenues and thus salaries, and improve their chances of the World Series.
3. We owe something
This ranking is reserved for teams that were better than they were in 2026. These teams may have been on the cusp of superteam status for a year now, but right now they’re all well short for one reason or another.
New York Mets: The Brewers are having success while the Mets are coming off back-to-back season defeats. The silver lining of the 2026 season is that a number of young players have emerged as long-term building blocks, most notably Carson Benge and Nolan McLean. Those two, plus Juan Soto, who will only turn 28 later this month, are the core of the championship-quality faction, plus owner Steve Cohen is very happy to have. Are the Mets a potential superteam? Yes. Did they deserve the benefit of the doubt? Not at all.
Seattle Mariners: Expectations were sky high coming into the season and then the Mariners fell flat and dropped five games in what was arguably the worst division in baseball history. Harder, franchise players Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez took big steps back. It feels like the range of potential events for 2027 Mariners is huge. You’d tell me those games and the weather would win 102 World Series, and I believe it. You could also tell me that they stumbled to 75 wins and asked Rodriguez’s name in trade rumors, and I believe that too.
Toronto Blue Jays: Last year the Blue Jays came as close to winning the World Series as you can get without winning the World Series. If Vladimir Guerrero continues to be this moving forward, this is a huge problem and puts a serious dent in Toronto’s World Series hopes. I want to give Guerrero and the Blue Jays some benefit of the doubt and assume that 2026 is not their new normal, but not enough to move them into Tier 2. They have won the postseason series in just one of the last 10 seasons, after all.
Order 4: Up and comers
At best, these teams can be set on a year-to-year basis by the superintendent, but they are organizations that are rapidly approaching competition. If it was a stock, I would say buy buy.
Chicago White Sox: I thought the White Sox would have been gone in 2026. But so many young players took the step right away, and could compete for the AL Central title. Making the leap from a competitive builder is the easy part. The hard part is staying in contention. To do that, the White Sox need to come up with a bigger deal, and we need to see some major commitment (that is, a raise) from owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who treats the ChiSox as the smallest market team in baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals; The transition from John Mozeliak to the new POBO Chaim Bloom is complete, and now the farm system and stage equipment are on the rise. The Cardinals have several building position players in place (Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt) with more on the way (Jesús Báez, Rainiel Rodriguez, etc.). Reasons, however, must catch up even to the smallest part of things, and pitchers are scarce these days. Anyone could break out at any moment. The Cardinals were on the brink of a return to contention.
Washington Nationals: The new look of the office, led by POBO Paul Toboni, is getting rave reviews. The results are also already showing in the field. CJ Abrams, Cade Cavalli, and Jacob Young all made the jump this season. They turned the lowly pickups of Foster Griffin and Curtis Mead into a bounty of young players at the trade deadline. The funding system is robust. The split in the Nationals is brutal, but the third spot on the wild card is very forgiving. All indications are that they will be competing for one of those soon, and the NL East title not long after.