Ranking the top World Series candidates most likely to dethrone the Dodgers 🤔
Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney
Ranking the top World Series candidates most likely to dethrone the Dodgers 🤔
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AI Summary
This Baseball Tonight podcast episode focuses on evaluating which MLB teams have the best chance of dethroning the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are pursuing a historic third consecutive championship. Host Buster Olney is joined by ESPN baseball writers Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo for a draft-style roundtable discussion. Despite significant injuries to stars like Kyle Tucker, Edwin Diaz, Tyler Glassnow, and Blake Snell, the Dodgers maintain baseball's best record and run differential, showcasing their remarkable organizational depth. The discussion centers on potential challengers through a three-round draft format. Gonzalez selects the Atlanta Braves first, citing their offensive firepower with Matt Olson and Ronald Acuña Jr., elite bullpen trio, and rotation anchored by Chris Sale, though they need Spencer Strider to return from injury. Castillo chooses the New York Yankees second, highlighting their ability to overcome injuries to Aaron Judge and others while getting MVP-caliber performances from Ben Rice and Cy Young favorite Kam Schlittler. The conversation also explores whether the Dodgers will pursue Tigers ace Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, with debate about whether adding him would be a strategic necessity or simply preventing a competitor from acquiring him.
Key takeaways
- 01The Dodgers have overcome massive injuries to key players like Kyle Tucker, Edwin Diaz, Tyler Glassnow, and Blake Snell while maintaining baseball's best record and run differential, demonstrating unprecedented organizational depth
- 02The Atlanta Braves emerge as the top Dodgers challenger with strong offense, an elite bullpen trio of Suarez-Iglesias-Lee, but require Spencer Strider's return from injury to truly compete
- 03The New York Yankees, led by Cy Young frontrunner Kam Schlittler and MVP candidate Ben Rice (both low-profile draft picks), have the American League's best record despite injuries to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton
- 04The trade deadline looms as crucial, with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal as the premier target, though debate exists whether the Dodgers truly need to add him given their returning injured stars
- 05The American League remains historically competitive with every team within 5.5 games of a playoff spot, creating unprecedented trade deadline uncertainty
Timestamps
Topics
Guests
Alden Gonzalez
ESPN baseball writer covering MLB, particularly knowledgeable about the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and their operations
Jorge Castillo
ESPN baseball writer, formerly covered the Dodgers for the LA Times, focuses on MLB teams and provides insider perspective on Yankees and National League teams
Companies mentioned
Quotes
"Kyle Tucker is getting paid $55 million this season, and he has been an average player. Edwin Diaz has not pitched since the middle of April. Tyler Glassnow and Blake Snell are out with injuries. They have been for a while and they will continue to be out with injuries. Mookie Betts has been bad. He's been bad. None of it matters."
— Alden Gonzalez
"At this point, they should just give out a trophy for the MVP runner-up because he's going to win it. You know, he's going to win MVP for the fifth time. And I think that would be a more interesting conversation. Who's going to finish in second place in MVP voting?"
— Jorge Castillo
"See, I'm torn with this buster because on one side, they don't need Tarek Skubo, but on the other side, they can get Tarek Skubo. And when you look at their roster, there are only certain players that would mean a meaningful improvement to their World Series chances."
— Alden Gonzalez
"The Phillies are the first team in Major League Baseball history to hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of three consecutive games."
— Buster Olney
Transcript
From athletic stuff like a full-court pickup game, swish, to athlet-ish stuff like a half-mile stroll. Get those steps in! Head to Sierra or Sierra.com for the brands you want at the prices that let you do it all. From athletic to athlet-ish, Sierra's got it. This is the Baseball Tonight podcast for Friday, June 26, 2026, presented by La Quinta by Wyndham. I'm Buster Only, working from my hotel room in rainy Boston on Friday morning. Kenny League and Taylor Schwenk are producing on this podcast today. Today, we've got a roundtable with Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo, VSPN. And we're going to kick around the biggest challengers to the Dodgers preeminence this year. And we're going to talk about what some of those teams, as we get closer to the trade deadline, might do. The Yankees, the Mariners, the Brewers, the Braves. We're going to do it in a draft-style format. We're each picking teams that we think represent the biggest challenges to the team that's dominated baseball over the last couple of years and, again, has the best record. Before we get to that and hear from our friends Todd Radom and Sarah Langs as well, just a few notes from Thursday's games. The Philadelphia Phillies had an absolute feast in Washington. They kept coming back in the late innings. On Thursday night, that was Bryce Harper hitting a home run. And after the Phillies won this game, our friend Sarah Langs sent out this note. The Phillies are the first team in Major League Baseball history to hit a g…