Throughout spring training the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed our favorite moves of the offseason. This week we're going to tackle teams we think will make a run at a postseason spot in 2023.
Which team missed the postseason last year but will make it this year?
Matt Snyder: I initially had the exact same 12 playoff teams, but that's incredibly boring so I'll come up with someone else. The best bets seem to be the Centrals, especially since a more balanced schedule means the win totals in these two less-than-great divisions very likely come down. The Brewers should push the Cardinals while the Twins will push the Guardians. Maybe one of the Chicago teams sneaks in, but it's a bridge too far for me on both of them.
I'll reluctantly go with the Brewers. They have a lot of question marks, but so do the Cardinals, especially on the pitching end.
R.J. Anderson: I'll say the Twins. The AL Central is a mess and is prone to turnover (three different champs the last three seasons). The Twins addressed their roster in a major way this winter, retaining Carlos Correa and adding Pablo López. They also will benefit from a full season of Tyler Mahle, and they should benefit from some better luck health-wise (they had the second most games lost to injury last season). There's certainly a lot of potential volatility with this roster -- how many games will Byron Buxton miss? What about Correa's ankle? -- but I think on paper they have a good chance at winning the AL Central.
Dayn Perry: Without actually entirely believing my own words, I'll say the Rangers. They made good high-end investments prior to the 2022 season, and this offseason they've swung big on the rotation. That's notable because it was a huge weakness last season. Yes, there's significant collapse potential in that new rotation, but there's also a great deal of upside. It says here they get lucky with health among their starting pitchers and snag a wild-card berth.
Mike Axisa: Against my better judgment, I will say the Angels. They didn't do anything splashy this offseason but they did upgrade several roster spots (Brandon Drury, Hunter Renfroe, Gio Urshela, etc.), so they (probably) won't have to give hundreds of plate appearances to guys like Matt Duffy, Andrew Velazquez, and Tyler Wade again. Their rotation is sneaky good too. I think they'll do everything in their power to contend in an effort to convince Shohei Ohtani to re-sign after the season, which means being aggressive (possibly even reckless?) at the deadline. The Angels haven't earned the benefit of the doubt, but I'll say they sneak into the postseason as the third wild-card team.
