Some teams design and develop. Some teams rule in free agency. Some dominate the trading season.
There’s no one-size-fits-all way to assemble a playoff-worthy roster, which is why diving into the construction of this year’s dozens of postseason clubs is even more fun.
Led by 2015 top-five players Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, the Astros are once again leading the way with 13 homegrown players on their projected 26-man postseason roster, which will be defined by those selected via the draft or as international new signings were won. That’s three more than any other club this year and is spread fairly well across the two processes (eight draft, five international). However, it is the Orioles, entering their first postseason since 2016, who boast the most drafted players with nine players, none bigger than 2019 selections Gunnar Henderson and Adleyrutschman.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Marlins, Rangers and Rays are likely to have the fewest homegrown players at five players each. Miami and Tampa Bay lead the trade category with 14 such players each, as the Rays hold a slight edge in collective Baseball Reference WAR (26.6-20.3) in that group. In comparison, the Rangers have been better in free agency – no surprise for a club that has signed Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Nathan Eovaldi in recent years. Only the Phillies (22.6-21.0) have a higher WAR from free-agent additions in 2023 among playoff teams.
Below is a detailed breakdown of how the 12 clubs were built heading into the 2023 Major League Baseball postseason. If a player was acquired by one team and then re-signed without moving to another team, he will be listed according to how he was originally acquired. All other players are sorted by how they were last added to their current roster.
RANGERS (49.8 WAR, 2nd among 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 5 (7.6 WAR)
• Draft: 2 (3.9 WAR)
• International: 3 (3.7 WAR)
Free agents: 8 (21.0 WAR)
Trades: 13 (2/21 WAR)
Despite having the fewest homegrown players and ranking last in draftees and draft WAR, the Rangers have the most productive playoff squad in the American League in terms of total WAR. The majority of their club was built through free agents and trades. Texas’ top two players (Marcus Semien, Corey Seager) and second-best pitcher (Nathan Eovaldi) were part of $685 million in free agent spending over the past two offseasons. The Rangers made several trades that seemed insignificant at the time but paid off hugely, signing Adolis García (in an all-cash deal with the Cardinals), Jordan Montgomery, Jonah Heim, Dane Dunning, Nathaniel Lowe and Mitch Garver . The internal outlook is improving, with rookie Josh Jung (eighth overall pick in 2019) becoming just the third All-Star signed and developed by Texas since 2004, and Evan Carter (a surprise second-rounder in 2020) providing the spark in the late season ensures. Leody Taveras highlights Rangers’ international efforts.
ASTROS (49.2 WAR, 3rd among 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 13 (30.2 WAR)
• Draft: 8 (20.6 WAR)
• International: 5 (9.6 WAR)
Free agents: 4 (2.9 WAR)
Trades: 9 (16.1 WAR)
The Astros have played in the last six American League Championship Series, winning four pennants and two World Series during that time, thanks in large part to their ability to find and develop amateur talent. No playoff team has more homegrown players or homegrown WAR than Houston. Their two best players, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, were among the top five overall players in 2015, and the Astros have drafted well in later rounds. They found Jeremy Peña in the third round in 2018 and stole Chas McCormick (21st round, 2017), JP France (14th round, 2018) and Jake Meyers (13th round, 2017). They have also discovered several bargains on the international market, most notably Framber Valdez (who signed for $10,000), Jose Altuve ($15,000) and Bryan Abreu ($40,000). Houston also did very well in trades, acquiring Yordan Alvarez from the Dodgers for Josh Fields and Yainer Diaz from the Guardians for Myles Straw, and completing two different deals for Justin Verlander. It ranks last among postseason clubs in free-agent production, with Hector Neris the only notable addition.
BLUE Jay (45.7 WAR, 6th among 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 9 (16.9 WAR)
• Draft: 7 (12.9 WAR)
• International: 2 (4.0 WAR)
Free agents: 8 (14.5 WAR)
Trades: 9 (14.3 WAR)
Toronto is heading into its third postseason in the last four years, and it should come as no surprise that this comes with the arrival of 2016 second-rounder Bo Bichette as a consistent offensive player. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was expected to be an even bigger homegrown star, albeit as an international signing, but has fallen somewhat from his spot as AL MVP two years ago. The Jays have supplemented this pair through trades (Matt Chapman, Daulton Varsho) and free agents (George Springer, Kevin Kiermaier), while the emergence of Davis Schneider has been a major developmental success for the organization. The rotation will be built largely by outside additions, led by free agent signing Kevin Gausman in 2022, while the bullpen will be more heavily represented on the home side with Jordan Romano and Tim Mayza leading the way. Overall, the Jays’ expected postseason roster is well-spread across the Homegrown, FA and Trades groups, proving there is a balanced path to success in the bigs.
TWINS (43.6 WAR, 7th among 12 teams)
Native: 10 (17.8 WAR)
• Draft: 8 (12.9 WAR)
• International: 2 (4.9 WAR)
Free agents: 7 (7.9 WAR)
Business: 9 (17.9 WAR)
The Twins have long been known as an organization that values homegrown talent, and this year is no exception. They are one of three playoff teams with double figures in this category, trailing only the Astros. A healthy Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis would give them their first-round picks from 2016 and 2017, but they also got help from later rounds, such as 18th rounder Edouard Julien and his 2.6 WAR. One could argue that no trade acquisition has helped a team more than Sonny Gray, who led the team with his 5.4 WAR, although they also acquired their closer, Jhoan Duran, via trade when he was still a prospect . Seven of the team’s playoff pitchers came via trade.
ORIOLES (42.4 WAR, 8th among 12 teams)
Native: 9 (21.1 WAR)
• Draft: 9 (21.1 WAR)
• International: 0
Free agents: 3 (3.0 WAR)
Business: 8th (10.5 WAR)
Disclaimers: 4 (3.1 WAR)
Rule 5: 2 (4.7)
While they don’t lead in overall homegrown talent, the Orioles have more original draftees than any other playoff team. The top of the 2019 draft class will be talked about for a long time, with Adleyrutschman and Gunnar Henderson combining for 10.6 WAR alone. The O’s may not have made a big trade, but Kyle Bradish and his 4.9 WAR certainly make Dylan Bundy’s trade to the Angels look smart. Mike Elias and company are certainly not afraid to take unusual routes to acquire talent, making four waiver claims (Ramón Urías leads this group with 2.6 WAR this year) and two Rule 5 picks (Anthony Santander had 3.0 WAR in 2023) to build this roster.
RADIANCE (39.3 WAR, 10th out of 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 5 (5.3 WAR)
• Draft: 3 (5.2 WAR)
• International: 2 (0.1 WAR)
Free agents: 5 (5.6 WAR)
Trades: 14 (26.6 WAR)
Rule 5: 1 (0.8 WAR)
Disclaimers: 1 (1.0 WAR)
While the Rays have long been known for their great farm systems, they do a better job of acquiring talent from outside the organization and then developing them internally than drafting/signing and developing them, as evidenced by the numbers above. The additions of Curtis Mead (originally in the Philadelphia system) and Junior Caminero (originally in the Cleveland system) – both acquired at the complex levels – certainly underscore this point. The club’s three best players from WAR – Yandy Díaz, Isaac Paredes, Randy Arozarena – were also signed via trades, even though they had already seen the majors at the time of their move. Zach Eflin was Tampa Bay’s biggest free-agent signing in franchise history last offseason, at three years and $40 million, and he proved to be a stalwart in the rotation during his first season in the AL East.
Brave (55.4 WAR, 1st among 12 teams)
Native: 8th (28.4 WAR)
• Draft: 6 (15.5 WAR)
• International: 2 (12.9 WAR)
Free agents: 6 (5.0 WAR)
Business: 11 (22.3 WAR)
Disclaimers: 1 (-0.3 WAR)
The Braves lead all playoff teams in WAR heading into the postseason, with that massive starting lineup a big reason why, accounting for 36.7 of that 55.4 WAR. Although there are only two international players, they are the big ones in Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies, a pair that nearly matches the WAR output of the Braves draftees on the roster, a group led by Austin Riley. This playoff squad certainly got some help from the A’s via trade, bringing in Matt Olson just before the start of the 2022 season and Sean Murphy last offseason. This All-Star duo was responsible for 11.0 WAR alone.
PHILLIES (47.6 WAR, 4th among 12 teams)
Native: 7 (11.9 WAR)
• Draft: 4 (6.8 WAR)
• International: 3 (5.1 WAR)
Free agents: 10 (22.6 WAR)
Business: 9 (13.1 WAR)
No team used the free agent market more than the Phillies, with the top 10 players in the playoffs using this route. Starter Zack Wheeler (4.3 WAR) actually leads this group, ahead of Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. The Phillies took advantage of the trade market almost as much, a group led by JT Realmuto, who they then signed to a long-term free agent contract after acquiring him from the Marlins. Brandon Marsh was an almost equally valuable trade acquisition. A relatively small draft group is led by former first-rounder Bryson Stott, whose WAR of 4.1 trails only Wheeler on the roster.
DODGERS (45.9 WAR, 5th among 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 7 (14.6 WAR)
• Draft: 7 (14.6 WAR)
• International: 0
Free agents: 7 (17.1 WAR)
Trades: 12 (14.2 WAR)
The Dodgers reach the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season and become the first team in big league history to win 100 games in four consecutive full seasons. Their success comes from a mixed approach, with homegrown talent, free agents and trades contributing equally to this year’s club. Los Angeles combines winning and development better than any other franchise, and rookies James Outman, Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot – all draftees – will play important roles this postseason. This also applies to former first-round picks Will Smith and Clayton Kershaw. However, the Dodgers’ two biggest stars came from a trade (Mookie Betts) and the free agent market (Freddie Freeman). The club is working well with margins, originally signing Max Muncy as a minor league free agent, grabbing Brusdar Graterol in an offshoot of the Betts deal and claiming Evan Phillips off waivers. Although Los Angeles has a track record of finding international talent, no one on its playoff roster came from that source.
BREWER (40.4 WAR, 9th among 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 8th (13.2 WAR)
• Draft: 7 (12.2 WAR)
• International: 1 (1.0 WAR)
Free agents: 5 (7.0 WAR)
Trades: 13 (20.2 WAR)
With names like Jackson Chourio, Jeferson Quero and Tyler Black, the day could come when the core of the Milwaukee playoff roster is even more homegrown. For now, however, half of the projected playoff roster came from trades alone, including William Contreras, Christian Yelich, Willy Adames and Carlos Santana – four of the club’s top five players per bWAR. The pitching corps features the bulk of the homegrown talent heading into the playoffs, starting with Corbin Burnes in the rotation and Devin Williams and Abner Uribe (the group’s only international addition) in the bullpen. This is the first major league postseason for Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell and Brice Turang.
D BACKS (38.8 WAR, 11th out of 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 10 (10.6 WAR)
• Draft: 7 (8.1 WAR)
• International: 3 (2.5 WAR)
Free agents: 5 (4.3 WAR)
Trades: 9 (19.7 WAR)
Disclaimers: 2 (4.2 WAR)
Corbin Carroll (5.5), a first-rounder in 2019, accounts for more than half of Arizona’s domestic WAR total, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that his likely NL Rookie of the Year campaign will include its first postseason The club’s journey since coincides with 2017. The D-backs continue to appear wise in acquiring Cy Young candidate Zac Gallen and five-win player Ketel Marte in trades – the latter of which has a five-year extension in March 2022 signed. Gabriel Moreno – the major league leader with a 38.6 percent caught steal rate – could look even better as a trade accelerator if he adds more offense in the future. The smartest move of all may still have been signing Christian Walker — first, last year’s NL Gold Glove winner and owner of consecutive 30-homer seasons — off waivers from the Reds in March 2017.
MARLINS (34.6 WAR, 12th out of 12 teams)
Home cultivation: 5 (8.0 WAR)
• Draft: 3 (5.8 WAR)
• International: 2 (2.2 WAR)
Free agents: 7 (6.3 WAR)
Trades: 14 (20.3 WAR)
On paper, the Marlins may have the least productive postseason roster, but they will fortunately be making the playoffs for only the fourth time in their 31 full seasons of existence. They have the same share of the fewest domestic players and are balanced by the share of the most trade acquisitions. Their best player (National League batting champion Luis Arraez) and pitcher (Jesús Luzardo) came via trade, as did co-closer Tanner Scott and slugger Jake Burger. (The same goes for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who is out with an elbow injury.) Miami has had much more success signing and developing pitchers than hitters, drafting Braxton Garrett (No. 7 overall on the year 2016) and Andrew Nardi (16th round in 2019) and Edward Cabrera from the Dominican Republic in 2015 with a $100,000 bonus. Marlins don’t spend a lot of money on free agents and Jon Berti is their highlight on this acquisition route .