Fast forward to the wild card round of the postseason when not one, not two, but three teams from the AL Central made it to the playoffs. The Guardians finished with the second-most wins in the American League (92) and earned a first-round bye,

It’s very much that time of year again, which is to say that it’s time to prepare ourselves for the 2025 baseball season the same way we’ve done it for the last few years – by breaking down the 30 teams into a handful of nebulously defined tiers.

Entering the 2025 MLB season, it is the Los Angeles Dodgers and then everyone else -- on paper, at least. But that doesn't mean the rest of the league is going to roll over and let L.A. cruise to a second straight World Series title.