MLB playoffs 2024: Offseason questions for eliminated teams - ESPN

There's nothing quite like wild-card week. The 2024 MLB playoffs began Tuesday with a best-of-three first round featuring eight teams battling to move on to their league's division series.

The first team to go? After an incredible seven straight trips to the American League Championship Series, the Houston Astros were swept in the wild-card round by the Detroit Tigers.

Whether your team's playoff departure comes in the opening days or after a long run, let's look ahead to what could be on the front office's to-do list heading into the offseason. ESPN MLB experts Alden Gonzalez, Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield identify the free agents to watch, key priorities and a question that will shape the coming months for each eliminated squad.

Did your favorite team miss the postseason altogether? We dove into what went wrong for each non-playoff team — and how to fix it.

Key free agents: 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Justin Verlander, LHP Yusei Kikuchi

Biggest offseason priority: Fill out the corners. This need begins with the likely pursuit of franchise cornerstone Bregman, who means so much to the Astros, on the field and off. He's not the kind of player you can replace easily with mere production, but you do need to replace the production if he leaves. The Astros also have a need across the diamond, as they've struggled for consistent first base impact since the Jose Abreu signing went south. You could also argue that, given Yordan Alvarez's cumbersome knees, that a full-time DH plan would make sense, and then you'd have to make sure you have enough in left field.

How high can the payroll get and how long can it remain this high? The Astros have been so good about finding pitching production that even with Verlander's apparent