MLB playoffs 2025: Offseason questions for eliminated teams - ESPN

The 2025 MLB playoffs are here — and for some teams, October is going to last a lot longer than it is for some others.

We start with the wild-card round, where the Cincinnati Reds became the first team eliminated from postseason contention — on the very first day of October, no less — with a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

What's next for Cincinnati and for the rest of the cities that won't be celebrating a World Series parade this fall? As each team is eliminated, ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez and David Schoenfield will list that club's key free agents, biggest offseason questions and make their predictions for the long, cold winter ahead.

Eliminated by: Dodgers

Key free agents: RHP Nick Martinez, RHP Emilio Pagan

Biggest offseason priority: Flipping their home run differential. The Reds badly need middle-of-the-order power, the kind that will better align their lineup with the longball-friendly vagaries of Great American Ballpark. The Reds gave up 25 more homers than they hit in 2025, postseason included, the fifth-worst differential in the majors. That differential was minus-18 at home. The Reds have the pitching they need to win the AL Central, but they need a major uptick in firepower to support the arms. With Martinez's salary coming off the books, Cincinnati has a wide-open payroll, which — one would think — means lots of flexibility, whether it's a free agency splurge or a high-impact trade.

Is it time to really unleash this rotation? The Reds have collected quite a collection of high-upside young pitchers. Some of them have established themselves in the majors — Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott. Abbott had a career season in 2025 but Greene still hasn't paired his dominance with