The Best Reinforcement Coming for Every NL Playoff Contender

Everyone knows the Major League Baseball schedule is a grind. 162 games in 186 days (for most teams) is no small feat.

Plenty, if not most, teams have suffered key injuries by the time they get to the end of the season. Now, with the playoffs creeping up, several contenders are looking to get back some key contributors in time for the postseason.

Here is a look at every playoff contender in the National League and the best player that each of them should get back from injury in the coming weeks. (We covered the best reinforcements for every AL contender earlier this week.)

To clarify, these are players who are more likely than not to return this season. For example, Félix Bautista of the Orioles is not in consideration even though he threw a bullpen recently because Baltimore’s front office has never wavered from the decision that he will be out for the entire 2024 season.

Stats updated prior to games on September 11.

Philadelphia Phillies

Alec Bohm – 3B (Out since August 29th)

Season Stats: .290/.343/.462, 13 HR, 89 RBI, 122 wRC+, 3.9 fWAR

Alec Bohm is having far and away his best season in the majors. When he first came up, there were a lot of questions about how much he would impact the ball. Would he be able to slug enough as a major league third baseman?

This year, he answered that question with a resounding yes, posting a .462 slugging percentage before he landed on the IL. Among qualified third basemen, that mark ranks fifth highest.

Despite only hitting 13 home runs, his league-leading 44 doubles have boosted his slugging numbers. His 59 extra-base hits this season are tied for 20th in all of baseball.

Long story short, Bohm is one of the best hitters on the Phillies and one of the best contact hitters in all of baseball.

He recently came down with a hand sprain that landed him on the 10-day IL. He has missed about a week and a half but has been taking grounders and should be back soon.

While it does not appear that Bohm will miss much more time, the Phillies are neck and neck with the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. The sooner they get Bohm back, the sooner he can make an impact.

With regards to the Phillies lineup, it is still one of the best in all of baseball even with Bohm on the shelf. However, when Bohm is healthy, it is the deepest lineup in the league. No disrespect to Johan Rojas, but when Bohm is healthy, one through eight in this Phillies order are all very dangerous hitters.

At the end of the day, there appears to be little concern that Bohm won’t be back sooner rather than later. This is great news for the Phillies and bad news for everyone who they meet in the postseason.

Honorable Mention

Austin Hays – OF (Out since September 2nd)

Season Stats: .254/.305/.388, 96 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR

Austin Hays currently has a kidney infection, but it sounds like he should be back soon. His numbers may not look great overall, but he is a completely different hitter against lefties. Hitting .350/.402/.538 with a 165 wRC+ against southpaws makes him very valuable in a part-time role.

New York Mets

Kodai Senga – RHP (Out since July 26th)

Season Stats: 5.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 1.78 FIP

Kodai Senga has only started one game for the Mets this season. That one start came at the end of July, and he ended up leaving with calf tightness.

Despite not having their best starter with them for almost the entirety of the season, the Mets find themselves one game up on the Braves for the last NL playoff spot.

Most recently, Senga threw a 25-pitch bullpen and seems to be making his way back. It seems like the end of the regular season is a long shot, but his return in time for the playoffs should be realistic. If he can, in fact, return for the Mets, they will be a really tough out.

The Mets’ current playoff rotation sets up as Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, and David Peterson. Being able to drop either Peterson or Quintana to the bullpen for Senga would be a big improvement.

This season, the Mets rotation ranks 14th in ERA and 21st in FIP. Those numbers rank fourth and sixth, respectively, among the seven NL playoff contenders, which does not bode well.

Furthermore, the last team to have its starting rotation rank outside the top 10 in regular season ERA and win the World Series was the Kansas City Royals in 2015.

Senga just might be enough to help push this Mets rotation over the top and into a much better position to compete for a World Series.

Honorable Mention

Christian Scott – RHP (Out since July 21st)

Season Stats: 47.1 IP, 4.56 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 7.42 K/9, 2.28 BB/9

The Mets lost their rookie starter after just nine starts in the majors. Scott had not had enough time to find his footing before suffering an elbow sprain. He looks to be working his way back and should be ready to go in time for the playoffs.

Scott probably doesn’t crack the playoff rotation for the Mets but should be a valuable piece out of the bullpen.

Atlanta Braves

Ozzie Albies – 2B (Out since July 21st)

Season Stats: .258/.310/.407, 98 wRC+, 1.1 fWAR

The Atlanta Braves have been almost unrecognizable as of late. They seem to have gone from a juggernaut to effectively the National League version of the Mariners.

The pitching in Atlanta has been excellent this season. As a staff, they lead the majors in ERA, FIP, and fWAR. The issue is that what should be one of the more powerful offenses in the league has been really struggling.

On offense this season, the Braves rank 16th in runs scored, 18th in wRC+, and 13th in OPS. This team has relied heavily on its pitching staff, and as a result, is now fighting for the last playoff spot with the Mets.

If the Braves offense cannot get going, it could spell disaster for a team that was one of the World Series favorites to start the year.

Albies appears to be making his way back to Atlanta. He was recently taking ground balls and has been hitting in a batting cage. However, he is currently experiencing some discomfort with his left-handed swing, which could delay his return.

Albies has long been one of the Braves’ most consistent hitters at the plate and one of the better hitting second basemen in MLB during his career. Despite his numbers being down a little this season, he is still doing one thing incredibly well and that is hitting lefties.

His 151 wRC+ and .343 batting average against lefties tell you all that you really need to know. If Albies can get back into this lineup for the final couple weeks of the regular season, it could be the difference between the Braves making and missing the playoffs.

Honorable Mention

Austin Riley – 3B (Out since August 18th)

Season Stats: .256/.322/.461, 116 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR

Riley lands as the honorable mention because there still does not appear to be a clear timetable for his return. As he nurses a fractured hand, the Braves are holding out hope that he can make it back, but there is a very real chance that he is lost for the season.

Similarly to Albies, the Braves desperately need Riley’s bat back in the lineup for the postseason.

Milwaukee Brewers

None

The Milwaukee Brewers do not have a real impact player on the IL who is going to make it back this season.

Christian Yelich is out for the year with back surgery, which is truly unfortunate. He was looking like his old self again, and this is one of the better Brewers teams of recent memory. It would have been incredible to see him in the postseason.

Three other names on the IL who will not make it back this season are Wade Miley, Robert Gasser, and Brandon Woodruff. The Brewers starting pitching has been good but far from great. They rank 12th in ERA and 26th in fWAR.

The Brewers have suffered some key, season-ending injuries this year. They are going to have to approach the postseason with what they have.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Tyler Glasnow – RHP (Out since August 11th)

Season Stats: 134 IP, 3.49 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 11.28 K/9, 2.35 BB/9

This has been the best season of Glasnow’s career. Despite landing on the IL in early August, he has already hit his career best in innings pitched, games started, strikeouts, and fWAR. He was a serious Cy Young candidate, looking like one of the best pitchers in baseball before going down with elbow tendinitis.

The Dodgers have suffered some horrific injury luck this season when it comes to pitching. Currently, they have Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, and Gavin Stone all on the IL. They only just recently got Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto back from injury.

The Dodgers currently rank 16th in starter ERA. As mentioned in the Mets’ section, a team outside the top 10 in starter ERA has not won a World Series since the Royals in 2015. If there is a team that can do it, it is certainly this Dodgers team, but having Glasnow back for the postseason would help immensely.

Prior to Glasnow going down, the Dodgers were 9th in starter ERA. They have obviously taken a downturn after losing their best pitcher.

Glasnow is set to throw a simulated game to live hitters this weekend, which is a great sign for the Dodgers.

Honorable Mention

Clayton Kershaw – LHP (Out since August 30th)

Season Stats: 30 IP, 4.50 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 0.6 fWAR

I almost went with Tony Gonsolin here, just because of how unique of a weapon he can be for a pitching staff. However, coming off of Tommy John surgery, there is a fair bit of uncertainty with him.

Clayton Kershaw obviously has a reputation surrounding his performance in the postseason. I don’t care about that, because he is still Clayton freaking Kershaw. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the best pitcher of my lifetime. If healthy for the postseason he will be a difference maker for the Dodgers.

San Diego Padres

Ha-Seong Kim – INF (Out since August 18th)

Season Stats: .233/.330/.370, 101 wRC+, 22 SB, 2.6 fWAR

The Padres are approaching the postseason in really good shape. They are healthy with the exception of Kim, who landed on the IL in August with shoulder inflammation.

With Kim going down, the Padres have moved Xander Bogaerts back to shortstop in his stead. As you can see, a lot of the value that Kim brings is on defense. He has been a league-average hitter this season, but he was well on pace for more than 3.0 fWAR this season.

Kim is also an excellent baserunner. He had picked up 22 stolen bases prior to going down and had been caught just five times. The Padres certainly miss having Kim in the lineup, but they have been able to play well without him.

The most recent update on Kim says that he is not as far along in his recovery as the Padres would like. It remains unclear if he will be able to return for the final couple of weeks of the regular season or if the Padres will have to hold out hope for a postseason return.

Even without Kim, this Padres team looks poised to compete for a World Series this fall.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Gabriel Moreno – C (Out since August 5th)

Season Stats: .262/.344/.385, 105 wRC+, 2.3 fWAR

Moreno is one of the best young catchers in all of baseball. He is solid offensively, and even when he isn’t firing on all cylinders in the batter’s box, he is an excellent defender. The Diamondbacks have been without their young backstop since early August due to a strained groin.

Arizona has held up okay without him behind the dish. Adrian Del Castillo and Jose Herrera have been splitting the catching duties in Moreno’s absence. Del Castillo has been a pleasant surprise. It has only been 78 plate appearances, but he is hitting .282 with a 122 wRC+ during this brief stint.

This Diamondbacks offense is really starting to take off, especially with Corbin Carroll returning to form. The final piece for this roster will be a healthy Moreno. On the season, the D-backs are a top-five offense in numerous categories including runs scored, wRC+, OPS, batting average, and fWAR.

Moreno has been running at about 80% and caught a bullpen on Wednesday. He appears to be nearing a return just in time for the playoffs.

With Moreno and newfound surprise Del Castillo handling the catching duties, this D-backs team is going to be very scary come October. They are coming off a World Series loss in a season in which no one, including themselves, expected them to get there.

This year, the Diamondbacks have higher expectations and certainly won’t be satisfied with anything less than a championship.

Honorable Mention

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – OF (Out since September 1st)

Season Stats: .274/.316/.428, 105 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR

Gurriel suffered a calf strain recently that landed him on the IL. He has been hitting off of a pitching machine and is set to begin running on Thursday. His 140 wRC+ against lefties makes him one of the better platoon bats in baseball.

He should return soon and will be an important part of another Diamondbacks playoff run.