Kuzul

Already this October, we have laid out our big board of the top 25 free agents set to hit the market this offseason, broken things down to the top five free agents at each position, looked at a potential fix for each team’s biggest weakness and cautioned with a potential roadblock each team could face this winter.

Now, it’s prediction time.

What follows is a look at my best guess for each MLB team’s biggest move of the upcoming offseason.

Free-agent signings, trades and in-house contract extensions were all considered here, with the “biggest” being viewed as the one that will have the greatest impact on the team in 2016 and beyond.

Are all of these predictions going to come to fruition? Almost certainly not, but based on team need and available options, they appear to at least be realistic options at this point.

Begin Slideshow

It’s been a long time coming for the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals, but one of the two will end a treacherous title drought in the 2015 World Series.

The Royals came suffocatingly close to doing just that this time last year, when they took the San Francisco Giants the distance in a seven-game championship series. While they haven’t won the title since 1985, the Mets won it in 1986 and haven’t been back to the promised land since.

No matter how this one shakes out, a long time of suffering will end for a rabid fanbase. Let’s take a look into everything for the 2015 World Series.

2015 World Series Dates and TV Info

World Series Preview

They came so close in 2000 during the Subway Series and have flirted with contention once or twice since then, but the New York Mets finally appear to have found that championship gear.

It all begins on the back of some stellar pitching. While the rest of baseball tries to throw $30-million-a-year contracts at the biggest arms in the game, the Mets have proven you can grow a top-caliber rotation on your own.

Per Spotrac, the rotation of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey is costing the Mets no more than $614,125 per player. Not only is the trio proving the best value in sports, but they’re also looking like one of the best rotations ever assembled, per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America:

New York needed every bit of that standout pitching throughout part of the season when the bats simply weren’t coming together, and that’s put the Mets alone in history, as John Buccigross of ESPN reported:

Of course, now things are coming together quite well in the Mets lineup. Trade-deadline acquisition Yoenis Cespedes is knocking the cover off the ball, while Daniel Murphy is in the midst of an all-time record six straight postseason games with a home run.

Tasked with slowing down that lineup—and finding a way to get past that scary pitching—are the Kansas City Royals.

As much as Kansas City struggled with Houston’s Dallas Keuchel in the American League Division Series, the Royals showed a daunting lineup isn’t to worry about. Against by far the most prolific offense in baseball in the American League Championship Series, Kansas City took down the Toronto Blue Jays by scoring in bunches.

It marked the Royals’ second straight AL pennant, as MLB Network showed:

Both clubs have shown throughout this exciting postseason that they can rise up above stiff challenges and also soundly beat clubs that have it going. It should make for a star-studded clash come Game 1 in Kansas City, when the Royals will begin their two-game homestand before turning to the Big Apple for three more.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

UPDATE: Royals manager Ned Yost named Edinson Volquez the Game 1 starter for Kansas City after this went live. This article has been updated.

One of these teams is four wins away from winning a World Series for the first time since the Reagan administration.

The New York Mets, behind their young stud pitchers and the magician Daniel Murphy, will be in Kansas City on Tuesday night to take on a Kansas City Royals team that looks to avenge last year’s heartbreaking seven-game loss in the Fall Classic to the San Francisco Giants.

Matt Harvey will get the ball for the Mets in Game 1. As of Sunday afternoon, Royals manager Ned Yost has yet to name a starter. Edinson Volquez will be getting the ball for the Royals.

Here are the details you’ll need to know for Tuesday.

New York Mets at Kansas City Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET

At the beginning of the year, the Royals seemed to be a lock to make it back to the World Series. The Mets, on the other hand, were not. New York wasn’t even projected to win the National League East, let alone come close to a playoff spot.

Most experts predicted the Washington Nationals to run away with the division. Alas, here we are. The Nationals are looking for a new manager, and the Mets are playing for their first World Series since the ball went through Bill Buckner’s legs in 1986.

Harvey has pitched only two games this postseason, which is a good thing for manager Terry Collins. He’s been able to keep Harvey fresh while monitoring his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The Mets ace will pitch for the first time in nine days on Tuesday. He went 7.2 innings in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 17.

Collins has plenty of confidence in his young arms, per ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin.

“We like going into Kansas City with our Nos. 1 and 2 guys,” Collins said. “Noah has pitched great at home. We thought that’s a good mix. And obviously we think Steven Matz showed us, even though it hasn’t been the depth into the games like he’s going to do in the future, for four or five innings he’s been pretty good.”

The task for Harvey is to cool the hot bats of the two-time AL Champs. ALCS MVP Alcides Escobar batted 11-for-23 in the six games against Toronto.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick detailed just how much of an impact Escobar made against the Blue Jays.

The middle of Kansas City’s lineup can get hot at any moment, particularly Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon. Although the Royals’ stars batted .250 and .263, respectively, Harvey allowed 15 home runs this year to left-handed hitters. Those two are key to getting Kansas City off to a hot start on Tuesday.

For the Mets, it’s no surprise their offense begins and ends with Daniel Murphy. The man who has homered in six straight postseason games will be asked to carry the offense once again in Game 1. He won’t be able to beat the Royals by himself, though. David Wright went 4-for-14 against the Cubs, and Curtis Granderson was no better, batting 3-for-15. 

This is the first time this postseason the Mets are facing a team with successful postseason experience. As the series rolls on, New York may be able to settle down and make this a competitive series. But the Royals are at home, and that alone gives them an advantage.

Prediction: Kansas City 5, New York 3

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Blue is the color in baseball this postseason. The final four teams remaining all have blue as their primary team color. The Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays fell by the wayside, leaving two survivors.

The New York Mets will represent the National League against the American League’s Kansas City Royals in what could be an epic World Series.

Here’s the schedule for the entire series, per MLB.com

Schedule

• Game 1: at Kansas City, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 2: at Kansas City, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 3: at New York, Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 4: at New York, Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 5 (if necessary): at New York, Sunday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 6 (if necessary): at Kansas City, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 8 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 7 (if necessary): at Kansas City, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 8 p.m. ET on FOX

Players to Watch

Daniel Murphy

Pitching has been the Mets’ most high-profile quality this postseason. Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard have been dominant. Even with their excellent play, a blazing hot position player is the man to watch.

It’s almost impossible to imagine someone being hotter than Daniel Murphy. The New York Mets’ 30-year-old second baseman has been an exemplary player and leader throughout the postseason. He’s homered in six straight games and seven times in the postseason overall.

Murphy is hitting .421, and he’s driven in 11 runs in nine playoff games. Per Peter Botte of New York Daily News, Murphy was asked by reporters, what planet he’s from. Murphy said: “Earth … planet Earth … Jacksonville, Florida. You guys get to use all the adjectives, that’s above my pay grade.”

It’ll be tough for Murphy to maintain the pace he’s set for himself, but there’s no question the Mets organization and its fans hope it lasts another series.

Alcides Escobar

Many times, an effective leadoff man wreaks havoc with his legs and on-base percentage, drawing walks on a consistent basis. American League Championship Series MVP Alcides Escobar hasn’t drawn a walk or stolen a base yet in the postseason.

He’s instead done his work with the bat.

His batting average in the postseason is .386, and his on-base percentage is still .408 despite not receiving a walk. Escobar has only been in two postseasons in his career, but he has created a habit of playing big when it matters most.

In 26 postseason games, Escobar is hitting .330 with a .348 on-base percentage. Royals manager Ned Yost knows the 28-year-old Venezuelan can be inconsistent during the regular season, but the lifetime .262 hitter flips the proverbial switch in the postseason.

Per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), Yost said: 

“He’s such a talented player. But with the grind of a 162-game season, there are little periods where his focus will tend to waver a little bit. But during the playoffs, he just locks in. And when he’s focused, he’s as good as any player in the league.”

Leading up to the ALCS, Escobar has proven his manager correct.

X-Factors

David Wright

There was a time when David Wright would’ve been in the section just above this one. Wright was one of the game’s top hitters in the mid-2000s, but injuries have threatened his career and made him a decreased version of who he was before.

Against the Cubs, he scored five runs in four games, as he was routinely on base for Murphy’s heroics. Wright is hitting just .167 in the postseason, but he must continue to be willing to take walks so that he can give Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes opportunities to drive in runs.

Wright must also continue to play high-level defense at third base. A leaping catch in Game 4 against the Cubs helped stuff a potential Chicago rally.

Wright’s role may not be the same one he was expected to play in 2006—when he struggled to a .216 batting average in the playoffs—but the Mets still need him to do his part for this team.

Ben Zobrist

There was quite a competition for Ben Zobrist‘s services earlier this season, per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. The Royals won the derby as they completed a deal with the Oakland Athletics for the 34-year-old veteran. Zobrist has paid major dividends, especially in the postseason.

He is hitting .326 with 10 runs scored, and he has driven in six runs in the playoffs. His production has only augmented the work from Escobar.

The Royals’ lineup doesn’t have big boppers with 30 home runs. This group is a sum of its parts, and Zobrist‘s role as a No. 2 hitter has fit in perfectly. He must continue to usher RBI opportunities to Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Kendrys Morales if the lineup is to continue functioning like a well-oiled machine.

Prediction

If a team is looking to string together huge innings against the Mets’ stellar pitching staff, it won’t find success. The top three starters are too good for teams to expect to tally multiple hits against them in an inning.

The Royals have a lineup that is capable of playing small ball and even hitting the occasional, timely long ball. That’s the best profile to get to the Mets’ young stud pitchers.

Top to bottom, the Royals’ staff can’t match the Mets’ young and nasty group. However, the experience and chemistry of the Royals’ staff—and team as a whole—will prove to be too much.

The Royals will capture the World Series title that eluded them last season in an entertaining series that ends in six games.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Either way, a long championship drought is going to end in the 2015 World Series with the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals both looking to break through as the top club in baseball.

The Royals came drastically close to doing so this time last year, when the San Francisco Giants edged them in a seven-game championship series. They navigated through the treacherous American League for the second straight year and will enjoy the home-stadium advantage after the AL took the All-Star Game during the summer.

As for New York, it has ridden unhittable pitching and timely bats to its first World Series appearance since 2000—when the Mets faced the New York Yankees in the Subway Series. They’re looking for just their third world title ever and the first since 1986.

Here’s a look into everything you need to know for the World Series.

2015 World Series Schedule

Odds to Win World Series

Preview

Rewind back to Game 4 of the American League Divisional Series, and even the most optimistic Royals fans would have to be somewhat surprised at where things stand entering the World Series.

Kansas City was on the ropes, a mere nine outs away from elimination, as the Royals trailed the series 2-1 to the Houston Astros and were down 6-2 entering the seventh inning. A four-run deficit matched the largest the club had overcome throughout the entire season, and that only happened once.

Elimination seemed so inevitable that national media had already counted them out, including Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports, who crafted a tweet he likely regrets now:

One blistering comeback later, followed by a dominant Game 5 and a gut-check six-game victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, and the Royals are sitting just four wins shy of their first world championship in 30 years. 

Against the boisterous Blue Jays offense, the small-ball Royals proved they can put up runs at a high rate to more than match baseball’s most dangerous bats. Kansas City scored a total of 38 runs in its six ALCS games, including a 14-2 win in Toronto in Game 4.

But it took clutch play to dispose of the Blue Jays, which Eric Hosmer provided by knocking in the series-winning RBI to bring home Lorenzo Cain in the eighth inning of Game 6, as the Royals’ Twitter noted:

After reasons for concern throughout the ALDS, the Royals’ magic has returned. But they aren’t the only ones entering the World Series feeling like fate is on their side.

The Mets also feel that sensation, after handling the Chicago Cubs in a four-game NLCS sweep that hardly even looked competitive. With two clubs facing off that are a few years ahead of schedule and aiming to end a long stretch of disappointment, New York looked more than ready for the moment.

Even though all of their standout pitchers in the rotation are in the midst of their first postseason experience, it’s not showing. As noted by Fox Sports Live, they look like veterans:

Thanks to their quick sweep of Chicago, the Mets got a few extra days to rest while the Royals battled it out through Thursday night’s Game 6 clincher. That gives their valuable arms the opportunity to come in fresh, which will have Matt Harvey step onto the mound first, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported:

The Mets obviously have the pitching edge on paper, but the Royals should be able to match it at times with their own reliable arms. Johnny Cueto is finally proving his worth after a midseason trade, while Wade Davis is perhaps the only closer who can stand toe-to-toe with the Mets’ Jeurys Familia.

Another Royals starter, Yordano Ventura, won’t appear right away after pitching in Game 6 of the ALCS. But his ability to get ahead in the strike count and make batters bite on that daunting breaking ball could be a game-changer.

There’s no telling how things will go in this World Series between two clubs that few could have expected to be the last two standing for the title. But with what each roster brings to the table, it’s safe to say baseball faithful will be graced with an exciting conclusion to the season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

One way or another, the 2015 World Series is going to result in a party three decades in the making.

On one side is the New York Mets, who are looking to win the Fall Classic for the first time since 1986. On the other side is the Kansas City Royals, who are looking to win it all for the first time since the franchise’s first and only title in 1985.

Want to get up to speed on the matchup and be told very specifically how it’ll all shake out?

Well, you’ve come to the right place.

With the World Series set to kick off at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday, we’re here to preview the action by looking at lineups, rotations and X-factors. We’ll also break down some key matchups and end with a set of game-by-game predictions.

Step into the box whenever you’re ready.

Begin Slideshow

Turns out Marty McFly didn’t need to go anywhere to predict the 2015 World Series matchup.

Back in 1985, the Kansas City Royals won their last World Series title, but nobody needed an almanac to realize the New York Mets were close. A year after winning 98 games, they captured their franchise’s second championship in 1986.

In the 29 years since, neither flying hoverboards nor more hardware for these franchises materialized. While the overachieving Royals weren’t expected to defend their American League crown, the Mets looked another year away from making serious noise. Now one will win it all.

As of now, Vegas can’t decide which club to back. Kansas City won five more games during the season and boast home-field advantage, but the Mets completely revamped their offense down the stretch. They also have a dominating pitching nucleus that will look to stymie the Royals’ hot hitters during the Fall Classic.

World Series Preview

They say pitching wins championships, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Just look at the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost a best-of-five series with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke pitching four times. Not only does everyone else have to cooperate, but the hurlers have to deliver, which is far from a guarantee.

The Mets’ young aces are making good on that mantra, firing on all cylinders through two rounds. They’ve limited the opposition to 2.9 runs per game, accruing 91 strikeouts and 22 walks through 80 innings. With Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey or Noah Syndergaard on the hill, they’ve won seven of eight playoff bouts, triumphing in all but the Chase Utley game.

Hey, remember when Harvey was going to shut it down after 180 innings? Any restrictions are apparently down the drain. After tossing 7.2 masterful frames in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, the 26-year-old righty has logged 202 innings this season.

The narrative has shifted from “Will he pitch in the postseason?” to “Can he make two starts in the NLCS?” to “Should he take three turns in the World Series?” Surprisingly enough, it’s wasn’t initially out of the question. According to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, manager Terry Collins gave serious thought to having Harvey open the series on Tuesday and continuing on short rest:

He eventually decided on a four-man rotation including Steven Matz, but Harvey will indeed start the festivities. ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin confirmed the order on Saturday:

Regardless of who’s on the mound, the Mets will have a hard-throwing phenom take the hill every night. They’ll need to sustain their scorching stretch to finish the job. Leading all playoff contestants with a .777 OPS and 5.7 runs per game, the Royals are no pushovers at the plate.

Per BaseballSavant.com’s Daren Willman, the Royals are well-equipped to handle the heat:

The Royals drew the fewest walks in baseball this season, and only the Washington Nationals yielded fewer free passes than the Mets. Their contact ways worked against the Toronto Blue Jays, as Alcides Escobar collected 11 hits from the leadoff spot.

Royals manager Ned Yost, who lucked into success batting the shortstop first despite his putrid .293 on-base percentage, praised his player after seizing the pennant, per the Associated Press, via ESPN.com.

“He’s such a talented player,” Yost said. “But with the grind of a 162-game season, there are little periods where his focus will tend to waver a little bit. But during the playoffs, he just locks in. And when he’s focused, he’s as good as any player in the league.”

Then again, Escobar morphing into Ichiro Suzuki isn’t less likely than Daniel Murphy turning into Barry Bonds with seven postseason home runs. The winner will receive noteworthy production from an unlikely source, and a big name or two will probably falter on the losing side.

New York’s nasty pitching against Kansas City’s aggressively productive offense will steal the show. The other side of the equation, however, tilts the tides in the Mets’ direction. 

Excellent starting pitching has guided the Mets to the World Series. The Royals, on the other hand, are here in spite of their starting staff. In 11 starts, Kansas City’s starters have relinquished 34 runs through 55 innings, doling out 29 walks. The bullpen has constantly saved the day, an easier formula to sustain in high-scoring affairs.

The Mets aren’t the Blue Jays, but they ranked No. 4 in OPS after the All-Star break. There’s nothing close to an easy out in this lineup, and Lucas Duda awaking from his slumber in Game 4 of the NLCS should terrify the Royals’ right-handed starters.

Expect New York to gain early leads, mitigating Kansas City’s top weapon. As Yost showed on Friday night, he won’t use common sense and employ closer Wade Davis outside of the ninth inning, even if facing the heart of baseball’s most powerful lineup with a two-run lead in the eighth inning of a series-clinching playoff game.  

Collins is far more aggressive with utilizing Jeurys Familia, who has yielded two hits and no runs through eight playoff appearances. Kansas City held a massive bullpen edge over its AL adversaries, but New York can push back.

Prediction: Mets in Six

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The World Series matchup is officially set, as the Kansas City Royals pulled out a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night to repeat as American League champions.

They will meet the New York Mets, who took care of the Chicago Cubs in four games and will be playing in the Fall Classic for the first time since 2000.

Game 1 is not until Tuesday night, so while we wait for this year’s World Series to get underway, let’s take a look at some potential difference-makers in the matchup.

What follows is a look at three X-factors for each team—one position player, one starting pitcher and one reliever—who could swing the series with a big performance, and they’re not necessarily the six guys you might expect based on how the postseason has played out to this point.

Begin Slideshow

Fingers will be pointed in all directions now that Toronto fell short in its quest for World Series glory, losing the American League Championship Series to Kansas City in six games.

Whether its ace David Price, manager John Gibbons or nearly all of the team’s biggest bats (except Jose Bautista), there’s no shortage of potential scapegoats for fans to take their disappointment and frustration out on heading into the offseason.

Will Price and/or Gibbons be back? What about the man responsible for assembling this group, general manager Alex Anthopoulos?

Changes are certainly coming to Rogers Centre. What follows is a look at how sweeping they might be as Toronto’s long winter begins.

Begin Slideshow

We’ve spent a lot of time the past few weeks identifying areas of need for each MLB team this coming offseason and establishing potential targets to address those needs both in free agency and on the trade market.

However, as you’re well-aware, things don’t always go according to plan when it comes to a team’s offseason approach.

If it did, Jon Lester probably would have wound up signing with the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants last winter.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the biggest potential roadblock standing between each MLB team and what could be considered a successful offseason.

Begin Slideshow