Seven MLB Players and Managers Facing Pressure Down the Stretch

These guys have a lot at stake as the regular season races toward its conclusion.

Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole may not find himself on the team’s wild-card roster. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The stretch run of the MLB regular season is well upon us, with just over a week left before playoff baseball begins. Races are coming down to the wire and pressure is building across the league.

For some players and managers, the final weeks of the season could define how their years are remembered. Some are trying to lift their teams to the postseason, while others are fighting to solidify their roles in October. Jobs could be on the line. 

With only a short time left to change how their seasons end, the following seven MLB figures are under the most pressure and have the most at stake down the stretch.

Editor’s note: All stats are updated through Thursday’s games.

Gerrit Cole, Yankees SP

The Yankees remain one of the favorites in the American League and that’s largely due to their elite pitching staff. New York leads MLB in ERA (3.19) by a wide margin, and the starting rotation also tops the competition with a 3.26 ERA. Gerrit Cole was once the ace of the staff, but there are questions as to where he’ll fit in October given his shaky performances of late and how good the rest of the rotation has been. 

After missing all of 2025, Cole returned from Tommy John surgery on May 22 and has endured an up-and-down season. Entering Friday’s matchup against the Diamondbacks, he’s 8–9 with a 3.67 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 115 ⅓ innings. The concerning part is that in his last two starts, against the Padres and Mets, he’s allowed seven home runs in 11 ⅓ innings. His September ERA has ballooned to 6.48 in three starts as a result. 

Cam Schlittler has been the best pitcher in the American League this season and should be the Yankees’ Game 1 starter in the postseason. Veteran Max Fried isn’t far behind and has his own argument to make given his track record and 2.63 ERA this season. Carlos Rodón (6–3, 2.95 ERA) could slot in above Cole at No. 3, given their recent performances, which may leave Cole off the Yankees’ roster for a three-game wild-card series. 

After Friday’s start against Arizona, Cole has just one start left in the regular season. He’ll be under tremendous pressure to prove he deserves a guaranteed start in the postseason.

Padres third baseman Manny Machado’s bat has woken up late in the season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Manny Machado, Padres 3B

Machado is the de facto captain of the Padres and, along with Fernando Tatis Jr., is the face of the franchise. With San Diego holding a four-game lead over the Diamondbacks for the NL’s final wild-card spot entering the season’s penultimate weekend, if the team misses the playoffs he’ll shoulder a large percentage of the blame, given his status and how poorly he was hitting early in the year. 

Through June 30, Machado was having his worst professional season. He was slashing .189/.274/.399 with 16 home runs, 46 RBIs and a wRC+ of 86. It was a brutal showing for a guy counting $31.8 million against the luxury tax payroll. In the 61 games since, he’s slashed .257/.349/.427 with 12 homers, 39 RBIs and a wRC+ of 119, just a couple of points below his career average.

He’s looking more like himself at the right time but, fair or not, he has garnered a reputation for not coming through in big games. Machado owns a career .682 postseason OPS and was 1-for-10 with three strikeouts in San Diego’s brief postseason appearance last year. He needs to reverse that trend and get hot down the stretch.

Will Don Mattingly be back as the Phillies’ manager next season? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Don Mattingly, Phillies manager

Mattingly took over as the interim manager of the Phillies on April 28 after the team started the year 9–19. Since then, Philadelphia has gone 74–49 in one of the more stark turnarounds we’ve seen in recent years. There's still more work to be done, though.

The Phillies are regarded as owning one of baseball’s strongest home-field advantages in the playoffs, and enter the weekend tied with the Cubs for the top wild-card spot and the right to host a wild-card series. Playing well enough down the stretch to outpace Chicago—and San Diego, who lurk just behind both teams—would do wonders for Philadelphia’s chance at advancing to the NLDS.

Rumors persist that the Phillies will move to hire Alex Cora as their manager this offseason, but Mattingly could force the team’s hand with a strong finish. If the franchise is set on Cora, Mattingly needs to change their mind. Limping to the line is not the way to do that. 

Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has endured the worst season of his career. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays 1B

The Blue Jays are somehow still in contention for the AL’s final wild-card spot despite a litany of injuries and their star player enduring the worst season of his careerf. After a remarkable postseason in 2025, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been playing like the Monstars sapped his power. With his team fighting for a playoff spot, the spotlight will be on the 27-year-old over the next few weeks. 

Through 138 games, Guerrero is slashing .262/.334/.360 with just nine home runs, 56 RBIs and a career-low wRC+ of 97. His slugging percentage is a career low by more than 70 points, his on-base percentage is almost 50 points lower than his 2025 mark and his OPS (.694) is nearly 100 points lower than his career worst mark. It took him until Sept. 13, Toronto’s 75th home game, to hit his first home run at Rogers Centre this season. For reference, he hit home runs in each of the Blue Jays’ first two home games in the playoffs last year.

Toronto entered the season with World Series aspirations after falling short in seven games to the Dodgers last year. The team loaded up this offseason, expecting a big year. It has been a flop and, as their $500 million man, Guerrero is simultaneously the face of the franchise and the poster child for that failure. He has a few weeks to turn things around.

Astros manager Joe Espada could be managing for his job over the next few weeks. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Joe Espada, Astros manager

Espada was the bench coach on Houston’s 2022 World Series-winning squad and was promoted to manager when Dusty Baker retired following the ’23 campaign. The results have not been great during his three seasons in charge.

The Astros won the AL West in 2024 with an 88–73 (.547) record. But they were swept by the Tigers in the wild-card series. In ’25, Houston missed the playoffs after going 87–75 due to losing a tiebreaker to Detroit. Astros owner Jim Crane feels that his team should be competing for titles on an annual basis, yet Espada’s teams have fell far short of those goals, and this year has been no different.

Houston has languished at or below .500 for most of the season yet somehow entered Friday with a one-game lead in the AL West. Missing the postseason for a second straight year would put Espada’s job in serious jeopardy. In fact, even if they make it, there’s a decent chance he’s gone without a deep run in the wake of GM Dana Brown’s firing last month.

Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez hasn’t been the same hitter since midseason hand surgery. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

José Ramírez, Guardians 3B

Like Guerrero, Ramírez is enduring one of the worst seasons of his career and, so far, the final month has not been kind to him. With the Guardians in a tight battle for both the AL Central and the wild card, Ramírez’s bat will be key if they hope to not only reach the postseason but do damage once they’re there. 

In 117 games, Ramírez is slashing .230/.319/.364 with a 90 wRC+, all of those being his worst numbers since 2015. He only has 11 home runs, and his isolated power has dropped from .258 in 2024 to .134 this year. 

Since undergoing surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in June, the 33-year-old has hit like a shell of himself. In 45 games since his return on July 22, Ramírez has posted a .567 OPS, and his slump has only deepened in September (.140 batting average, .345 OPS).

The cornerstone of Cleveland’s franchise is rounding third base of his prime years. We don’t know how many more shots he’ll get at a World Series.

The Mariners have fallen far short of expectations in 2026, potentially putting manager Dan Wilson’s job on the line. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dan Wilson, Mariners manager

Like Espada and Mattingly, Wilson may be managing for his job the rest of the season.

After reaching the 2025 ALCS, Seattle returned much of the same roster but has seen very different results. Wilson has also given his critics plenty of ammo with his questionable bullpen management, which dates before this year. Mariners fans are still smarting after Wilson called on Eduardo Bazardo instead of closer Andrés Muñoz in a key moment of Game 7 of the ALCS, only for Bazardo to blow the lead. Following that, Seattle simply hasn’t played good baseball this year. The defense has been putrid as the Mariners rank dead last in Outs Above Average at -51. 

A lot of Seattle’s issues simply come from key guys not playing up to their potential. Cal Raleigh is the biggest culprit, but Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor should also shoulder some of the blame. The Mariners are virtually assured of missing the playoffs—and have already clinched a losing record—but it is possible Wilson gets another year even if that happens. A strong finish would go a long way to securing that spot. 

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