With Major League Baseball’s postseason bearing down apace, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in hot pursuit of a third successive World Series title.

Precisely to what extent some of the sport’s most luminous luminaries will be able to feature in the playoffs, however, remains a matter of conjecture.

The Dodgers find themselves, once again, numbered among the elite of the major leagues, and come October they will confront a formidable array of challengers, not least the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

All three clubs could conceivably conclude the regular season with 100 victories or more.

Los Angeles, moreover, are surging notwithstanding the health concerns surrounding four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani.

The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves have likewise secured their postseason berths.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, a three-time AL MVP, is grappling with a right calf strain that will consign him to the injured list until at least the final day of the regular season this Sunday.

Although the 12-team playoff field is ostensibly all but determined, a handful of long-shot postseason aspirants linger, and the precise matchups remain in a state of flux.

Herein lies a selection of what warrants scrutiny as the season draws to its close.

No team can clinch a playoff spot on Monday, the vast majority of the league being afforded a day of respite.

In the American League, a solitary consequential contest unfolded, wherein the Toronto Blue Jays, on the road in Baltimore, succumbed to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Orioles.

By virtue of this loss, the Blue Jays now find themselves 3 1/2 games adrift of the Chicago White Sox in the pursuit of the final AL wild card.

Baltimore, for its part, trails by 4 1/2 games.

Both the Blue Jays and the Orioles could have their elimination from contention confirmed as early as Tuesday.

There is a considerable degree of mediocrity pervading the AL Central and West divisions this season, a circumstance that has engendered some captivating pennant races and could eventuate in a sub-.500 team securing a postseason berth.

Within the AL Central, the Cleveland Guardians (81-75) cling to but a precarious margin over the Chicago White Sox (80-76), whilst in the AL West the Texas Rangers (78-78) sit merely a hair's breadth ahead of the Houston Astros (77-79).

Meanwhile, in the National League, the playoff bracket stands on the verge of being irrevocably determined.

The Chicago Cubs (87-69), San Diego Padres (87-69) and Philadelphia Phillies (86-70) are jockeying for position in the wild-card race, yet for each a postseason berth is all but a foregone conclusion.

The sole team remaining within striking distance is the Arizona Diamondbacks (82-74), who trail by four games.

MLB's preeminent accolades are unlikely to be attended by any considerable degree of drama this season.

In both MVP races, commanding favorites have emerged: Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong is running away with the NL honor, while Houston’s Yordan Alvarez is the probable choice in the AL, though Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero has likewise enjoyed a spectacular season.

Alvarez yet retains a shot at a rare Triple Crown.

He leads the AL in batting average at .313, but his 40 homers leave him one behind Caminero, and his 99 RBIs trail Baltimore’s Pete Alonso by nine.

For the Cy Young Award, Milwaukee's fireballing Jacob Misiorowski and New York's ace Cam Schlittler stand as the respective favorites in the NL and AL.

The Rookie of the Year contests likewise appear all but settled, with Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart—whose 110-RBI campaign paces the National League—the frontrunner in the NL, and Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle the odds-on favorite in the American League.

Major League Baseball's postseason comprises twelve qualifying clubs, six apiece emanating from the American League and the National League.

Within each league, the three divisional champions are vouchsafed seeds No. 1 through No. 3, their ordering dictated by win-loss record.

Thereupon, the three wild-card entrants are allotted seeds No. 4 through No. 6, likewise sequenced in accordance with win-loss record.

In both the AL and NL, the two clubs boasting the finest records are granted automatic passage to the Division Series, whilst the remaining eight are consigned to the Wild Card Series — a best-of-three affair commencing Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Across both leagues, the No. 6 seed travels to confront the No. 3 seed, while the No. 5 seed is dispatched to face the No. 4; the higher seed enjoys home advantage throughout all three contests.

The victors subsequently progress to the best-of-five Division Series, which is in turn succeeded by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and, ultimately, a best-of-seven World Series contested between the respective champions of the AL and NL.

Wild Card Round: 29 September–1 October (NBC/Peacock)

Division Series: Oct. 3–10 (with American League coverage airing on TBS, while National League coverage is carried by FOX/FS1)

Championship Series: Oct. 11–20 (AL fixtures to be broadcast on TBS; NL fixtures to be broadcast on FOX/FS1)

The World Series is slated to unfold from October 23rd through the 31st, with FOX serving as the broadcast purveyor.

The Dodgers (+220) are the favorites to capture a third consecutive World Series title, whilst the Brewers (+600), Yankees (+800) and Rays (+800) are regarded as the foremost contenders.

For exhaustive MLB coverage, one need look no further than AP, accessible here.