With the Trade Deadline behind us, we now have, essentially, just a little bit more than seven weeks left in the regular season. Isn’t that sad? These seasons go by so fast; didn’t we just get started? For some teams, these last weeks will be a feverish sprint to secure a postseason spot; for others, merely preparation for 2024 and beyond.

Today we take a look at one thing to watch down the stretch for every team in baseball. Maybe it’s about now, maybe it’s about the future, maybe it’s even about the past, but there’s always something worth paying close attention to.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: A playoff chase of considerable import
The Jays haven’t really launched in the stratosphere like many expected they would by this point. But as we all know, if you get in the tournament you have a chance. The Jays need to get in.

Orioles: A new era of excitement
The great thing about how young all these Orioles stars are -- just how many of them there are, at the same time, with more coming -- is that while their fans have been patiently waiting for this, the players themselves are too wet behind the ears to have noticed any of that waiting. They’re too young to know that what they’re doing is amazing. It might just end with them winning a division title.

Rays: Locking down a fifth straight playoff appearance
The Rays might have been expecting more after a torrid start -- and for what it’s worth, the Rays could still win this division -- but if they’re able to make the playoffs, as they are overwhelmingly likely to do, they’ll reach the postseason for the fifth consecutive season, something only achieved 12 times in AL/NL history.

Red Sox: Some clarity and calm before next season
The Red Sox can still get in the playoffs, and they’ve clearly shown there’s more talent on this team than might have been appreciated. But even if they don’t sneak in, the Sox are in a better place than many had feared.

Yankees: Aaron Judge
The Yankees may be a bit of a disappointment this year, but Judge is always worth watching when he’s on the field. The team around him is having some issues, but Judge is always Judge, and always worth the price of admission.

AL CENTRAL

Guardians: José Ramírez
While Ramírez made headlines for all the wrong reasons because of his brawl with Tim Anderson, he has once again put together a terrific season that almost no one has noticed. He is the best player in baseball no one ever talks about. Once more.

Royals: The continued evolution of Bobby Witt Jr.
Many expected Witt, a hyped phenom in the Minors, would show up in the Majors fully formed and ready to be the best player in the Majors. He ended up needing more seasoning than one might have thought, but this year, he has improved in every possible way, especially his defense. This is a budding superstar.

Tigers: The last days of Miguel Cabrera
His game is obviously not what it once was, but Miggy is still one of the best hitters of the last 25 years -- he was a Triple Crown winner, for crying out loud. You have fleetingly few days left to say you watched him play.

Twins: A division title that’s looking tantalizingly within reach
As uninspiring as they have been this year, someone has to win the division, and it’s sure looking like it’s going to be the Twins. They’re about to have yet another chance to end a jaw-droppingly long 18-game postseason losing streak … and they’ll get to try to do it at home.

White Sox: Luis Robert Jr., blissfully above it all
The White Sox’s tumultuous season has entirely obscured the fact that Robert has been healthy all season and thus had the season we’ve all been waiting for him to have.

AL WEST

Angels: Shohei Ohtani
No matter what happens this offseason, or in 2024, or any season after that, only one team’s fans get to watch Shohei Ohtani play for them every night. That’s the Angels. That’s a gift … even if it’s one that might not be around for that much longer.

Astros: Justin Verlander, back where he belongs
The Astros have had a bit of a middling season, but it hasn’t kept them from having a very real chance to win the AL West anyway. And now they’ve got the guy who feels like he has been with the Astros his whole career, even if he obviously hasn’t. If Verlander remains Verlander, this is a terrifying postseason team. Again.

Athletics: A new wave is here.
Four of the A’s top prospects are currently on the big league roster: catcher Tyler Soderstrom, right-hander Mason Miller, infielder Zack Gelof and righty Freddy Tarnok. Though Miller is currently on the IL with a sprained UCL, they're also adding Lawrence Butler this weekend.

Mariners: J-Rod trying to carry his team to the postseason.
The emergence of Julio Rodríguez has always been about more than just himself: He represents a whole new future in Seattle, as Ken Griffey Jr. first did almost 35 years ago. In his rookie season, J-Rod led them to the playoffs. In his second season, can he do so again?

Rangers: Can they end up with the best record in franchise history?
Entering Wednesday's action, Texas had a .596 winning percentage, which tracks out to 96 wins. That would tie the Rangers' record for wins, which they set in 2011. Can the Rangers break that record en route to an AL West title?

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Do I need to convince you to watch the Braves right now?
This has been baseball’s most dominant team almost all year, and now their pitching is starting to shift into place as well. They won 101 games last year and the World Series the year before, and this team is better than both of those.

Marlins: Luis Arraez keeps on hitting
All right, so maybe he’s not going to hit .400. But he's still batting .369, which would be the best batting average since Ichiro Suzuki hit .372 in 2004.

Mets: Francisco Alvarez, establishing himself as a star
It has obviously been a bummer of a year in Queens, but Alvarez certainly hasn’t disappointed -- he looks like a linchpin of this team for the next decade. He’s still only 21, but he is one of the many symbols of a brighter future at Citi Field.

Nationals: CJ Abrams’ maturation
Abrams has had some plate discipline issues early in his career, but his talent is undeniable. That talent is now starting to really show itself every night.

Phillies: Maybe another magical run?
The Phillies finally ended their postseason drought last year, and they ended it all the way to the World Series. Now the trick is to get back in the postseason again, with a team that has more postseason grizzle than the franchise itself does of late. This could be a scary team to face in October again … if they can make it there.

NL CENTRAL

Brewers: Looking like they are supposed to
The Brewers had an ugly start to their season, but they hung in and now look like you expect a Brewers team to look like, with Corbin Burnes dealing on the mound, Christian Yelich doing everything well and the bullpen shutting teams down. This quietly could be a playoff sleeper … if they can make it.

Cardinals: Can Adam Wainwright get to 200 wins?
It has been a rough season for the Cardinals, and even more so for Wainwright, who has a shocking 7.81 ERA. He’s retiring at the end of the season, but he’s trying to hang on for his 200th win. He’s two victories away from becoming the 122nd pitcher to reach the milestone. Can he get there?

Cubs: Dansby Swanson, the best of the free-agent shortstops
It turns out the Cubs knew what they were doing, waiting out the market to bring in Swanson, who not only has been the best shortstop in the National League this year but might just end up in the top five of MVP voting. His quiet excellence is indicative of what this Cubs team does so well.

Pirates: The return of Oneil Cruz
The Pirates have a lot of young talent coming, but perhaps none of it is more viscerally exciting than Cruz, who hasn’t played since April with a broken left tibia. He should be returning before the season ends, and he represents hope and potential for this franchise in a way no one else does.

Reds: The most exciting team in many Reds seasons … with more to come
The Reds have been one of the best stories in baseball, and while Elly De La Cruz has hit a bit of a rookie wall, they’re still right in the thick of the playoff chase. And they’ve got Joey Votto in the last year under contract, ushering them into a new era.

NL WEST

D-backs: Corbin Carroll, laying the groundwork
The D-backs may not quite break through this year (though there’s still time), but Carroll has established himself as an inner-tier star who is probably your unanimous NL Rookie of the Year Award winner. And he’s just getting started.

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw is coming back
There are so many Dodgers to choose from, but as this team tries to win another division title, the return of their franchise player (tonight!) and future Hall of Famer ranks as one of the most anticipated moments of the season.

Giants: A playoff push sans superstars
The Giants thought they had multiple superstars this offseason, but they didn’t get either one of the nine-figure free agents they were going for. One of them has had a very down year; the other one has been hurt most of the year and is unlikely to make the playoffs at all. Meanwhile, the Giants are leading the NL Wild Card chase. Can they hold on?

Padres: Can they salvage the season?
This season has not lived up to the hype for San Diego, but here they still are, in the playoff chase and ranking as the team none of the frontrunners wants to face in October.

Rockies: Progress from the young bats
The Rockies' regular lineup these days has seven players aged 28 and under, including five 25 and under. They’re not hitting right now, but if you’re a Rockies fan looking for some hope, watching them try to figure it out isn’t a terrible way to do so.