Each postseason, there are established stars looking for that elusive first World Series championship despite having been in the Majors for several years -- for some, they’ve been chasing that first ring for more than a decade. This October will be no exception.
In fact, the list of some notable players who could be vying for their first World Series ring this year is a who’s who of household names.
With under 10 days to go before the postseason opens on Sept. 29, here’s a look at one player from each team currently in playoff position or within three games of a playoff spot who falls into that category:
Rays: DH Yandy Díaz
10 seasons, 6 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
Díaz, one of the most consistent bats in the Rays’ lineup over the past several seasons, is in his eighth year with Tampa Bay and his 10th Major League season overall. The two-time All-Star and 2023 American League batting champ is leading the AL in hits, just ahead of teammate and batting title contender Chandler Simpson.
Though he’s played in the postseason six times (five with the Rays), the 35-year-old Díaz is still hungering for that first World Series ring -- even more than for the tomahawk steak he enjoyed when the Rays clinched a postseason berth last week.
Others of note: Freddy Peralta, Drew Rasmussen
White Sox: OF/DH Randal Grichuk
13 seasons, 3 playoff appearances
Grichuk has been the definition of a journeyman throughout his 13-year Major League career. He’s played for eight teams and has been productive for most of that time -- he owns a career .768 OPS with 225 homers.
The 35-year-old outfielder, who has been to the playoffs three times, is hoping that this is finally the year he gets that World Series ring as the upstart White Sox continue to surprise the baseball world.
Astros: 1B Christian Walker
12 seasons, 2 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
Currently in his 12th Major League season, Walker owns a career .770 OPS and his next homer will be the 200th of his career. His last homer was his 25th of 2026, giving him six seasons of at least 25 homers. He’s also been a good defensive first baseman, winning three Gold Glove Awards.
What Walker doesn’t yet have, though, is a World Series ring. He reached the postseason twice -- in 2017 and ’23 -- during his eight-season stint with the D-backs, helping Arizona make a surprise run to the World Series in ’23. Walker and the Astros hope there’s enough in Houston’s tank for another deep October run this fall.
Others of note: Josh Hader, Isaac Paredes
Yankees: RF Aaron Judge
11 seasons, 8 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
With the news that Judge will spend the rest of the regular season on the injured list with a right calf strain coming just 10 days after he came off a long IL stint due to a rib injury, whether Judge will be able to contribute much in the postseason -- if he plays at all -- has been cast into doubt.
Still, he’s the best player in the sport still looking for his first World Series championship, and given his critical importance to the Yankees’ lineup, much of the hope that this will be the year in the Bronx lies in whether he can return and produce at the plate in the playoffs. In his brief return to action, the three-time AL MVP went 4-for-23 (.174) with a home run.
Others of note: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Gerrit Cole, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Rodón, Giancarlo Stanton
Red Sox: RHP Sonny Gray
14 seasons, 3 playoff appearances
Gray has pitched in the postseason three times for three clubs (the A’s in 2013, the Yankees in '17 and the Twins in '23) but he’s never been to the World Series. The 36-year-old right-hander also pitched for the Reds and Cardinals before joining the Red Sox this season.
In 28 starts this year, Gray has been fantastic, posting a 2.82 ERA over 163 innings for Boston and surpassing the 2,000-inning milestone for his career. The Red Sox are nearing a second consecutive postseason berth after missing the playoffs for three straight years.
Others of note: Trevor Story, Ranger Suarez
Guardians: 3B José Ramírez
14 seasons, 7 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
J-Ram has established himself as one of the greatest players in Cleveland’s franchise history. A seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger Award winner in 14 seasons with the club, Ramírez ranks second in franchise history in home runs (297), second in RBIs (1,000), second in steals (321), third in runs scored (1,068) and fifth in hits (1,773).
Ramírez has finished among the top five in AL MVP Award balloting six times, but hasn’t won the honor. But if he had to pick one, he'd probably take a World Series ring over an MVP trophy. The Guardians are pushing for their third postseason appearance in three years under manager Stephen Vogt, and they hope the face of their franchise will get to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy next month.
Rangers: RHP Jacob deGrom
13 seasons, 2 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
deGrom pitched for the Mets in the 2015 World Series, but was hit hard by the Royals in a Game 2 loss. New York eventually lost that Series to Kansas City in five games. The right-hander then put together one of the most dominant runs by a starting pitcher in baseball history, posting a 1.94 ERA over 91 starts from 2018-21.
Injuries and little run support plagued deGrom during his Mets tenure, though, and he only reached the playoffs with New York once more -- he tossed six strong innings in Game 2 of the 2022 NL Wild Card Series against San Diego. The injuries didn’t relent, and over his first two seasons with Texas, he only made nine combined starts. He made six of those in 2023, when the Rangers went on to win the World Series, but he didn't pitch in that postseason.
deGrom has been healthy since, and although he’s not having a typical deGrom-type season in 2026 -- his last four starts, over which he posted a 1.50 ERA, notwithstanding -- he could be dangerous in the postseason if the Rangers can get there.
Others of note: Brandon Nimmo
Blue Jays: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
8 seasons, 4 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
Guerrero came oh so close to winning that first World Series title last fall, when the Blue Jays lost a thrilling seven-game Fall Classic in heartbreaking fashion against the Dodgers. The six-time All-Star had a huge postseason overall, producing a .397/.494/.795 slash line with eight home runs to help fuel Toronto’s run.
Like deGrom, Guerrero hasn’t had the season he’d like to have had in 2026, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a force if he gets back to the playoffs. After being two outs away and not being able to take hold of the World Series trophy in ’25, he and the Jays will certainly want it even more badly this time around.
Others of note: Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease
Brewers: LF/DH Christian Yelich
14 seasons, 5 playoff appearances
Yelich is six home runs and 18 steals away from becoming the 26th member of the 250-homer/250-steal club. He is in his 14th MLB season, the last nine of which have been spent with the Brewers after he opened his big league career with the Marlins.
The 34-year-old outfielder is a three-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He has won two batting titles and was the 2018 National League MVP. He has extensive playoff experience, reaching the postseason with Milwaukee in 2018, ’20, ’21, ’23 and ’25. But he hasn’t yet won the big prize. If he does this year, it’ll be the first World Series championship in Brewers history.
Dodgers: LHP Tarik Skubal
7 seasons, 2 playoff appearances
When Skubal was traded from the only Major League team he knew -- the Tigers -- to the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers prior to this year’s Trade Deadline, he talked about his mixed emotions upon leaving Detroit after he established himself as one of the game’s elite starting pitchers there.
But now he’s focused on helping the Dodgers make history with a three-peat, and in the process win his first World Series ring. The two-time AL Cy Young Award-winning left-hander was tremendous in each of the past two postseasons with the Tigers -- in six career playoff starts, he owns a 2.04 ERA with 56 strikeouts and just six walks issued.
Braves: 1B Matt Olson
11 seasons, 6 playoff appearances
Olson is playing in his 11th MLB season, but while the slugging first baseman has had tremendous individual success and has had the chance to play in the postseason six times, he hasn’t yet won it all.
The four-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner is having another great campaign at the plate for the Braves and hopes to help lead them to their second World Series title this decade -- Olson’s first season with the club came the year after Atlanta won the World Series in 2021.
Others of note: Raisel Iglesias
Cubs: RHP Kevin Gausman
14 seasons, 6 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
Gausman isn’t having the type of campaign he’d like in his 14th Major League season, but he has a chance to make it a year to remember if he can help Chicago make a deep October run.
Since being dealt to the Cubs from the Blue Jays prior to the Trade Deadline, the 35-year-old right-hander has alternated solid outings with rough ones and has a 5.04 ERA over eight starts with Chicago.
But Gausman has a lot of experience pitching in October, as recently as last year’s World Series with Toronto. If he can turn things around in time for the playoffs, he could be an X-factor as he chases his first World Series championship.
Others of note: Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner
Phillies: 1B/RF Bryce Harper
15 seasons, 8 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
Harper has had some great postseason moments, particularly his go-ahead two-run homer in the 2022 NL Championship Series against the Padres, which sent Philadelphia to the World Series.
But the Phils lost to the Astros in that Fall Classic, and Harper has yet to win a World Series as the crowning achievement in an illustrious 15-year career that includes two NL MVP Awards, nine All-Star selections, four Silver Slugger Awards and the MVP honors from that 2022 NLCS.
Others of note: Luis Arraez, Aaron Nola, J.T. Realmuto, Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler
Padres: 3B Manny Machado
15 seasons, 7 playoff appearances, 1 World Series appearance
Machado is also in his 15th season and still seeking that first World Series ring. One of the best third basemen in the game for more than a decade, he’s spent all but one of those seasons with either the Orioles or Padres, with a brief stint with the Dodgers in 2018 -- when he helped L.A. reach the Fall Classic but lost to the Red Sox.
It hasn’t been a great season at the plate for the 34-year-old Machado -- he’s been about a league-average hitter despite approaching 30 homers for the eighth time. But the Padres have been playing well down the stretch, and if they get into the playoffs, they’ll certainly be a threat to make a run. If so, it would be Machado’s eighth trip to the postseason.
Others of note: Robbie Ray, Fernando Tatis Jr.