MLB’s Playoff Bracket Is Broken? | Aaron Judge Returns After 99 Days, Jesús Luzardo Enters the Cy Young Race & Does Jomboy Influence Aaron Boone? | 184

Episode 184 of Tablesetters is LIVE!

The MLB postseason picture is taking shape, but the American League bracket is exposing one of the biggest flaws in the current playoff format. Aaron Judge is finally back in the Yankees lineup after a 99-day absence, Jesús Luzardo just threw himself even deeper into a loaded NL Cy Young race and some recent Josh Donaldson comments have us asking just how much influence Jomboy really has on Aaron Boone.

We open the show with a look at MLB’s fixed playoff bracket and whether it’s finally time to re-seed after the Wild Card Series. If the season ended today, Tampa Bay, New York and Boston — the three best teams in the American League by record — would all be stuck on the same side of the bracket, while the other path to the ALCS would feature teams with considerably worse records. Winning your division should matter, but should a No. 1 seed really be rewarded with a potentially more difficult path than the No. 2 seed? We break down the format, what re-seeding could look like and whether MLB has created an unnecessary postseason problem.

We also get into Aaron Judge’s long-awaited return to the Yankees lineup after missing nearly 100 days with a rib injury. New York survived without its captain, but the underlying offensive numbers tell a much different story about just how badly this lineup missed him. With less than three weeks remaining and the Yankees still chasing Tampa Bay, we discuss what Judge’s return could mean for the stretch run.

Then there’s the National League Cy Young race, which somehow keeps getting more interesting. Jesús Luzardo delivered a complete-game shutout against Atlanta and has forced his way into a conversation that already includes Chris Sale, Cristopher Sánchez and Jacob Misiorowski. There are dominant rate stats, massive strikeout totals, innings arguments and now a signature late-season performance to sort through. Who actually deserves the award right now?

Take the Pitch/Swing Away returns with three debates: Is Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 2026 season actually more impressive than Ronald Acuña Jr.’s historic 40/70 campaign? Will the Angels become contenders quickly once Stan Kroenke takes over the franchise? And after Josh Donaldson’s recent comments, does Jomboy have more influence over Aaron Boone and the Yankees lineup than anyone realizes?

Plus, Red Hot Ice Cold returns as we check in on some of the hottest and coldest players in baseball without giving away who landed where.

And, as always, we’re Coming Around 3rd to close it out.

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