MLB might have expanded the postseason in the last few years, but there are still far more teams that don’t make it to meaningful October baseball than do.Â
Teams have already been eliminated from postseason contention with baseball left to play in 2026, and we’ll keep track of those clubs as their seasons effectively end.
Here is which teams have already been eliminated from postseason contention through Sept. 14.
The Mets are now gone two years without reaching the playoffs, which wasn’t the expectation for a team that made major offseason moves and still has one of the biggest payrolls in MLB.Â
New additions Bo Bichette and Marcus Siemen were expected to bolster a lineup that saw fan favorites Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo move on. But the Mets suffered a disastrous 12-game losing streak in April that derailed their season early. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, two lineup staples who take pride in being available and playing every day, missed significant time with injuries.Â
By the time the roster was healthy and whole, the Mets season was lost. The hole they dug themselves into in the first half of the season proved too enormous to escape. The lost season cost Jorge Mendoza his job as manager, with the team firing him in June.Â
After reaching the playoffs as a wild card team last season, the Reds began this season as one of the top teams in baseball and leading the NL Central for the first month. It then went downhill for them, and they have gone 50-69 since May.
The Reds do have a bright future, especially with rookie first baseman Sal Stewart. The youngster had a breakout campaign (making the All-Star team this season) and is among the leaders in the NL in RBI. Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz continued to develop into one of the best all-around players in baseball, already posting a career-high in home runs. But the Reds’ offense struggled this season as they remain last in runs scored in the National League.Â
The Nationals have been officially eliminated from playoff contention for the seventh-straight year â a stretch dating back to their 2019 World Series title. It looked like it might be different for a while: the Nats sat just a game back of the final NL wild-card spot in late July, riding one of the best offenses in baseball. Then a 1-7 stretch in early August unraveled it, and the deficit only grew from there.
Still, there’s real reason for optimism in D.C. CJ Abrams and James Wood became just the second pair of teammates 25 or younger to both hit 30-plus homers and steal 20-plus bases in the same season, joining José Ramirez and Francisco Lindor’s 2018 Cleveland duo. They’re also the first Nationals pair to reach 30 home runs apiece since Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto did it in 2019 â the year Washington won it all.
That the front office sold at the deadline anyway, under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, says everything about where the priorities are. This wasn’t a year built to make noise in October; it was one built around Abrams and Wood becoming the foundation for whenever Washington’s next window opens.
There was hope for a time, when the Athletics were three games over .500 on May 9, and then again deep into the month: it’s difficult to remember now, but the A’s spent 45 days in first place in the AL West, but last on May 26. Fast-forward to Sept. 9, and the A’s were the fourth team eliminated from postseason contention after going 32-60 since.
The Athletics can hit, but they hit much better when healthy. And this team was not healthy nearly long enough to make a difference in the final outcome. Nick Kurtz, 2025 AL Rookie of the Year and the league-leader in on-base percentage deep into the season, played in 99 games thanks to a thumb strain. Catcher Shea Langeliers needed a meniscus repair in late-July, ending his season. DH Brent Rookier also underwent knee surgery, left fielder Tyler Soderstrom saw his campaign end with hip surger
