Here’s Which MLB Teams Have Been Eliminated From Postseason Contention

MLB may have expanded the postseason in recent years, but there are still far more teams that don’t make it to meaningful October baseball than do.

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 are which teams have already been eliminated from postseason contention by September 14.

The Mets have now gone two years without making the playoffs, which wasn’t expected for a team that made big moves in the offseason and still has one of the largest payrolls in MLB.

New additions Bo Bichette and Marcus Siemen were expected to bolster a lineup that saw fan favorites Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo move up front. But the Mets suffered a disastrous 12-game hitting streak in April that derailed their season early. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, the two main players in the lineup who pride themselves on being available and playing every day, missed significant time with injuries.

By the time the roster was healthy and full, the Mets’ season was lost. The hole they dug themselves into in the first half of the season proved too big to escape. The losing season cost Jorge Mendoza his job as manager, with the team firing him in June.

After reaching the playoffs as a wild card team last season, the Reds began this season as one of the best teams in baseball and leading the NL Central for the first month. Then they went downhill, and they’ve gone 50-69 since May.

The Reds have a bright future, especially with starting first baseman Sal Stewart. The junior had a rookie campaign (making the All-Star team this season) and is among the NL leaders 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 has struggled this season as they remain last in the National League in runs scored.

The Nationals have officially been eliminated from playoff contention for the seventh straight time — a stretch dating back to their 2019 World Series title. It looked like it might be different for a while: The Nats sat just one game back of the last wild card spot in the NL 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 DC 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 Cleveland’s 2018 duo of José Ramirez and Francisco Lindor. They’re also the first Nationals pair to hit 30 home runs each since Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto did it in 2019 — the year Washington won it all.

The fact that the front office was sold at the deadline anyway, under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, says everything about where the priorities are. This was not a year built to make noise in October; was one built around Abrams and Wood becoming the foundation for whenever the next Washington window opens.

There was hope for a time, when the Athletics were three games over .500 on May 9th, and then again deep into the month: it’s hard to remember now, but the A’s spent 45 days in first place in the AL West, but last on May 26th. Fast forward to Sept. 9 and the A’s were the fourth team to go 2-2 after 60 ends.

Athletics can hit, but they hit much better when healthy. And this team wasn’t healthy long enough to make a difference in the final score. Nick Kurtz, the 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 Rookie also underwent knee surgery, left fielder Tyler Soderstrom saw his campaign end with hip surgery, while Jacob Wilson dealt with a bad shoulder that ultimately ended 2026.

Throw in all those holes in the lineup and mix them with a rotation that can’t get it done in a frontcourt that makes success difficult, and you get the current, eliminated Athletics.

The Giants had higher hopes for 2026 than this. A new manager, Tony Vitello, was supposed to bring his high-energy high-college style straight to the majors and find success. At least, that’s what San Francisco expected. What he got instead was a manager who seemed regularly in over his head, and a team full of average or worse players, with a few exceptions.

One of those exceptions is a big one: first baseman and designated hitter Rafael Devers. He had a terrible April, but from May 3rd to September 9th, the 29-year-old hit an astounding .273/.365/.585 in 113 games. He has hit 35 homers on the season and is also leading the majors in doubles, with 36 — all in a park designed to stop lefties from generating offense. That bodes well moving forward, with Devers signed through 2033 at over $30 million per year for the rest of his deal.

Bad signs are most of the rest of the list. Rookie DH Bryce Eldridge has been a bright spot, with the 21-year-old hitting .268/.362/.459 with 37 extra-base hits in 101 games. The rest of the Giants’ hitters? Average at best, including third baseman Matt Chapman. The pitching staff has the same problem: Robbie Ray was the only one who did better than average, and he was traded to the Padres at the deadline. This is a team that needs some big changes to get out of its current funk.

Eliminating the Angels early makes sense — this is a team that was selling what it could at the trade deadline, knowing the focus should be on the future. It’s a shame, though, that Mike Trout was again mostly healthy and very productive, even if not at superstar levels, and the team went nowhere.

The 2026 games haven’t mattered to LA for a while now, though, not since that trade deadline, and not since longtime owner Arte Moreno agreed to sell the team. Like Rowan Kavner of FOX Sports heard from Trout himselfit’s a “fresh start” for the organization under new owner Stan Kroenke.

Also help with fresh start? Using the deadline to bring in prospects like Arjun Nimmala, who the second time he joined the organization became its top position player perspective. It takes some patience, but with a new owner and new purpose, it should be easier to be patient in Los Angeles in 2027.

Here’s the good news: The Rockies were never expected to make the postseason in 2026. After all, this is a team that lost 101, 103 and 119 games in each of the last three seasons: for Colorado to not lose 100 games in 2026 after just missing out on tying or breaking the new modern record for losing a year ago is a new modern feat.

That might sound like a backhanded or dismissive compliment, but it’s true: The 2025 Rockies were a miserable, historically terrible club. 2026 edition? Just not a good baseball team. It’s an important step for the organization in its first season under new general manager Josh Byrnes and team president Paul Depodesta, even if it doesn’t like an outsider. Rockies fans who have stuck with the team — and many have, as Colorado once again drew over two million home fans this season — can surely tell the difference between these two flavors of failure.

First baseman TJ Rumfield has been one of the National League’s best starters, with nearly four wins above replacement and a .297/.389/.457 slash line through September 9. Another rookie, outfielder Cole Carrigg, has been better than league average offensively since being called up in June. Catcher Hunter Goodman has hit 37 home runs, and the 26-year-old won’t be a free agent until 2030. There are some intriguing young players on this roster, and the next step will be trying to build around them to get out of this hole for good.