Juan Soto’s Mets miss October as the playoff field is set
The 2026 regular season is over, and 18 of MLB’s 30 teams missed the postseason. The final playoff spots were settled on September 27, ending the last remaining division and wild-card races.
Juan Soto’s New York Mets are among the clubs staying home. Despite substantial spending and championship expectations, New York finished 74-88 and last in the NL East. Its expensive roster could not deliver a postseason berth.
Nine American League teams finished outside the playoffs
The American League’s eliminated group includes the Athletics, Angels, Tigers, Royals and Twins. Baltimore, Toronto, Seattle and Texas also finished outside the postseason, bringing the total to 9 clubs.
The AL playoff teams are Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Houston, the Yankees, Boston and the White Sox. Houston secured the AL West on the final day, while the Rangers missed out. Regular-season positioning is settled, and the postseason has begun.
Nine National League clubs now turn toward the offseason
The National League also finished with 9 teams outside the postseason. The eliminated clubs are Arizona, Cincinnati, Colorado, Miami, the Mets, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco and Washington.
Arizona remained alive until the final day, when Philadelphia’s victory secured the last NL wild-card berth. The postseason qualifiers are Atlanta, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago and Philadelphia. For the remaining clubs, attention now shifts to offseason roster decisions.
Juan Soto’s production could not rescue the Mets’ season
The Mets’ postseason absence is striking given their financial commitment to Juan Soto. New York signed him to a 15-year, $765 million contract in December 2024, before his first Mets season in 2025.
Soto delivered strong offensive numbers in 2026, finishing with 27 home runs and a .908 OPS in 111 games. But the left fielder’s production could not lift New York into the playoffs, leaving the club facing another disappointing offseason.
Seattle’s final division hopes ended before the finale
The Mariners’ remaining playoff hopes ended on September 24, when Texas beat the Mets. That result eliminated Seattle from the AL West race before the Mariners played their own game.
Seattle finished 76-86, behind Houston and Texas in the division. The Astros eventually claimed the AL West, while the Rangers also missed the postseason. The Mariners’ late-season elimination scenarios are now settled, leaving the club to assess what went wrong.
Seattle’s narrow path depended on help from its rivals
Before elimination, Seattle needed its own victories and losses by both Texas and Houston to keep its division hopes alive. Winning alone would not have been enough.
Texas’s September 24 victory closed that path. Houston later secured the AL West on September 27, ending the division race. Seattle’s season offers a reminder that an elimination number measures the remaining mathematical possibilities, rather than a team’s ability to determine its fate independently.
Baltimore and Toronto’s playoff hopes ended last week
Toronto was eliminated on September 23 after losing the opener of a doubleheader at Camden Yards. Baltimore won both games but survived for only another day.
The Orioles were eliminated September 24 when the White Sox beat Kansas City. Both AL East clubs ultimately missed the postseason.
Fun fact: An elimination number of 1 can fall to 0 through a team’s own loss or a win by the relevant competing club. Elimination can occur while the team is idle.
Baltimore swept the doubleheader but could not advance
The September 23 doubleheader at Camden Yards ended with Baltimore winning both games 4-2. Toronto’s first defeat eliminated the Blue Jays, while the Orioles temporarily kept their own playoff hopes alive.
Trey Gibson gave Baltimore a strong start in the nightcap, allowing no runs over 6⅔ innings. The sweep helped the Orioles survive that evening, but Chicago’s victory the following day ended their postseason hopes without another Baltimore game being played.
Arizona’s playoff hopes ended on the season’s final day
Arizona stayed in the NL wild-card race until September 27, but Philadelphia’s 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay secured the final berth and eliminated the Diamondbacks.
The decisive result arrived while Arizona was still playing San Diego. The Diamondbacks later lost that game 9-4 and finished 86-76. After reaching the World Series in 2023, Arizona again fell short of returning to October, with its final opportunity disappearing on the last day.
The regular-season races have given way to playoff series
The division and wild-card races are settled. The postseason began September 29, shifting the focus from qualification scenarios to short-series matchups.
The opening round features Yankees–Red Sox, Astros–White Sox, Braves–Phillies and Padres–Cubs. Atlanta opened its series with a 5-3 victory over Philadelphia. Teams that advanced now face a different challenge: winning postseason games while managing pitching availability, injuries and the pressure of a short opening round.
The Dodgers begin another title defense from the NLDS
The Dodgers are defending consecutive World Series championships after winning in 2024 and 2025. Their 2025 victory was the franchise’s 9th title and its 3rd across 6 seasons, following the 2020 championship.
Los Angeles earned a first-round bye in 2026 and will face the Braves–Phillies winner in the NL Division Series. The Dodgers remain a major obstacle in the NL bracket as they pursue another championship.
Historic title totals show the scale of October success
The Yankees lead MLB with 27 World Series championships, followed by the Cardinals with 11. The Dodgers, Red Sox and Athletics are tied for 3rd with 9 titles each.
The Giants follow with 8 championships, placing them 6th when the tied clubs are counted. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are tied for 7th with 5 apiece. Those totals reflect franchise history across generations, while every postseason offers another opportunity to add a championship.
The final-day drama has become postseason pressure
The qualification races ended September 27. Houston secured the AL West, and Philadelphia claimed the last NL wild-card berth, leaving Texas and Arizona outside the postseason.
The pressure now belongs to the playoff teams, while eliminated clubs begin offseason planning. Seattle’s chances and both wild-card fields are already settled.
Not every eliminated team’s season ended quietly. Curious how a Mets game turned into chaos in the stands? Take a look at the fan brawl that broke out during a White Sox-Mets matchup in Chicago.
October is close, and not everyone gets an invite
The 2026 postseason field is nearly set, with just a handful of races left to settle this week. Fans of eliminated teams can only watch as rivals fight for the final spots.
Baltimore, Toronto, Seattle and Arizona all know their seasons could end within days. What do you think happens next in these final wild-card and division battles? Like this post and comment below.
The Dodgers’ path back to the World Series hasn’t been without bumps along the way. Wondering what went wrong before their finale against Detroit? Check out the latest setback in Shohei Ohtani’s comeback push.
This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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