The Most Disappointing MLB Teams of the Last 10 Years
No matter whether a roster is homegrown or built through free agency and trades, falling short of expectations always stings.
Throughout the last decade, several Major League Baseball teams have entered a campaign as strong postseason contenders but failed to even make the playoffs.
And that's especially true in 2023 with the New York Mets, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.
Each team included had a preseason win total of 90 or more, according to Sports Odds History or DraftKings data, and missed the mark by 10-plus victories.
Considering the limit and context of the shortened season, the 2020 campaign is not included.
Don't worry, Angels fans, you escape the cutoff by a single year. Otherwise, the 2013 squad with a minus-13.5 mark would be kicking off the inglorious list.
2015 Washington Nationals
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One year earlier, the Washington Nationals stormed to 96 wins and took the NL East by a staggering 17 games. They ended up losing to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants in the NLDS.
But, hey, no worries about one disappointment. Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper highlighted a promising roster.
That offseason, Washington spent big on Max Scherzer. His addition gave the Nationals a stacked rotation with Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman and more. Unfortunately for the Nats—who held a 94 preseason win total—that collection of talent could not carry the team.
The good news? Harper put together his breakout season and won the National League MVP!
However, injuries to Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Rendon hurt the lineup. Meanwhile, the Mets pulled away in the division and won 90 games to Washington's 83—and a hyper-competitive NL Central had three 97-win teams, so a wild card was never in play, either.
Although the Nats bounced back and tallied 95-plus victories during the next two seasons, 2015 is not a fond memory.
2018 Washington Nationals
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Different year, same story.
Washington exited the 2016 and 2017 postseasons in the NLDS, so the franchise entered 2018 aiming to buck the recent trend of playoff letdowns. "On paper, they're as talented as any team in baseball," B/R's Joel Reuter said before the start of the campaign.
The team remained largely intact from a 97-win season and introduced star rookie Juan Soto in 2018. Scherzer put together yet another Cy Young-caliber year, narrowly missing his third straight honor.
But the wins did not follow.
Once again, injuries hammered the roster more than the average team. Catching and bullpen management issues compounded the problems, and the Nationals slipped to 82 wins—eight games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and 11.5 shy of the 93.5 preseason win total.
Harper left for the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency, wrapping a hurtful bow on a rough season. (So, naturally, Washington won the World Series in 2019 anyway. Baseball!)
2019 Boston Red Sox
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Fresh off a fourth World Series in 15 years and a franchise-record 108 wins, the Boston Red Sox expected more greatness in 2019.
Instead, they watched the end of an era.
What looked like a deep, excellent rotation had a miserable year; David Price (4.28 ERA), Chris Sale (4.40), Rick Porcello (5.52) and Nathan Eovaldi (5.99) all struggled. Not even a powerful lineup—eight players hit 18-plus homers—could atone for the pitching woes.
Along the way, Dustin Pedroia played his final MLB game and Boston fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. After the season, the Sox traded Mookie Betts, too.
The rival Yankees took the AL East with 103 victories, and the Tampa Bay Rays secured the second AL wild-card slot at 96. Boston ended with 84 wins, finishing 10.5 below a 94.5 preseason total.
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2021 New York Mets
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Led by ace starter Jacob deGrom, the Mets entered 2021 with a bolstered lineup that featured a flashy additions in star shortstop Francisco Lindor and recent All-Star catcher James McCann.
New York mustered a 26-34 record in the shortened 2020 season but received a 90.5 preseason win total.
As the July 31 trade deadline ended, New York held a 4.5-game advantage over Atlanta in the NL East. Exactly one month later, the Mets trailed the Braves by five games. New York posted a 9-19 record in a disastrous August that included a trio of four-game losing streaks.
Two more five-game skids in September sent the Mets cratering to a final 77-85 record, a dizzying 11.5 back of Atlanta.
Lindor's sub-standard .230/.322/.417 slash line epitomized a poor hitting year in New York. The lineup trudged to below-average marks in batting average (.239), on-base (.315) and slugging percentage (.391).
And that's simply Part 1 for the Mets.
2021 San Diego Padres
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During the 2020 season, the Padres went 37-23 and won a wild-card series. That offseason, they reinforced the pitching staff with marquee trades for Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove.
San Diego seemed like a franchise on the rise with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. leading the charge.
Even if the Padres didn't win the NL West, certainly they could snag a wild-card berth, right? Obviously, you know the answer. The team started hot and boasted a co-MLB-best 34-26 record on May 31.
From there, though, sharp regression from the pitching staff and a mountain of injuries doomed San Diego.
Ultimately, the Padres dropped 15.5 games shy of the 94.5 preseason total, and the 79-83 mark placed them a painful 11 games behind the NL's second wild card.
San Diego bounced back in 2021 and won 89 games, even advancing to the National League Championship Series. Like the Mets, however, we have more on the Padres shortly.
2022 Chicago White Sox
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The easiest target to blame is manager Tony La Russa, whose string of baffling decisions often didn't help the Chicago White Sox. The problems ran much deeper, though.
Save for Jose Abreu, most key players endured a terrible run of injury misfortune. Yoan Moncada (104 games), Luis Robert Jr. (98), Eloy Jimenez (84) and Tim Anderson (79) all missed a substantial portion of the season. It's no surprise the Sox ranked 19th in runs per game.
Dylan Cease nearly won a Cy Young, but Lucas Giolito posted a 4.90 ERA. Lance Lynn—who missed the first two months of the year—ended with a modest 3.99 ERA after notching a 2.69 mark in 2021.
Citing heart issues, La Russa stepped down. He probably wouldn't have returned following the 81-81 season anyway.
So much for that 91.5-win total.
The 2023 Trio
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Entering the 2023 season, each of the Mets, Yankees and Padres held a preseason win total of 93.5 or higher. They also ranked first, second and third in payroll, according to Spotrac.
They all ended up fighting to simply avoid a losing record.
Rapid declines punished the Yankees' bats, and a lack of depth hampered the Mets—who began tearing down the roster at the 2023 trade deadline. San Diego put up decent numbers, which suggests the issues were bad luck and shaky leadership more than anything.
No matter the reasons, the handsomely paid rosters missed the postseason in a trio of colossal meltdowns.
While the Mets likely are set to approach a rebuilding year, the Yankees and Padres will probably find a new wave of optimism in the offseason. But that's not going to change the sting of a miserable 2023.
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