If you grew up with Facebook, then you might know the feeling of scrolling your feed and seeing an event that you should have been invited to, but you’re instead at home watching YouTube videos.
That’s more or less the case for the 18 teams that didn't reach the 2026 MLB playoffs. Some, like the Mets or Blue Jays, missed the postseason despite high payrolls and for expectations. Others, most notably the Angels and Rockies, had pretty much finalized their offseason vacation plans by the time they reported to spring training.
But of those 18 teams, which have the best shot to make the 2027 MLB postseason? For this list, we’ve included teams based on their current roster and the context of their division. Naturally, that means American League East teams theoretically face a far more difficult path to a postseason berth than their American League West counterparts.
Before going any further, we need to start with the bad news:
The San Francisco Giants and the teams we can likely immediately rule out
As things currently stand, we’re grouping teams into three tiers: Those that should be in contention, those who could go either way, and the teams who, for one reason or another, give us little to no reason for optimism.
You’re probably very interested in that last group, so here you go: We’d be shocked if the Angels, Athletics, Giants, or Rockies made the playoffs next year. Most fans would agree that the first three teams are dysfunctional and poorly run, though the Angels are at least likely to have new ownership in time for Opening Day.
As for the Rockies … well, they’re the Rockies. Coors Field is beautiful, and they always have intriguing young players, but they’re coming off a fourth consecutive 100-loss season.
Baltimore Orioles
We mentioned the AL East earlier, which you’d think actually works against the Orioles. But did you know the East has had multiple teams in four of the five Wild Card Series since the format expanded ahead of the 2022 season? That certainly bodes well for Pete Alonso and teammates.
So long as Baltimore properly addresses starting pitching this offseason, we’re confident the Orioles will factor into the 2027 playoff mix. But what will they do with Gunnar Henderson? All signs point to him staying, though we recently suggested Mike Elias take phone calls to gauge the All-Star shortstop’s value.
Minnesota Twins
September introduced us to the Twins’ potential next young core, with top prospects shortstop Kaelen Culpepper (no relation to Daunte) and outfielders Emmanuel Rodríguez and Walker Jenkins all seeing significant action over the final month.
Speaking of outfielders, those around baseball believe Buxton will return next season. He’s publicly said he wants to play his entire career in Minnesota, and he has a full no-trade clause. As we’ve said before, we personally feel he — as well as Mike Trout in Anaheim — should request being dealt to a contender if he doesn't buy into the franchise’s vision.
Then again, would you give up a top-20 prospect for an outfielder who hasn’t played more than 130 games in a decade?
New York Mets
At face value, the Mets have plenty going for them beyond simply Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor. Keep in mind they went 34-31 in the second half and outscoped opponents by over 30 runs. We know the talent is there, and outfielders A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge impressed as rookies.
The problem lies in owner Steve Cohen and lead baseball executive David Stearns, the latter of whom said he didn’t want to take a “mulligan” about letting Alonso leave in free agency. Some men are made for New York, and it’s become obvious that Stearns isn’t among them.
Our gut tells us the Mets should enter next season as the NL East’s No. 3 team behind the Braves and Phillies. Whether that’ll be the case by the All-Star Break (assuming the season starts on time or some point in April) depends on how much you trust arguably the sport’s most memeworthy organization.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Incredibly, the 2026 season marked only the fourth time since 1993 that the Pirates finished with a winning record. They rattled off three straight playoff appearances from 2013-15 and opened the post-Andrew McCutchen era with an 82-win season in 2018.
Of the three teams behind the Cubs and Brewers, we’re putting our faith in the Pirates. Despite Paul Skenes’ concerning regression, we watched Don Kelly’s club stay in the NL Wild Card hunt all season.
But given the possibility of a lockout, will we see the Pirates actually spend this winter? Last year marked the first time in nearly a decade they gave out a multi-year deal in free agency. Even if Tarik Skubal isn’t headed to Pittsburgh, maybe Bob Nutting has something else up his sleeve.
Washington Nationals
Apologies to those in the AL West and NL West, though we promise we didn’t forget about you. But this is exactly why we included the disclaimer about teams’ current rosters and the state of their organization. Do you believe in the Mariners or Diamondbacks righting the ship when they’re likely stuck with Cal Raleigh and Ketel Marte?
Despite going 77-85, the rebuilding Nationals actually underperformed in Blake Butera’s first year; their Pythagorean win-loss record had them at 82-80. For once, we’re taking the glass-half-full approach, even amid the continued questions about CJ Abrams’ future in Washington.
We’re sure the Nats will be pegged as the 2027 season’s consensus breakout candidate, and understandably so. They’ve come a long way since we predicted they’d lose 110 games for only the second time in franchise history.
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