While 12 teams make the MLB Postseason, the other 18 start the offseason early. This is an article about those 18 in particular. By now you've seen all the magic number trackers. When will the Brewers, Rays, Dodgers and Yankees make the postseason? We're not so sure. What we do know is why you're here, reading this article; and it's for the exact opposite reason.
Much like there are magic numbers, there are tragic numbers — otherwise known as elimination numbers — which detail how close every MLB team is to missing the postseason, officially. For most MLB teams, such as Mike Trout's Angels, this was a long time coming.
Which MLB teams have been eliminated from playoff contention?
The criteria for when an MLB team has been eliminated from the playoffs is actually quite simple. Essentially, there aren't enough games left in the season to make up the ground they've lost. The formula to calculate a team's elimination number is actually pretty simple, and may look familiar to those in the know about MLB's magic number formula.
- Total Games in Season + 1 − Leader's Wins − Trailing Team's Losses
If that number is equal to zero (or a negative number), then your favorite team officially won't make the playoffs. That may sound like bad news at first, but again, most of these fanbases have already checked out with an eye on the offseason.
Colorado Rockies
- Reason: Rockies are stuck in a rebuild
The Colorado Rockies were one of the worst teams in MLB history last season. While Colorado was never going to make the postseason this year, even a marginal improvement is a big win for the Rockies front office, along with finding a corps they can build around. Hunter Goodman is one of the best power hitters in baseball. The farm system looks a lot better, too, thanks to Ethan Holliday and Charlie Condon, among others.
Los Angeles Angels
- Reason: Angels can't build around Mike Trout
The Angels outlook is a little more pessimistic. Los Angeles finally got rid of Perry Minasian and replaced him with John Mozeliak, who's embraced a full-scale rebuild even with Trout on the roster. The Angels also changed majority owners, with Stan Kroenke buying the majority stake from Arte Moreno for a boatload of money. Moreno has owned the team for decades, but they've been a hot mess for most of Trout's career.
San Francisco Giants
- Reason: Bets Buster Posey couldn't cash
The Giants swung for the fences last season when they acquired Rafael Devers. Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee were big free-agent signings. Then they hired Tony Vitello, a manager fresh out of college — he coached the Tennessee Vols in his last stop — in a near-unprecedented move. Vitello's had a rude awakening in MLB, and while Posey and the Giants seem committed to him moving forward, it's fair to question the Giants direction these days.
Which MLB teams could be eliminated from playoff contention next?
The next team to be eliminated from postseason contention will almost assuredly be the Athletics, which have a tragic number of 1. That means any defeat will drop them out of the AL playoff race. It's been a difficult season for the A's, which despite a young core that includes Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers, never quite hit their ceiling in 2026 in a lackluster AL West.
Beyond the A's, the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds all have elimination numbers under 10 as of this writing.
Team | Tragic number |
|---|---|
Athletics | 1 |
Nationals | 5 |
Mets | 7 |
Reds | 9 |
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