The postseason races in the National League and American League are both shaping up to be quite competitive this season. In fact, there are so many teams still in contention that it's making the trade deadline quite difficult to judge. The sellers will benefit the most if there are more than 15 teams looking to contend when the deadline rolls around. As of now, we could see 25 teams within six games of a postseason spot as the summer goes on.
But not every contending team is the same. Some teams have benefitted from an easy schedule while others have been fortunate with luck being on their side early in the season. The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the main teams who sit in postseason contention right now, but will likely fall out of the race as the summer goes on.
Along with the Cardinals, which teams are bound to fall out of the postseason race?
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St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals aren't nearly as good as their record would indicate. St. Louis has seen some incredible defense early in the season that's led to them pulling out wins in games they wouldn't typically win. They've also been quite fortunate to stay relatively healthy compared to teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's very unlikely the Cardinals will be aggressive buyers at the trade deadline. If a fringe team like St. Louis isn't going to aggressively buy, it will be left behind by the teams that do. The Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and plenty of other NL teams are expected to be aggressive buyers.
St. Louis could shock the world and turn its rebuild on its head by opting to aggressively buy this season, but it's quite unlikely. For that, they'll soon fall out of the postseason race.
Los Angeles Angels
As of the writing of this article, the Los Angeles Angels are only three games out of a postseason spot in the relatively weak AL. The Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins both hold Wild Card spots in the AL right now and they're not world beaters in themselves. The Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland Guardians are also ahead of the Angels in the standings, but none of these teams have stood out.
But the Angels will soon begin losing more games than they win and their atrocious run differential is a key indicator to that. In 66 games, the Angels have a horrendous -51 run differential, good for the third worst in the AL and the seventh worst in the MLB. Their team ERA isn't anything to write home about.
The Angels likely won't be buyers at the trade deadline. Even with a relatively weak AL, Los Angeles is still a few years away from putting a legitimate World Series contender on the field.
Milwaukee Brewers
During the offseason, the Chicago Cubs made a few moves to take massive strides forward while the Milwaukee Brewers actively got worse, specifically with the losses of Willy Adames and Devin Williams.
With that in mind, it makes sense why the Cubs hold a commanding lead in the National League Central. But the Brewers have fallen down with the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds in the division while being a bit of an afterthought in the NL Wild Card race.
The Brewers will likely soon turn into sellers ahead of the trade deadline. They're bound to be a mid tier team among powerhouses in the NL unless they make some serious changes to their roster. With teams like the Padres, Giants, and Phillies vying for a postseason spot, it's unlikely the Brewers remain competitive with them down the stretch.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The downfall of the Arizona Diamondbacks began when major offseason addition, Corbin Burnes, suffered a horrific elbow injury that required season ending surgery. With Burnes on the shelf for the rest of the season, it's very unlikely they're able to stay afloat in the NL Wild Card race, especially because of how incredible the NL West is this season.
Having three teams from one division make the postseason is quite an accomplishment. The Diamondbacks are in the unfortunate situation where that is likely to be the case. For Arizona to make the postseason, it would need to either top the Giants or Padres, or be the fourth team from one division to crack into the postseason.
With Burnes down for the year, the Diamondbacks will likely be sellers at the deadline with players like Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen on the trade block.
Atlanta Braves
If you would have told me a few months ago that the Atlanta Braves would be 10 games under .500 before the midway mark of the season, I wouldn't have believed you. But we're 66 games into the year and Atlanta is 28-38.
Injuries have played a major part in the downfall of Atlanta, but with Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider back, it's hard to blame injuries more than the next team. Atlanta just doesn't seem to be a winning ball club this season and it's going to take a bit of an offseason overhaul to fix the issues that exist on the roster.
There's a good chance the Braves end up as sellers at the trade deadline with Marcell Ozuna potentially being the team's top trade chip. Either way, it's much more likely that the injury-riddled Braves will concede the season rather than competing for a postseason spot at this point.