Last season saw two MLB franchises with historic championship droughts face off in World Series. As you know, the Cubs finally broke through, while the Indians’ championship-less streak continues.
Those weren’t the only two teams to play baseball in October, however, and some of 2016’s postseason participants are bound to bow out before the playoffs begin this year. Welcome to the Yardbarker roundtable, where we look at the Cubs, Indians, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Giants, Red Sox, Nationals, Rangers, Mets and Orioles and wonder:
Which 2016 playoff teams won’t be in the race this year and why?
Phillip Barnett: In the AL, the Baltimore Orioles could be the odd team out this year. They snuck into the 2016 playoffs and didn't really improve the back of their rotation much. They'll score plenty of runs, but it's hard to imagine them keeping enough runs off the board to hold off teams like the Astros and even the Mariners for this year's final Wild Card spot knowing that the Blue Jays are almost a lock for that first spot if they stay healthy.
In the NL, the Mets are the most likely team to fall out of the playoff picture. The Giants addressed their biggest issue by bringing in Mark Melancon, and the Cardinals should be much improved with Dexter Fowler roaming center field in St. Louis. Even the Colorado Rockies look like they might have *just* enough pitching to make a push for the second Wild Card spot in a top heavy NL West.
Matt Whitener: The Baltimore Orioles finished up strong during the final week of the season and inched into the AL Wild Card play-in game before falling to the Toronto Blue Jays. This year, however, it seems as if there are far more holes without clear resolutions. They have a young rotation that is dependent a lot of previously unfulfilled potential all paying out at once. In addition, longtime catcher Matt Wieters is gone, the lineup is still over reliant on the long ball and they are in the midst of the game's toughest jungle in the AL East. The odds just seem a bit stacked on tilting off the edge away from the postseason, as opposed to toward it.
Shiloh Carder: I think the Orioles top this list. They relied a lot on hitting the big home runs (and a lot of them) last year and that bullpen, but I'm not that sold on the pitching staff. It's average at best, and that may not cut it in the competitive AL East.
David Matthews: I think the Orioles are too easy a choice to make here, so I'm going to go out on a limb and nominate the Rangers. The Astros are loaded up for this year with the additions of Carlos Beltran, Josh Reddick and Brian McCann. And they still have Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve, among others. The Mariners also got better. The top of their lineup is filthy, and their outfield is going to feature three natural center fielders at once. Give pitchers Felix Hernandez and James Paxton run support and solid defense, and the wins will pile up.
Demetrius Bell: The Orioles may have seen a golden chance to make a decent playoff run slip away after they decided that they didn't want to use Zach Britton in the Wild Card game. Now, they've got to deal with a division that's only gotten better over the offseason while they haven't exactly loaded up, and that's even with them having an MVP candidate in Manny Machado and the new Captain America in Adam Jones. It's going to be very tough in the AL East, and it might be too tough for Baltimore.
Jamie Neal: The Orioles and Dodgers are going to miss the playoffs this year because they don't seem to have all the pieces put together yet. The Orioles are a nice story, but I think the Yankees are going to put together a solid season and the Red Sox/Blue Jays still reside in the AL East as well. The Dodgers spend money like nobody's business, but that doesn't build a cohesive team. Throwing money at players only does so much, and that's not quite enough this year.
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