Which MLB Team Has the Most at Stake This Season?

For nearly every team in Major League Baseball, a typical regular season is all about context. One prime example is where the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals find themselves through around 110 games.

Both sit right around 60 victories this year. To Atlanta, that’s “only” good for second in the NL East and they’re eight games behind the Phillies. They were supposed to be the runaway favorites.

As far as St. Louis goes, they finished dead last in the NL Central last season and had little to no hope of a bounce-back in 2024. Yet, here they are in second place in their division and firmly in the hunt for a Wild Card spot.

The Cardinals couldn’t be happier with this outcome. The Braves could not be more uncomfortable with their situation.

Expectations play a major part in how teams are perceived, and they’re usually set before games even get underway. The Cardinals may have believed in themselves, but the industry expectation was that their reign was over. On the other hand, the Braves were the obvious favorites to take their division once again.

It’s never been harder to win baseball games, and the expectations and stakes have never been higher. Some clubs crumble under the pressure and some excel, but no matter which way you look at it, the sheer amount of pressure on certain clubs to simply win is out of this world.

Today, we’re going to take a look at three teams with the highest stakes this year. Whether it be because of pending free agency, a closing contention window or simply self-imposed expectations, we’ve got it all. Let’s dive in.

MLB Teams With the Most at Stake This Season

Houston Astros

Even more than the defending champion Rangers, the Astros have a ton of pressure on their shoulders. The club has become something of a dynasty over nearly the past decade, but their shine is fading quickly.

Houston is keeping the band together with a strong core of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez, but they aren’t getting any younger. Jeremy Pena, their Carlos Correa replacement, is sporting a wRC+ below 100, which is league-average.

Also, injuries are absolutely decimating this club’s roster. At this moment, Kyle Tucker has been out for over two months with a bone bruise. On the pitching side of things, five starters and four relievers are on the injured list. Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy are all recovering from Tommy John surgery, which keeps pitchers out of game action for well over a full season.

Despite the fact that the Astros are atop the AL West, they don’t have a comfortable lead. In fact, they’re currently in a tie with the Mariners for the top spot in their division. It feels like a two-team race at this point, but one thing is clear: this is no longer the dominant Astros squad it once was.

With control on their stars winding down and injuries wiping out half the roster, the Astros are under a ton of pressure to win and win now.

San Diego Padres

Forever one of the most active teams at the trade deadline (and all other times of year, really), the Padres once again did not disappoint this year. Luis Arraez and Dylan Cease were brought aboard in an early-season deals while Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing and Jason Adam were acquired at the deadline.

AJ Preller, the man behind the chaos that is the Padres, is the furthest thing from a prospect hugger. In fact, he’s practically never had a single prospect in his organization that’s truly been un-moveable. He continues to sell the farm in exchange for win-now pieces, which would be an admirable avenue if … the Padres ever won anything.

Under Preller’s direction, the Padres have made it to the postseason twice since he took over in 2014. Those two times are also two of the three times they’ve even finished above .500 during his tenure. In that time, he’s traded Trea Turner, Max Fried, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood, CJ Abrams, Robby Snelling and Adam Mazur.

He’s never afraid to trade prospects, but he’s also not doing enough to surround these flashy trade acquisitions with a winning ballclub. He has Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts (and Jake Cronenworth…) locked up for a long, long time but so far, there’s not much to show for it.

It’s worth noting that two weeks ago, the Padres were 8.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. That lead has been trimmed to 2.5 games now, so perhaps it’s finally time for San Diego to deliver on this hype and promise. If not, Preller’s likely going to be shown the door.

New York Yankees

For reasons unknown, the Yankees were one of the quieter teams at this year’s deadline. Their expansive wish list was addressed only by acquiring Jazz Chisholm Jr., Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos. At times, they were looking into the likes of Jack Flaherty and Garrett Crochet, so it’s confusing why they left with such a small haul.

That’s not even the biggest reason why the Yankees have a ton at stake, though. That’d be because they have one of the greatest hitters this game has ever seen in Juan Soto … for one season.

There’s no team in baseball with more pressure to win than the Yankees, that’s something we all are well aware of. The presence of Soto on this club adds to that in a massive way. Soto, 25, is having of one of his best seasons and has been a huge addition to this lineup.

Without an extension in hand, though, he’s going to hit free agency in just a few months. The Soto-Aaron Judge core is going to look much less intimidating without 50% of that tandem on the roster.

The fact of the matter is that the Yankees’ lineup is a whole lot less scary without Soto. Without him, there’s Judge, an aging Giancarlo Stanton who’s a shell of the player he once was, an unproven Anthony Volpe and the questionable production of Alex Verdugo, Gleyber Torres and Chisholm.

As of right now, the Yankees are in a tie for the top spot in the AL East with the Orioles. Anything less than a deep postseason run is to be seen as a waste of a year with one of the best players in baseball history.