NL Wild Card Race is Going to Be a Dogfight This Year
With seven teams still within five games of a playoff spot, the NL Wild Card race is anyone's to win, with all three spots up for grabs.
As the trade deadline has come and gone, the final pushes for the postseason are starting to take shape. Across Major League Baseball, three of the six divisions are locked in races that are currently being decided by less than five games. Still, the most intriguing race is the chaos that is the National League Wild Card picture.
Heading into play on August 5th, there are nine teams technically vying for three spots. While two of those teams are 6+ games back, that still leaves seven teams within five games of a spot and in reasonable striking distances.
Which NL Teams Are Still in the NL Wild Card Race?
A little over two months ago, the Mets were on pace for their worst year in 30 years. Today they sit 1.5 games out of a playoff spot, just going to show how quickly an entire season can turn on its head.
Atlanta Braves
Atop the heap are the Atlanta Braves who have underperformed by their standards while dealing with a myriad of injuries. Despite injuries to 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., ace Spencer Strider, second baseman Ozzie Albies and center fielder Michael Harris Jr., the Braves are 60-51 and leading the Wild Card hunt.
To fill the holes in the outfield left by Acuña and Harris, the Braves recently picked up Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler, a pair of postseason heroes from 2021.
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres have also been red hot with an 8-2 record in their last 10 contests. Jurickson Profar is finally showing the promise that made him a top prospect a decade ago while Jackson Merrill has blossomed into a star in his rookie year.
On top of that, Fernando Tatis Jr. is quietly having a very strong season while Dylan Cease has put himself in Cy Young conversations.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Friars picked up arguably the best relief pitcher on the trade block by flipping four prospects to Miami for Tanner Scott to solidify an already star studded bullpen. They also added Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing to bolster their pen as well.
San Diego has made it clear that they’re all in for this year and don’t show any signs of going away.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Behind them are the reigning NL Champion Arizona Diamondbacks. While dealing with a depleted starting rotation, the D-backs are the hottest team in baseball, having won eight times in their last 10.
Second baseman Ketel Marte is having an MVP caliber season, while first baseman Christian Walker has enjoyed a career year before an injury. In Walker’s absence, Arizona picked up Josh Bell from Miami who blasted a couple home runs in his first game with the club.
The Diamondbacks are expecting both Merril Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez back from injury soon to help bolster their rotation. They also added to their bullpen at the deadline by acquiring left-handed reliever A.J. Puk.
By beating the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, the Diamondbacks moved into the third Wild Card spot, where they currently have a 1.5 game lead.
New York Mets
Then there are those Mets. A strong set of months in June and July has thrust them into the playoffs at 58-53. The offense has come alive, thanks to a season that could put shortstop Francisco Lindor into MVP conversations.
While the pitching staff has lacked consistency, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns addressed those needs with the acquisitions of starter Paul Blackburn and relievers Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Huascar Brazoban. With a new look bullpen coupled with the aforementioned elite offense, the Mets are a dangerous club going forward.
Things could have been much better for the Mets, had Kodai Senga’s return from the IL lasted more than a few hours. The Mets ace made his season debut the Friday before the deadline and looked to be in prime form, striking out nine in five innings pitched. Unfortunately he pulled his calf and ended up right back on the 60-day IL.
If the Mets want to see their ace back on the mound this season, they will need to make it out on top of the NL Wild Card race.
St. Louis Cardinals
After a strong June put them in contention, the St. Louis Cardinals took a step back in July but are still just three games back with a 57-55 record. Despite lackluster seasons from stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, the offense has hit enough thanks to a breakout from outfielder Alec Burleson and a successful return from the IL from catcher Willson Contreras.
The combination of Kyle Gibson, Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn has given St. Louis enough quality innings to keep themselves in the thick of the race. They addressed the rotation at the deadline by scooping up Erick Fedde from the White Sox in a three-team swap. If the staff can hold it together, the Cardinals will be in the picture until late September without a doubt.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Another hot NL Central team is the Pittsburgh Pirates who rode a strong end to the first half to reinsert themselves in the race for October. Led by rookie phenom Paul Skenes, the Pirates have posted the 10th-best ERA in MLB (3.82) and are hoping to get fellow rookie Jared Jones back from injury soon.
While the offense has struggled mightily, shortstop Oneil Cruz has finally taken a step forward and shown his top prospect potential, while outfielder Bryan Reynolds has continued his stardom with another strong year.
Trying to upgrade the lineup, the Bucs picked up former Marlins outfielder Brian De La Cruz to provide some pop. If the Pirates will make a push over the next two months, it will be on the back of their pitching, and only time will tell how far this ship will go.
San Francisco Giants
The final team within striking distance of a postseason spot is the San Francisco Giants. After almost selling at the deadline, they stood pat and after sweeping a four-game set against the Rockies to inch closer to the .500 mark.
More recently, they took two-out-of-three from Cincinnati including a no-hitter from Blake Snell, who seems to have returned to his typical ace form.
Still sitting 4.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race, it’s obviously an uphill battle for San Francisco. But with how chaotic the entire race is, any team is capable of making a run.
With about eight weeks to play, it is hard to believe that all seven teams will remain in contention through the season’s final day, but it goes to show what a dogfight it will be for the NL to decide its three Wild Card participants.
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