Who’s Still Playing Spoiler at the End of the MLB Season?

The 2024 MLB season is winding down and we’re down to the final week of regular-season play. Just two divisions around the game are solidified, with both the Guardians and Brewers already clinching the top spot and punching their tickets to the postseason.

Then there’s the Dodgers, Phillies and Yankees, all of whom have successfully secured a spot in the playoffs but haven’t quite locked down their respective divisions.

With six to play, this leaves quite a few teams still in the thick of things, as the Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Astros, Twins, Mariners, Red Sox and Rays all technically still have a chance to make this thing on the AL side. Over in the NL, it’s the Diamondbacks, Padres, Mets and Braves that are still hanging in there.

This final week is sure to have plenty of storylines to follow. Some of the more notable ones will be which non-playoff teams can play spoiler. There are going to be a handful of series where teams that are already eliminated can put together a strong series and deal the fatal blow to contending teams’ chances at making the postseason.

Let’s take a look at this week’s schedule and see which teams have the chance to play spoiler, and why they could have their contending opponents pounding the table in frustration after their series is over.

Non-Playoff Teams Playing Spoiler

Honorable Mention: Rays vs. Tigers*

*Rays not technically eliminated yet

The Rays are four games out of the final Wild Card spot, but with six to play there’s still a chance (even if it’s a remote one) that they squeeze into this thing before all is said and done. The club is 7-3 over their last 10 and have a four-game winning streak going, which they have to thank for keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Their opponent will be the Tigers, who are another one of the hotter teams in baseball. Detroit has done an excellent job of hanging on in the race and they’re currently in a tie for the second AL Wild Card spot.

The Rays may not be fully eliminated yet, but the odds of them making the postseason are very slim. If there’s anything positive for Rays fans to hold onto, it’s the fact that their team’s pitching staff has the very best ERA in the game (3.13) in the second half.

Of course, Tampa Bay’s offense has mustered up a 91 wRC+ in that time, too, which is good for 23rd in baseball. Their pitching staff has done a great job of keeping games close, so if the offense can score somewhere between two and three runs a game, an upset is possible.

A look at the second-half ERA leaderboards will show you that the Tigers’ pitching staff is at 3.14, just .01 behind the Rays for the best in baseball. Their offense’s wRC+ is 20th, so this is going to be a pretty even matchup based off of how things have been going for each club.

Giants vs. Dbacks

Detroit-Tampa Bay only makes the cut as an honorable mention, and that’s one hell of a way to start things off. Immediately making things even more interesting is a matchup of NL West heavyweights that could see the Giants knock the reigning NL Champions out of a playoff spot.

San Francisco is two games under .500 and well out of a playoff spot. They had one of the busier offseasons this past winter but have nothing to show for it. They are, however, riding a three-game win streak and are in position to dethrone the Dbacks.

Similarly to the Tigers and Rays series, the Giants have been all pitching, no offense for a while now. The club ranks seventh in baseball in ERA since Aug. 1 (3.52) while the Dbacks are 26th (4.96) in that same stretch.

Offensively, this could be a one-sided affair, but we’re not prepared to say that it’s impossible the Giants swipe this from the Snakes. Since Aug. 1, the Dbacks are in the top spot in wRC+ (133) while their division rivals are 26th (86). The Giants are going to need to take advantage of an ailing pitching staff over in Arizona.

Nationals vs. Royals

For a brief stretch of time, it really did seem like the Nationals could hold their own in the Wild Card race. As we near the end of the season, their 69-87 record has regressed to where we thought they’d be all along.

While there’s no chance at a playoff spot, the Nationals are in a unique situation here. They are set to take on the Royals, who have been one of baseball’s most pleasant surprises since the get-go and are just barely holding onto a spot in the postseason themselves.

Kansas City is 2-8 in their last 10 games and are currently sporting a ghastly seven-game losing streak. If there’s any series worth watching the most here, it’s going to be this one. The Royals have played underdog all year long and have won over the hearts of baseball fans everywhere. If they miss out on the postseason, they’re only going to have themselves to blame.

Since Aug. 1, the Nationals are 22nd in wRC+ (94) while the Royals are 19th (95). Washington’s pitching staff is 16th in ERA (4.25) while Kansas City’s is 14th (3.98). This seems to be a pretty tight matchup on paper, but this series is definitely worth keeping an eye on as the Royals desperately cling to a great finish to their feel-good season.

Marlins vs. Twins

Speaking of teams who will only have themselves to blame if they miss out on the postseason, the Twins’ downfall has been catastrophic in the second half. The club is one game out of a Wild Card spot and is 3-7 in their last 10.

The Marlins, one of the worst teams in the game this year, have the opportunity to do something hilarious here (not funny for Minnesota natives). Outside of the White Sox, the Marlins have been the worst team in the game but their young roster could easily take advantage of an ailing Twins squad.

Over the past two months, Marlins pitchers have the highest ERA in the game and are 20th in wRC+. There’s not much here to provide hope for them outside of the fact that the Twins are shooting themselves in the feet seemingly every day. The Twins continue a freefall in the standings and could go from obvious postseason team to one of the just misses in record time.

End of the Week: Tigers vs. White Sox

If the Tigers are able to hold on to a spot in the playoffs after their series against the Rays, it’ll be up to the White Sox to knock them off of their thrones. With the Tigers’ magic number currently at six, they’re going to need to take care of business against both the Rays and their division rival White Sox in order to lock down a spot here.

To the Tigers’ credit, they’ve gone from afterthought to well-oiled machine in a very short period of time. Their offense has been right at league average since the beginning of August and, as previously mentioned, their pitching has been lights out. Wiping the floor with the White Sox shouldn’t be a problem, but we all know that anything’s possible.