It has been a wildly unpredictable season across baseball. Just consider the top eight teams most likely to make the MLB playoffs, according to preseason odds: the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals. Four of those teams aren't going to make it to the postseason -- and two of them are guaranteed losing records.
On top of that, the Mets, Yankees and Padres have the three highest payrolls, with the Mets shattering the previous record, making this just the second time in the wild-card era (since 1995) that the top three teams in payroll will all miss the postseason, matching 2008 with the Yankees, Mets and Tigers.
We have a few games left, but as we hand out final grades to all 30 teams, considering some of those disappointing teams, it's not surprising then that we have a lot of bad grades to give -- and there's a team we haven't mentioned yet sitting at the bottom of our list.
Jump to a team:
American League
BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE | DET
HOU | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY
OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR
National League
ARI | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL
LAD | MIA | MIL | NYM | PHI
PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH
Baltimore Orioles: A+
No matter what happens in the postseason, it has been a stunning year for the Orioles -- from the star turns of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Kyle Bradish to Grayson Rodriguez's second-half breakout to Jackson Holliday's rise to the best prospect in baseball in reaching Triple-A at age 19 (and don't sleep on catcher Samuel Basallo, who has reached Double-A as a teenager).
Baltimore has been more clutch than dominant in its run to the top of the AL East, posting a fantastic record in one-run games and a great average with runners in scoring position. Sure, there's room for improvement in the rotation, but the Orioles are poised for a long run at or near the top of the American League East for the foreseeable future. It will be fascinating to see how they look to address the rotation or if they trade from their prospect depth this offseason.
Atlanta Braves: A
OK, there was a little hiccup after they clinched the division, but when you have arguably the greatest lineup of all time and win 100 games, you earn a top grade, even if you're just essentially matching preseason expectations. Matt Olson, Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna became the first foursome of teammates to all hit 35 home runs, with Olson setting a franchise record and Acuna the likely MVP.
The rotation is suddenly a concern as Max Fried (blister) and Charlie Morton (finger) landed on the injured list in the past week, with Morton definitely out for the division series. The Braves are still hoping Fried is ready for Game 1 or 2, but it's unclear who the fourth starter might be after Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder. The bullpen ... well, the bullpen may be the key to the World Series, just as it was in 2021, when it stepped up big time and helped deliver a championship. The Braves' pen needs to turn things around, however, as it has struggled in September.
Milwaukee Brewers: A-
The Brewers took advantage of the Cardinals' fall in winning a soft National League Central. There's no shame in that, and they've done about as well as possible given their less-than-stellar offense. Give them credit for their resiliency as well. Brandon Woodruff missed most of the season and Eric Lauer, part of the Opening Day rotation, struggled, but Milwaukee managed to fill the holes there, and the bullpen has been outstanding. The offense has been better the past two months with the additions of rookie Sal Frelick and Mark Canha via trade, so combined with a big three of Corbin Burnes, Woodruff and Freddy Peralta on the mound, the Brewers have the components to be a surprise team in October.
Los Angeles Dodgers: A-
The Dodgers won their 10th NL West title in 11 seasons -- and they won 106 games the one season they didn't win the division -- but this one was arguably the biggest surprise of the 10 given this was the worst Dodgers pitching staff since 2014, especially in a rotation in which nobody will get to 140 innings. The Dodgers even enter the final weekend with a chance to reach 100 wins for a third straight season, tying a record accomplished by just six previous teams. You can definitely call this Dave Roberts' best season yet in getting the most out of an imperfect roster.
He can thank Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, of course, as the pair became the first Dodgers position players to get to 6.5 WAR in the same season since Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella in 1953. The Noah Syndergaard idea didn't work, Julio Urias' absence due to administrative leave will hurt the team in the playoffs and Clayton Kershaw is on a limited pitch count, so the Dodgers will be reliant on young starters and the bullpen in the postseason.
Tampa Bay Rays: B+
Nothing sums up how the Rays just find ways to win better than the performances of relievers Shawn Armstrong and Robert Stephenson, two journeyman types who have been lights-out with incredible strikeout-walk ratios. They've added depth to the bullpen, which was much needed given all the injuries the rotation suffered, from Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen early in the season to Shane McClanahan late in the season. As good as the Rays are at finding and improving pitchers like Armstrong and Stephenson, they also have trouble keeping them healthy -- and they need to be docked a little for all those injuries. The Wander Franco investigation also puts a chill over the entire season.
Texas Rangers: B+
After roaring out of the gate with a 40-20 start and incredible plus-155 run differential, the Rangers looked like they might cruise to the AL West title, but they haven't made it easy on themselves -- especially as the bullpen has teetered with disaster much of the second half. At one point, Texas fell completely out of the playoff race, only to bounce back, and it's now on the brink of winning the division. The lineup has been the best in the AL, and Corey Seager would be challenging Shohei Ohtani for MVP honors if he hadn't missed 40 games (Seager, who currently has the third-highest OPS ever for a shortstop, he might steal some first-place votes anyway). Max Scherzer's injury hurts the Rangers' playoff chances, but they still have the firepower and rotation to go all the way -- if the bullpen can step up.
Cincinnati Reds: B+
Nobody expected the Reds to be playing meaningful games the final week of the season a year after losing 100 games and making no significant offseason additions. Given that, I suppose you can argue for an A+ grade, especially when factoring in such a productive and exciting rookie class.
Still, not everything is roses here. Elly De La Cruz fizzled more than sizzled in the second half, and Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo (who got injured and made just seven starts) didn't prove themselves to be rotation anchors like the Reds had hoped heading into the season. With all the young talent, the future is bright, but the front office will have to figure out how to configure the surplus of infielders and perhaps turn some of them into pitching or outfield help.
Arizona Diamondbacks: B
The Diamondbacks are kind of what we thought they would be: a .500-ish team with a chance at a wild card if everything breaks right. I wrote heading into the season that Arizona's playoff hopes would rest on the young starters -- Ryne Nelson, Drey Jameson and Brandon Pfaadt -- and even though that trio hasn't been that productive, it looks like Arizona will nonetheless make the playoffs. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have carried the rotation while Kevin Ginkel (9-0 in relief) has been the right reliever at the right time. The biggest highlight, of course, has been dazzling rookie Corbin Carroll, who reached 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases and should finish in the top 10 of MVP voting. With Gallen and Kelly, excellent defense (rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno has a cannon) and some offensive depth in Christian Walker and Ketel Marte, the D-backs are a playoff sleeper.
Minnesota Twins: B
Nobody is going to complain about a division title, and while it was hardly smooth sailing, the Twins were out of first place only five days all season. The rotation was the best they've had in a long time, with Sonny Gray and Pablo Lopez leading the way. Gray should get some down-ballot Cy Young votes while Lopez made the Luis Arraez trade a win-win for both teams. The best offensive highlight has been Royce Lewis, FINALLY getting a chance to play after all his injuries and averaging nearly an RBI per game, including an incredible five grand slams. Injuries -- including, yes, Byron Buxton, who never played a game in center field -- didn't help as not a single position player will get to 140 games on the season and Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis) and Lewis (hamstring) may be hobbled heading into the playoffs. Now comes the big test: Can the Twins end that 18-game postseason losing streak?
Chicago Cubs: B
It has been a roller coaster of a season for the Cubs, who dug themselves a hole with a 10-18 record in May but got to within 1.5 games of the Brewers for the NL Central lead in early September -- only to lose 10 of their next 13. Luckily, nobody behind them made a big run to overtake them. The Cubs actually have the best run differential of any of the NL wild-card hopefuls, showing that they do get a lot of blowout wins when the offense is clicking. The front office's roll of the dice on Cody Bellinger turned out to be one of the best moves of the offseason. The Cubs are certainly happy with the Dansby Swanson signing as well, while Nico Hoerner (solid OBP, great defense, 40-plus steals) quietly leads the team in WAR. There are some good things happening in the farm system, too, with late-season call-ups Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ben Brown and pitcher Cade Horton (and 2023 first-round pick Matt Shaw tore up the minors and reached Double-A already).
Toronto Blue Jays: B-
The season was verging on crushingly disappointing until the Blue Jays gained a foothold in the wild-card race over the past week -- mostly because of Houston and Seattle losing, but they did win consecutive series against the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays (following an ugly four-game sweep by the Rangers at home). In the end, the Jays will finish with around 90 wins as expected, although finishing third in the division while going 3-10 against Baltimore is perhaps a sign that the Orioles have passed them for the present as well as the future -- which was certainly unforeseeable a couple of years ago, when the Jays looked like the team of the future in the AL East.
The offense has been middle of the pack all season and struggled to hit for power at home (Matt Chapman's torrid April seems long ago). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette remain interesting case studies that not all 21-year-old hitters get better; Vladdy has been unable to repeat his 2021 monster season, while Bichette has remained the same. Both are good hitters, mind you, but they haven't separated themselves as once expected. The key to Toronto's success has been a healthy and effective rotation, with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi all making 30-plus starts (the only team that will do that).
Philadelphia Phillies: B-
The Phillies' biggest problem is that they're a veteran team in win-now mode -- playing in a division with a much superior and younger team, so they appear relegated to a bunch of wild-card finishes in upcoming seasons. Like last year, their star power will give them a chance in the playoffs, where they'll again face the Braves if they get past the wild-card series. At various times, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner -- and even Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott early on -- have carried the offense, but they've rarely had the entire group clicking at the same time. The Braves won the season series 8-5 with a plus-16 run differential, but it's about getting hot at the right time, and the Phillies have that ability.
Miami Marlins: B-
The Marlins are still hanging in the wild-card race and will finish with their first winning record in a full season since 2009, so this is progress -- especially if they do make the playoffs. Still, they've been outscored on the season and relied heavily on a ridiculously good record in one-run games (32-13), so I have my doubts about whether they're ready to become a consistent contender. Sandy Alcantara's season-ending shutdown due to forearm tightness was obviously a huge blow these final weeks -- even if he was nowhere near as dominant as in 2022. Indeed, an ongoing issue with the Marlins is getting their entire rotation healthy and productive in the same year. Besides Alcantara's down season (and worry about potential Tommy John surgery), Trevor Rogers made just four starts. Offensively, the Marlins are last in the NL in runs even with the wonderful Arraez hitting .350, and there doesn't appear to be much immediate help coming from the farm system.
Seattle Mariners: C+
The Mariners began the season as a chic pick to reach the World Series, let alone contend for the division title, but suddenly just making the playoffs is the task. Of course, back in July, even that seemed unlikely as the team never got going in the first half (thanks in part to an unproductive offseason from Jerry Dipoto). Then came a 25-6 run with Julio Rodriguez leading the way and they even climbed into first place for a few days.
They needed a win on Tuesday against the Astros and got it behind George Kirby and can leapfrog the Astros with a win on Wednesday. Then four games against the Rangers, a team that has beaten them up all season. Indeed, the Mariners are 16 games over .500 against the A's and Royals and under .500 against everyone else -- although they are 9-3 against the Astros, which means they own the tiebreaker against them, making Wednesday's game one of biggest of the season in MLB.
Houston Astros: C
This grade has a chance to go down if the Astros end up missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016 - or up half a grade if they manage to hold off the Mariners for the final wild card. The season has been one of frustrating inconsistency, sloppy defense at times and a poor record in extra innings (1-8). It looked like they would win the AL West after crushing the Rangers in a three-game series in early September, only to go 2-7 against the hapless A's and Royals, including last weekend's embarrassing sweep at home to the Royals. The offense is still stellar with Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, but the bullpen hasn't been as lockdown as last season and the rotation has been plagued by longball problems. Sure, we can expect the Astros to turn it on in the postseason (if they get in) - but if they couldn't turn it on against the A's and Royals, why should we expect another trip to the World Series?
San Francisco Giants: C
The Giants are a case study in that it's almost more difficult to go from mediocre to great than it is from awful to great (see the Orioles). They're kind of stuck in the mud these past two seasons: too good to fold, not good enough to win, and perhaps too reliant on thinking they can get the most out of flawed players. The inability to land a franchise free agent hasn't helped, although they probably ended up escaping a bad contract with Carlos Correa given his performance with the Twins this season. But the guys they did bring in -- Mitch Haniger, Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling -- didn't help much, leaving president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler with the same dilemma: How do you turn a .500 team without any stars (except maybe Logan Webb) into a World Series contender?
Washington Nationals: C
I'll give the Nationals a reluctant middle-of-the-road score since we're grading on a curve and I thought they had a chance to be the worst team in the majors coming into this season. Some young players showed promise, although I wouldn't say CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and Keibert Ruiz are surefire future stars. The farm system had mixed results -- positive for James Wood and Brady House but not so good for Elijah Green and Robert Hassell -- and the early returns are that the Nationals might have drafted the wrong SEC outfielder in taking Dylan Crews over Wyatt Langford with the second pick of the 2023 draft. Manager Dave Martinez and GM Mike Rizzo were rewarded with extensions, so they'll get a couple more seasons to polish this rebuild.
Pittsburgh Pirates: C-
It was fun when the Pirates were in first place in mid-June, but for the most part they've been "not terrible," which I guess is a modest step in the right direction. Still, they're last in the NL in runs scored, none of the starters have an ERA under 4.00 and the top prospects who got an opportunity in the second half -- Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, Nick Gonzales -- didn't exactly tear it up. Rodriguez got the innings at catcher over Davis, who looked out of place in right field, so the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft really has to hit if he's not going to stay behind the plate. Indeed, that points to the degree of luck involved in a rebuild: The Orioles had the first pick in 2019 and 2022, selecting Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday, while the Pirates had it in a year without a clear top talent. They did have the No. 1 pick in 2023 and selected LSU pitcher Paul Skenes. Pitchers are inherently risky, but the Pirates believe they have a future ace on hand.
Cleveland Guardians: C-
A frustrating season given how winnable the AL Central was, but injuries to the rotation and a lack of power doomed the Guardians' chances. There's no doubt about their ability to develop pitching and rookies Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen and Xzavion Curry all stepped up and performed, with Bibee and Williams looking like potential All-Stars. That's countered by the organization's complete inability to develop any power hitters; relying on the likes of Kole Calhoun and Ramon Laureano was a sign of desperation (indeed, the Guardians outfielders will hit the fewest home runs since the 1989 Astros). Ownership's seeming indifference to winning limits what the Guardians can achieve, no matter how much pitching comes through the pipeline.
Boston Red Sox: C-
I guess owner John Henry would probably give this a failing grade as he fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom after four seasons on the job -- four seasons in which Bloom inherited an aging, bloated payroll; was forced to trade Mookie Betts; and was tasked with improving a depleted farm system (which he did). Apparently he was supposed to mix in a World Series appearance or two in there along the way? Hey, it's not easy competing with the Orioles and Rays!
Bottom line: The Red Sox are headed for their third last-place finish in four seasons and that's not going to cut it. They will have to improve their starting pitching, but the offensive foundation appears set for the foreseeable future with Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida and late-season call-up Ceddanne Rafaela (plus shortstop Marcelo Mayer and outfielder Roman Anthony in the minors).
Detroit Tigers: C-
On the surface, it was another losing season, Detroit's eighth in a row, but at least it came with reasons to be optimistic. For the first time in a long time, the offense showed signs of life as Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson improved in their sophomore seasons, with Torkelson having a strong second half and excellent numbers overall on the road (he continues to struggle at Comerica Park). Kerry Carpenter may also be something. The brightest spot was a rotation that was top 10 in ERA in the second half. Tarik Skubal returned from his injury and was outstanding, pitching like a front-of-the-rotation starter. Prospects Colt Keith and Jackson Jobe had strong seasons. The Tigers will remain patient, but in this division, they may not be that far away from contending.
New York Yankees: D
This grade has time to flip: If they do end up with their first losing season since 1992, we have to give it an F, right? These are the Yankees. Losing is not acceptable. Still, against all odds, the Yankees recovered from the depths of despair when they were 62-68 in late August to give themselves a chance at a winning record. Of course, that doesn't cover up what has been a miserable offensive season -- for the second time in three seasons, sandwiched around the year Aaron Judge was all-world.
Has general manager Brian Cashman suddenly lost his touch? That's the feeling among Yankees fans, even though the team won 99 games last year and 100 and 103 in 2018 and 2019. The rotation still has a chance to be good next year with bounce-backs from Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes, but given the lack of premium offensive players in free agency, the Yankees won't be able to buy themselves out of this mess (well, unless they sign a certain DH).
San Diego Padres: D
Given the preseason level of expectations, you could give the Padres an even lower grade, but (1) They were probably a little overrated to begin with; and (2) They've had one of the unluckiest seasons in major league history with that 0-11 record in extra-inning games. That's not to dismiss what happened in 2023, as they just didn't hit in those games and the bullpen lacked depth, but it was mostly a fluke thing. It's easy to pinpoint when things went south: The Padres were 18-15 in early May when they lost the final two games of a series against the Dodgers, lost two of three to the Twins, lost three in a row at Dodger Stadium (scoring just four runs), and then lost four of six to the Royals and Red Sox. They never got back to .500 and showed a surprising lack of resiliency. They have some key free agents -- Blake Snell, Josh Hader -- and maybe the chemistry is just off, but there's clearly enough talent here to compete next season.
Kansas City Royals: D-
Needless to say, it was an ugly, unwatchable season in Kansas City and the results weren't any better in the farm system, where most of the top prospects failed to impress. The Royals remain way behind in player development compared to other organizations -- at both the big league and minor league levels. So why not an F grade? First, Bobby Witt Jr. did improve, especially with a monster offensive breakout in the second half and much better defensive metrics. Second, lefty Cole Ragans, who came over in the Aroldis Chapman trade, was a revelation as a starter after scuffling in relief for the Rangers and might be a potential ace. It looks like an absolute robbery of a deal for the Royals ... and when was the last time we could say that?
New York Mets: F
Our first F grade ... of many. It was that kind of season across MLB. The Mets began the season with a record-shattering payroll, two future Hall of Famers in the rotation and World Series aspirations. Edwin Diaz's knee injury in the World Baseball Classic was clearly a sign of things to come.
The Mets were actually OK in April (15-12) even without Justin Verlander, but then everything fell apart. The rotation was awful, the bullpen had no depth and the lineup lacked power outside of Pete Alonso. They made the reasonable decision to trade Verlander and Max Scherzer at the deadline (although, I think it would have also been reasonable to keep both to make another run with them in 2024). I like the hiring of former Brewers GM David Stearns to run baseball operations and he has some tough decisions in the offseason, starting with the futures of manager Buck Showalter and Alonso, who is eligible for free agency after 2024.
St. Louis Cardinals: F
It was the first losing season under John Mozeliak, who took over as GM in 2008, and it was well-earned: The Cardinals had talent but didn't have a plan on how to deploy it, leading to eight different starting left fielders, five center fielders, eight right fielders and a bunch of different shortstops and second basemen. Even if they had been smarter on the position player side of things, the rotation was a mess and fixing that is the obvious offseason priority. In recent seasons, I've thought an issue with the Cardinals is that they've been too content to build 90-win clubs because that's usually been good enough in the NL Central. The risk is a 90-win team can fall apart a lot easier than a 100-win team and that finally happened in 2023. The Cardinals are certainly in better shape than the other teams down here at the bottom, but they have work to do.
Colorado Rockies: F
You know who doesn't get enough credit? Rockies fans. They show up year after year, supporting a faceless, losing team, and draw more fans than many teams in playoff contention. The offense was dreadful. The pitching was dreadful. The most interesting player was ... Nolan Jones? He still averaged more than a strikeout per game, so I'm not even sure his breakout is sustainable. OK, shortstop Ezequiel showed promise. The farm system was better, although former first-round outfielders Zac Veen and Benny Montgomery lost some shine and three top pitching prospects had their seasons end early for Tommy John surgery.
Like so many of the teams down here, it starts with ownership and the Rockies still seem way behind everybody else in developing a modern organization. Except in the ticket department. They're very good at selling tickets.
Los Angeles Angels: F
Let's not sugarcoat this: That second half was the "Howard the Duck" of second halves. The Angels decided to keep Ohtani -- to be fair, probably the right decision at the time -- but then everything fell apart. Mike Trout got hurt. Ohtani injured his elbow. Then he missed the final three weeks. It's almost unfathomable the Angels have suffered eight consecutive losing seasons with the two best players in baseball over that span, first Trout and then Ohtani. They've never been Royals bad or Rockies bad and they've clearly tried to win, unlike other organizations, but nothing ever works out as hoped. With Ohtani almost certain to sign with a new team, it's reasonable to also ask: Will the Angels ask Trout if he wants out?
Oakland Athletics: F
Well, on the bright side, the rotation got a little better as the season progressed. Remember April? A's starters went 0-15 with an 8.51 ERA. But, hey, the starters won twice in May, three times in July and twice in August. There was that small miracle in June when the A's somehow won seven games in a row, but there appears to be no miracle in sight to keep the franchise in Oakland as the club moves forward with its application to relocate to Las Vegas. Owner John Fisher recently promised the club would invest more in player payroll when the team moves. Vegas "demands a winner," he said, apparently not in irony.
Chicago White Sox: F
The White Sox weren't the worst team of 2023, but they surely can be considered the organization in the most disarray. Longtime executives Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn were fired in August with Chris Getz, the club's assistant general manager the past three seasons, getting promoted to the big job. The on-field problems are immense with only Luis Robert Jr. and Dylan Cease (who regressed from his near-Cy Young season in 2022) the only real building blocks in place.