Washington Nationals Become Latest Team Eliminated From MLB Playoff Contention

Despite beating the Miami Marlins 4-1 on Friday, the Washington Nationals are now 15.0 games out of the last NL Wild Card spot with 15 games left on the schedule.

Sep 8, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder James Wood (29) runs from first base to third base against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Pittsburgh won 7-3. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

For the fifth year in a row, the Washington Nationals will not be going to the playoffs.

The Nationals won game two of their series with the Miami Marlins on Friday, emerging with a 4-1 victory, but results elsewhere went against their rooting interests. The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-3, keeping them 15.0 games ahead of Washington in the NL Wild Card race.

With 15 games left in the regular season and the Mets owning an 8-2 record in the head-to-head series, the Nationals' chances of reaching the postseason officially hit zero.

The Nationals will not be wearing Strauss helmets this season pic.twitter.com/Kmcj9q9sD4

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 14, 2024

FanGraphs gave the Nationals a 0.2% chance to make the playoffs entering 2024, and while that rose to 3.5% when they were 38-39 on June 23, the figure dropped to 0.0% on July 30.

There are now five teams that have been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention: the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Marlins and Nationals.

Washington has now posted a losing record record and failed to make the playoffs each and every season since winning the World Series in 2019. Their 283-410 record over the past five years is tied with the Colorado Rockies for the worst in baseball.

If there's any hope for Nationals fans, it may be best to look towards the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals won the American League pennant in 2014 and the World Series in 2015, then missed the postseason in each of the next eight years. Now, Kansas City is one win away from its first winning season in nearly a decade, currently holding onto the second AL Wild Card spot at 81-67.

While the Royals bottomed out in 2023, the Nationals hit their lowest point in 2022, suggesting that they might not have to wait the full nine years that Kansas City did. Washington's .449 winning percentage is on pace to be the franchise's best since 2019, after all, and they finally won't finish last in the NL East either.

All eyes are now on 2025 for the Nationals, with CJ Abrams, James Wood, Dylan Crews and other young stars hoping to lead the team back to October.

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