3 National League teams facing a make-or-break June

Less than two months from the trade deadline and the season creeping toward the midway point in a couple of weeks, some MLB front offices will have to take a hard look at where their team is.

The new expanded playoff format gives teams more hope to get themselves into October baseball. As the Philadelphia Phillies showed last season, just getting into the field is enough to give yourself a chance to make a long run.

They qualified as the final wild card team in the National League. Still, they took down the Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals in two games, before taking down fellow National League East Division foe the Atlanta Braves in four games. In the National League Championship Series, they eliminated the National League West’s wild card entry, the San Diego Padres in five games. Unfortunately in the World Series, they fell to the Houston Astros in six games, but their run proved just getting in no matter what can set a team up for success.

This season, there are several National League teams that are not living up to preseason expectations and could very well find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoffs. Three teams that made the field in 2022 are struggling and if they don’t turn things around in June, they could find themselves as sellers instead of buyers at the trade deadline.

3 National League teams facing a make-or-break June

St. Louis Cardinals

Things are not going well in St. Louis and every time the Cardinals appear to take two steps forward, they take one step back. To make matters worse, they are doing it in the NL Central where mediocre baseball could be good enough to win the division.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Pirates are sitting on top of the division, but neither has done anything to separate themselves from the other teams. St. Louis owns the worst winning percentage in the National League, but are just 6.5 games back of the Brewers.

The offense is not the main issue with the Cardinals, it’s been the lack of quality starts by their starters and bullpen implosions. Adam Wainwright returned in May but has not been the pitcher he was with a 2-1 record and with 6.15 ERA in five outings. In 26.1 innings, he’s allowed 18 earned runs, which will not win many games. Jordan Montgomery has been hit or miss, mostly a miss, and is a vital piece of the rotation if they are going to turn things around. Miles Mikolas has anchored the rotation with a 4-2 record and a 3.74 ERA.

Again, the offense is not the issue in St. Louis, but if any moves are going to be made by the front office, it’s going to have to be with arms, not bats. A good June would get the Cardinals back into the mix, however, if they find themselves in the same spot they are currently in and 10 games back, then it might be time to make some tough decisions they’re not used to making. Starting the month off getting swept in Pittsburgh over the weekend is not going to help matters.

San Diego Padres

The Padres were a good baseball team last season following the trade deadline when they landed Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals. Their move put them at the top of the teams to beat in the National League. They beat the New York Mets in the first round of the playoffs before taking down the heated Dodgers in the Division Series, but could not get by the hot Phillies.

After the disappointing ending to the postseason, they went out and added Xander Bogaerts from the Boston Red Sox to add another dangerous bat to the middle of their order, then made the low-risk, high-reward signing of pitcher Michael Wacha. Those moves alone with an already loaded roster had the expectations high in Southern California to begin the season. It hasn’t worked out that way.

Injuries have played a big part in the struggles, but the Padres find themselves in a similar spot as the Cardinals, every time they take two steps forward, they take one step back. Wacha was just named the National League pitcher of the month for May, San Diego finds themselves five games under .500 and eight games back in the division, and 4.5 games back in the wild card.

Health is vital for any team, but it is clearly key for the Padres. They have not been able to string together a long winning streak with consistency, but this season is different from last season. Not only do they have the Dodgers to deal with, but this season the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have been knocking on the door of competing, look like a team that will hang around all season.

Of the three teams that made the postseason a year ago and are struggling this season, the Padres have the most upside from the Phillies and Cardinals to turn around their struggles. They need June to be their best month of the first two of 2023 if they are going to make a move in the standings as two steps forward and one step back all season will not be good enough.