MLB Stock Up, Stock Down: Rays, Orioles, Mets, Padres

MLB Stock Down: New York Mets

It was a tough summer in New York for both baseball teams. The Yankees and Mets are both going to be watching the postseason from their couches, but in the Bronx, they rebounded and are going to finish September strong, while the Mets are in a tough situation after high expectations to begin the season.

Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong in Queens. At the trade deadline, the Mets traded pitchers Max Scherzer (Texas Rangers) and Justin Verlander (Astros) to signal waving the white flag. They also moved some depth pieces to get some assets in return.

Where they go from here this winter is going to be interesting. Reports have circulated that they could be looking to 2025 and if that’s the case, how much do they spend this winter and do they explore trading first baseman, Pete Alonso? Stranger things have happened.

It’s going to get interesting to see which direction they decide to go and the case can be made for a lot of teams to be in the same boat. However, entering the season with $364 million payroll and a fourth-place finish in the National League East is nothing something they envisioned. A manager change is likely coming too and it will say a lot about the direction they are heading in 2024.

MLB Stock Up: Baltimore Orioles

At the All-Star Break, I wrote a second-half predictions piece and one of the predictions was that the Orioles were going to win the American League East and return to the postseason for the first time since 2016. Why? Well, the Red Sox and Yankees were a mess and still are. The Toronto Blue Jays are a team that can’t always be trusted, as evident as in their first two games at home this week against the Yankees where they had an opportunity to clinch a Wild Card berth and were shutout on back-to-back nights.

The Orioles have been the best baseball in the division and they have proven that last season’s run that came up short in a bid for a Wild Card spot was no fluke. They have a good foundation of youth with Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson leading the way.

Losing closer Felix Bautista is less than ideal in September, but the Orioles have an opportunity to win the AL East this weekend at home with four games against Boston, who has seen a slide this month.

At the beginning of the season, it was thought that Baltimore would be in the hunt for a Wild Card spot, but they have exceeded expectations and are going to be the top seed in the American League postseason. You can say that they are a year ahead of schedule.

MLB Stock Down: San Diego Padres

The Mets or the Padres, who had the more disappointing season? Both had huge payrolls, they both had star power and they both failed to come anywhere close to reaching expectations. We covered the Mets earlier, now let’s cover the Padres.

Over the offseason, San Diego signed Xander Bogaerts away from the Red Sox, giving the Friars more star power than they already had. Added to a roster with Juan Soto, Manny Machado, and some good young players, it felt like a World Series or bust in Southern California. It became a bust.

Despite a rotation that had Blake Snell and Michael Wacha have very good seasons and one of the game’s best closers in Josh Hader, it never meshed in time. The Padres went on a late-season eight-game winning streak, but it was too little, too late.

Changes appear to be happening in San Diego and it could happen anywhere, the front office, the coaching staff, and even the roster. They will look to continue to be a contender next season, but this feels like a big offseason for the front office in terms of decisions for 2024.

There are still some things left to play for over the weekend, but the 2023 season certainly had it’s surprising teams and disappointing teams and the teams not in the playoffs are going to be the ones to watch as the offseason unfolds.