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

The final weekend of the 2023 MLB regular season is upon us. For the first time in nearly three decades, neither the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, or St. Louis Cardinals are going to be part of the playoffs. Think about that, those three storied franchises are going to miss the postseason in the expanded playoff era. Pretty stunning.

In the final edition of Stock Up, Stock Down, here are two MLB teams that surprised this season and two that didn’t.

MLB Stock Up: Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays began the season as the hottest team in the league but came back to earth as the season went along, but they are going to be the first Wild Card team and get a series at home next week. By now, nobody should be surprised at how good they were, but be more surprised about how they went about it.

A low payroll, but what’s more impressive is that after losing shortstop Wander Franco to an investigation and top pitch Shane McClanahan to an injury. A lot of teams losing their best infielder and top-of-the-rotation pitcher would take a step back. The only step they took back was just behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.

Are the Rays going to win their Wild Card series against whoever they play, the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, or Toronto Blue Jays? Time will tell, but after suffering two injuries to two of their top players and continuing to win was a surprise over the second half of the season.

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.