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 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.