MLB’s worst teams in 2026 are still pretty bad, but at least they are reasonably bad

Major League Baseball teams that were considered the worst performers in recent years have shown signs of improvement in recent seasons. The Colorado Rockies, losing 119 games in 2022, and the Chicago White Sox, dropping an MLB-record 121 games in 2024, were among the worst teams. However, the worst teams, including the Rockies (46-72), Los Angeles Angels (45-73), Athletics (47-71), and Kansas City Royals (49-70), are no longer consistently losing triple-digit games.

This year's relative competitiveness might be a statistical outlier, but it could also signal a shift away from complete teardowns as a strategy. The Houston Astros were pioneers of the all-out tank approach in the early 2010s, but the Baltimore Orioles' prolonged rebuilding period from 2018 to 2021 yielded no playoff wins. The Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale was ejected by umpire Dan Merzel during a game against the New York Yankees, highlighting the occasional volatility in the sport.

Trivia buff: Max Scherzer of the Toronto Blue Jays has moved to 10th place in career strikeouts, passing Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, after amassing 3,516 strikeouts over 19 years. The race for National League MVP is currently between Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, with the latter slightly ahead in the standings.