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

The full-blown tank is no longer trending in Major League Baseball.

After a handful of infamous team performances in recent seasons — like the Colorado Rockies losing 119 games last season and the Chicago White Sox dropping an MLB-record 121 games in 2024 — the worst teams have been much more competitive.

In fact, there's a decent chance that no team will lose 100 games for the first time since 2017.

The worst teams are the Rockies (46-72), Los Angles Angels (45-73), Athletics (47-71) and Kansas City Royals (49-70), putting them all within reach of avoiding triple-digit losses even if they play below-average baseball.

This year's show of relative competitiveness by the league's bottom feeders might just be a statistical outlier, though it might also be a sign that teams are viewing complete teardowns as a less compelling strategy.

The Houston Astros paved the way for the all-out tank in the early 2010s when they lost at least 106 games in three straight seasons. It was a painful stretch but paid off in the coming years with World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.

The problem is it doesn't always work out as planned. The Baltimore Orioles were awful from 2018 to 2021 while they rebuilt their roster with high draft picks, but have zero playoff wins to show for it five years later. At last week's trade deadline, they unloaded former No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox and appear headed for another rebuild.

Pre-game ejections

Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale was ejected by umpire Dan Merzel before a pitch was thrown in Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees. The veteran lefty was still in a foul mood a day after being called for a balk that scored a run.

Pregame MLB ejections are rare, but not completely unprecedented.

San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin was ejected before a game against the Colorado Rockies in 2024 after he and bench coach Ryan Christensen delivered the lineup card to home plate umpire Alex MacKay.

Earlier this season, Brent Suter of the Los Angeles Angels and Steven Wilson and Manuel Rodriguez of the Tampa Bay Rays were ejected because of a “standoff” following the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Umpire Lance Barrett tossed the trio after they refused to leave the field.

Historically, former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver is famous for a 1975 incident when he was ejected from the first game of a doubleheader for arguing with umpire Ron Luciano. Before the second game even started, Luciaino tossed Weaver again when he continued arguing.

Trivia question

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer moved into 10th place in career strikeouts, passing Hall of Famer Walter Johnson in the Blue Jays’ 7-5 win over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Scherzer has 3,516 strikeouts over 19 years.

How many of the other top 10 can you name?

NL MVP race heats up

The race for National League MVP is shaping up to be a classic.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani and the Chicago Cubs' uber-athletic Pete Crow-Armstrong have turned the competition into a two-man race with roughly 25% of the regular season remaining.

As of Sunday, Crow-Armstrong was a slight favorite over Ohtani, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and both teams are firmly in the playoff hunt. Crow-Armstrong is trying to earn his first MVP award while Ohtani is chasing No. 5, which would be the second-most in MLB history behind Barry Bonds, who had seven.

Here's a look at the resume of both players.

— Crow-Armstrong has blossomed into a full-blown superstar for the Cubs, greatly improving his consistency at the plate. He's slashed .286/.388/.544 through Sunday's games and has 26 homers, 71 RBIs and 30 stolen bases, all while playing an exceptional center field.

The two-time All-Star also has been worth 7.4 WAR so far this season, according to baseball-reference.com, which is the best in the big leagues.

— Ohtani continues to be an offensive powerhouse, though his numbers are down from previous season. The Japanese standout is slashing .292/.395/.542 and has 26 homers and 71 RBIs. Unlike Crow-Armstrong, Ohtani usually doesn't provide any value in the field, serving as designated hitter when he's not pitching.

But that's the thing: When Ohtani is healthy, he is also one of MLB's most dominant pitchers. The right-hander has an 8-2 record and 1.79 ERA over 14 starters with 95 strikeouts over 85 2/3 innings.

Ohtani hasn't pitched since July 3, mainly because of soreness in his left knee. He resumed playing catch on Saturday and is slowly working toward a return to the mound. If he can provide a few good starts in September for the Dodgers, it might tip the MVP scale back in his favor.

Trivia answer

From No. 9 to No. 1 — Gaylord Perry (3,534), Justin Verlander (3,554), Don Sutton (3,574), Tom Seaver (3,640), Bert Blyleven (3,701), Steve Carlton (4,136), Roger Clemens (4,672), Randy Johnson (4,875), Nolan Ryan (5,714)

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB