These clubs missed the playoffs in 2024. Have they done enough to make it back?

The Dodgers and Cubs will open the 2025 season with the two-game Tokyo Series on March 18-19. We¡¯ll be counting down to that date with our annual preview series, with each story looking ahead at the coming season by breaking down a particular topic, division by division.

Previously: The must-watch player in each division

Today: Each division¡¯s team most likely to make the playoffs after missing them in 2024

Do you know how many teams made the playoffs in 2024 that didn¡¯t make them in 2023? The answer is six, if you can believe that. The Guardians, Mets, Padres, Royals, Tigers and Yankees all did it. In other words, half the teams that made the playoffs last year missed it the year before. It¡¯s a very common occurrence.

Thus, if you¡¯re feeling frustrated that your team spent last October sitting at home, there¡¯s all kinds of hope for you in 2025. So today, as part of our ongoing season preview series, we take a look at the team from each division that missed the postseason in 2024 but has the best chance to make it in 2025. It could happen to your team.

NL West: Diamondbacks

The biggest free agent upset of the offseason has to be the Diamondbacks signing Corbin Burnes. You rarely even saw Arizona connected to the top starting pitcher on the market, let alone considered as a favorite for his services. But it turns out Burnes really did just want to go home again, to the state where he and his family reside. His addition makes this team a serious force to be reckoned with, and if it weren¡¯t for the Dodgers, you¡¯d have to consider the Diamondbacks the clear favorite in the division.

Alas, the Dodgers are still around -- and then some -- which means the Wild Card is the most likely destination for the D-backs. But with Corbin Carroll likely to rebound from last year, Ketel Marte playing like an MVP and a rotation that might just be the strongest in baseball right now, the D-backs are very likely to punch a ticket back to October.

AL West: Rangers

The Mariners could have been an option here, but the projection systems tend to love the Rangers this year, and it¡¯s not all that difficult to see why. All the things that went wrong last year, you don¡¯t have to squint hard to envision them improving and springing back in the Rangers¡¯ direction this year.

Young players like Evan Carter, Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford should all take steps forward and, presumably, be healthier. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien are back and still excellent. They added pop in the form of Jake Burger and Joc Pederson. They have a healthy Jacob deGrom, and we all know what happens when deGrom is healthy. The Rangers had essentially everything go wrong during their title defense. But it sure appears that the pendulum is gonna swing back in their direction this year.

NL Central: Cubs

Sure, this team would have been better if it would have kept Cody Bellinger instead of flipping him to the Yankees in the wake of the Kyle Tucker acquisition. (The thing that¡¯s nice about Bellinger is that you can play him all over the outfield and at first base, which might have come in handy.) But even so, no team in this division is more geared up to win than the Cubs.

You don¡¯t trade for Tucker a year before he reaches free agency if you aren¡¯t planning on winning immediately. The Cubs also have transformed their bullpen and have added to their rotation, while the rest of the division has either stayed idle or actively gone backward. We¡¯ll see if they can sign Tucker long term. But they have him in 2025. Which means there¡¯s no excuse for this team not to reach the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 2018.

AL Central: Twins

Well, three teams in this division made the playoffs last year, and the only one that didn¡¯t other than the Twins was the White Sox. So the Twins are the only possible pick here. But it¡¯s far from absurd. They did win the division in 2023, and while they didn¡¯t add much this offseason, well, in this division, they¡¯re hardly alone in that.

It will come down, as always, to health: Can Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis stay healthy for at least most of the season? That didn¡¯t happen in 2024, and they still would have made the postseason were it not for a late-season collapse. The rotation looks like a strength -- maybe the best in the division? -- so they just need to score enough runs. If those three can stay healthy, they¡¯ll do so ¡­ and maybe even win this division kind of handily? It¡¯s, as always, a big if.

NL East: Nationals

As with the AL Central, our options are limited here. The Braves, Mets and Phillies all made it last year, and the Marlins have a long way to go. It¡¯s a stretch, to be honest, to see the Nationals busting through this year; they seem a year away. But teams who are a year away, particularly teams with as much young talent as the Nationals, have a tendency to put it all together a little earlier than many suspect.

All of those trades and high Draft picks the Nationals have made the last few years are showing fruit these days, with future stars like Dylan Crews, James Wood and CJ Abrams now showing promise in the big leagues despite still being in their early 20s. There¡¯s only one Nats regular (Josh Bell) who is over 30, and there are more young players coming. These young Nationals are still figuring it out, and it¡¯s plenty optimistic to push them into the playoffs already. But looking at this roster will make one feel optimistic.

AL East: Blue Jays

This could change if the Red Sox sneak in an addition or two in the next week, but you can make an argument that the Blue Jays¡¯ aggressiveness this offseason has pushed them past Boston in 2025 expectations. Say what you will about the potential wisdom of loading up for this season, when neither Vladimir Guerrero Jr. nor Bo Bichette is signed beyond it, but the Blue Jays have improved.

Not many teams have added more notable pieces than Toronto did with Max Scherzer, Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman and Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez. Vlad Jr. and Bichette are still here after all, which makes this a potentially formidable lineup, and the addition of Scherzer gives them a daunting rotation of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Scherzer. The Blue Jays took a huge risk pouring so much into what could be their final year with one or both of their two primary stars. But if it pays off -- and it just might -- it will be well, well worth it.