Mets and Phillies face playoff jeopardy after poor start and mounting injuries

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Apr 27

Both teams, with a combined $660 million payroll, are 9-19 and trail the NL East leader by 10.5 games.
Recent returns from injury, including Juan Soto and Zack Wheeler, failed to spark turnarounds as the Mets and Phillies suffered further losses and saw playoff odds drop to the low 30% range.
Despite high-profile rosters and luxury tax penalties, underperformance and bad luck have left both teams with among the worst run differentials in MLB, while Atlanta now holds an 84% division win probability.

Can bad luck truly explain away a $290 million team’s epic collapse?

What separates successful big spenders from high-priced failures like the Mets?

How can a $370 million payroll fail to out-homer a single player?

Are the Mets and Phillies the poster children for a new MLB salary cap?

Is the NL East race already over before May even begins?

Will baseball's next labor war make megadeals like Juan Soto's extinct?