The Washington Nationals haven't been involved in the playoff picture for a while now.
But the Nats pushed themselves into the frame this weekend when they took on the New York Mets.
The Mets entered Friday holding onto the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Then the Nationals took two of three games from the Mets, and by the end of Sunday, it was the Cincinnati Reds holding that third spot with the Mets needing to make up ground.
The absurdity of it all was captured in a stat shared on X by the Washington Post's Spencer Nusbaum:
"The Nats active roster makes $28 million. The Mets active roster makes $246 million."
That's a $218 million difference.
Of course, that doesn't even consider the reality that the Mets have had a better season, and that the Mets' players have overall played better than the Nationals' players, thus the reason the Mets are well ahead in the standings. That's pretty self-explanatory.
But the money does really drive the point home.
It's notable for the Nationals, too, because they can use wins like these to prove to themselves that they can be a good baseball team. They wanted this season to be the one when they jolted out of their rebuild, but that didn't happen.
For 2026 to go well, the Nats will need to cling to the experience of these late-season wins. Elsewhere in the NL East, the Mets are just hoping they haven't blown their shot.
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