New York Mets’ 2025 dream ended on the final Sunday with a 4-0 loss to Miami, wasting a $340M payroll and a late-season push that never materialized into October baseball. They needed a win and a Reds loss to sneak in, but fell short as their postseason odds collapsed from sky-high to zero.

The piece chronicles a season of promise turning ugly: Senga’s hamstring era, the midseason spiral, Montas’ elbow injury, and a deadline haul that didn’t yield playoff magic. It caps with a brutal last act and a franchise left to answer hard questions about roster construction and leadership.

Mets playoff hopes took a hit as Washington’s Jacob Young robbed two Mets homers in a 3-2 win at Citi Field. Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez were thwarted on homer chances, while Nasim Nuñez and Daylen Lile fueled a 2-run swing for Washington. New York dropped out of a playoff spot with six games left as Reds and Diamondbacks lurk on the tiebreakers. Lindor and Alonso supplied late offense, but defense and baserunning miscues lingered.

Arizona sits 1.5 games back, Cincinnati holds the critical head-to-head edge, and the Mets must navigate a brutal finish. Nimmo stressed rallying with winning baseball, while the season’s final chapter tests the Mets’ resilience and lineup choices, including Alvarez’s late power and Baty’s near-miss around the wall.

Nationals aim to split the rain-delayed doubleheader with Atlanta, sending MacKenzie Gore against Chris Sale. Abrams and James Wood sit; Nasim Nunez leads off, with Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews in the outfield. Josh Bell DHs; Andres Chaparro at first; Riley Adams behind the plate. Braves counter with Marcell Ozuna at DH, Sandy Leon catching, and Nick Allen and Nacho Alvarez added. Washington looks to halt a skid after a Pirates series.

Washington hosts Pittsburgh in an early rubber match at Nationals Park, with Washington reshuffling the lineup as Dylan Crews sits. Robert Hassell moves to right, Jacob Young to center, Daylen Lile in left, and James Wood shifts to DH while Riley Adams handles catching and Nasim Nunez stays at second. Cade Cavalli starts for the Nats. Pittsburgh counters with a lefty-friendly lineup featuring Oneil Cruz, Ji Hwan Bae, Spencer Horwitz, Joey Bart catching, and Mike Burrows on the mound. The Nats seek a September spark against aPirates club facing similar odds, hoping to prove they can beat teams in this tier.

The tactical shifts create fantasy intrigue: expect Hassell and Young to climb the batting order, Lile and Wood to contribute from spots that boost run potential, and Cavalli to deliver mixed results against a left-handed heavy Pirates lineup. For Pittsburgh, left-handed combinations against Cavalli will test Washington’s defense and opportunistic baserunning. This game is a chance for both teams to showcase resilience in a tight early-season schedule.

Christian Franklin deserves a real MLB look for the Nationals as outfield production remains spotty. Since arriving in the Michael Soroka trade, the 25-year-old has posted a .296 average and an .840 OPS, showing a well-rounded hit tool and plate discipline that could translate quickly at the big league level. Moving Dylan Crews to center right now would unlock Franklin’s natural corner fit, while Hassell III and Jacob Young have not provided the needed impact. The end-of-season phase should be used to evaluate Leiter-like upside, and Franklin offers a credible test to determine if he belongs in the MLB long term.

With Franklin in the lineup, Crews could slide to his natural center field position, which the article argues is a better long-term alignment for the club. Hassell and Young have carried the lineup but haven’t produced, making a Franklin call-up a low-risk, high-reward move that could reshape the outfield root-up for 2026 and beyond.