These 5 teams could end playoff droughts in '20

The Padres are poised to end a long postseason drought. So are the White Sox, Phillies, Reds and perhaps others.

We interrupt programming with a small disclaimer: Those four teams probably won’t all reach the postseason. That’s also the fun part of this thing. Parity rules. Parity rocks. Consider:

• A different team has won each of the last six World Series titles.

• In the last 10 seasons, 12 franchises -- 40 percent of the 30 teams -- have been to the World Series at least once.

• Of MLB’s 30 teams, 20 have made at least one postseason appearance in the last four seasons.

That means the talent difference between, say, the top 24 teams is small, and that virtually all of them see a reasonable path to the postseason.

That optimism was reflected in this offseason’s free-agent spending, with eight of the 11 largest contracts coming from teams that didn’t reach the postseason in 2019. As a result, virtually every division race has tightened, and a bunch of them are too close to call.

Of the seven teams that haven’t been to the postseason in at least five seasons, here are the five most likely to break through in 2020:

1. Reds
Postseason drought: six seasons

In signing Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas the Reds have added two middle-of-the-order bats to a lineup that ranked 25th in the Majors in runs last season. If they get a bounce-back season from Joey Votto, and if one or two of their youngsters make progress, the Reds could have enough offense to back a strong pitching staff.

In a National League Central without a clear favorite, why not Cincinnati?

2. White Sox
Postseason drought: 11 seasons

No team in either league is more interesting than this one, as an avalanche of young talent (Luis Robert, Eloy Jiménez, Michael Kopech) arrives as the front office re-signed José Abreu and added veteran free agents at catcher (Yasmani Grandal) and designated hitter (Edwin Encarnación), as well as in the rotation (Dallas Keuchel and Gio González) and in the bullpen (Steve Cishek).

The Twins and Indians should be good again, but the White Sox are about to turn a huge corner.

3. Phillies
Postseason drought: eight seasons

The Phillies continued to get better after a 2019 season in which they were gutted by injuries. Management continued to aggressively pursue talent by adding Zack Wheeler to the rotation, Didi Gregorius to the infield and Joe Girardi to the manager’s office.

If they can get healthy seasons from Jake Arrieta and Andrew McCutchen, and if Adam Haseley can handle center field, the Phillies could be part of a wild and crowded NL East race.

4. Padres
Postseason drought: 13 seasons

Mookie Betts? David Price? Both are rumored trade targets as general manager A.J. Preller attempts to put an impressive finishing touch on another aggressive offseason. This winter, he added Tommy Pham to the outfield and Drew Pomeranz to the bullpen.

If the Padres get a full season from shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado settles in, Petco Park could be rocking this summer. Preller has enough pitching depth to obtain Betts and/or Price, but that pitching depth could also keep the Padres in contention.

5. Angels
Postseason drought: five seasons

General manager Billy Eppler had a nice offseason, even without adding the No. 1 starter he’d been seeking. He upgraded his lineup by adding third baseman Anthony Rendon and deepened his rotation with the additions of Julio Teheran and Dylan Bundy. Outfielder Jo Adell -- the No. 6 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline -- will make his Major League debut at some point.

Shohei Ohtani's health is important to both the rotation and the lineup, and young arms (Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval) give the Halos more pitching depth than they’ve had in recent seasons. In an American League West in which the Astros and A’s are both still good and the Rangers are much better, the Angels will be able to compete for a postseason spot.