One year earlier, the Washington Nationals stormed to 96 wins and took the NL East by a staggering 17 games. They ended up losing to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants in the NLDS.

But, hey, no worries about one disappointment. Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper highlighted a promising roster.

That offseason, Washington spent big on Max Scherzer. His addition gave the Nationals a stacked rotation with Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman and more. Unfortunately for the Nats—who held a 94 preseason win total—that collection of talent could not carry the team.

However, injuries to Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Rendon hurt the lineup. Meanwhile, the Mets pulled away in the division and won 90 games to Washington's 83—and a hyper-competitive NL Central had three 97-win teams, so a wild card was never in play, either.