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MLB Playoff Picture 2025, Wild Card Standings and Bracket Review Entering Last Week
Five of the six wild-card spots in the American and National Leagues are still up for grabs entering the final week of the MLB regular season.
The Chicago Cubs are the only team locked into a wild-card spot. They will be the No. 4 seed in the NL.
The San Diego Padres and New York Yankees are close to clinching their playoff positions as well.
The final wild-card spot in the NL and the last two in the AL could go down to Sunday.
Three teams are within a game of each other in each wild-card race, so every result will matter between Monday and Sunday.
American League
1 of 2
Division Leaders
- Toronto (90-66)
- Seattle (87-69)
- Detroit (85-71)
Wild-Card Race
- New York Yankees (88-68)
- Boston (85-71)
- Cleveland (84-72)
- Houston (84-72)
- Texas (79-77)
The Cleveland Guardians' surge and the Houston Astros' three-game losing streak at home put both teams level on record entering Monday.
Cleveland has loftier ambitions at this point. The Guardians are one game back of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. Cleveland hosts Detroit for three games starting on Tuesday.
The Guardians finish with the Texas Rangers, who should be eliminated by the weekend, so they can still rebound properly if they lose the series to Detroit.
Houston finishes the regular season in California against the Athletics and Los Angeles Angels.
The Astros should, at least in theory, finish the regular season with a winning week. They can put some pressure on the Seattle Mariners in the AL West race, but Seattle gets three with the Colorado Rockies at home to begin the week.
Houston's likely landing spot is one of the two wild-card spots.
Both the Astros and Guardians would love some help from the Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox during the week.
Boston closes with three games at home versus Detroit. That could be the most important series of the weekend in the AL.
If Detroit loses its series in Cleveland, it will be in play for both the AL Central and a wild-card spot at Fenway Park.
Detroit, Cleveland, Boston and Houston are likely fighting for three places. The New York Yankees own a three-game advantage over Boston.
The Yankees finish with the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles, so the assumption is they will win a few games and clinch a playoff spot while chaos takes place beneath them in the standings.
National League
2 of 2
Division Leaders
- Milwaukee (95-61)
- Philadelphia (92-64)
- Los Angeles Dodgers (88-68)
Wild-Card Race
- Chicago Cubs (88-68)
- San Diego (85-71)
- Cincinnati (80-76)
- New York Mets (80-76)
- Arizona (79-77)
- San Francisco (77-79)
- Miami (76-80)
- St. Louis (76-80)
The Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets are tied for the final wild-card spot in the NL.
The Reds and Mets both have easy remaining schedules. Cincinnati hosts the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games this week before it visits the Milwaukee Brewers, who should be secured in their playoff position already, over the weekend.
The Mets visit the Chicago Cubs, who have already clinched, and the Miami Marlins for six games. Those are easy games on paper, but the Mets are 31-44 in road games.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are lurking one game back as well. They have a brutal finish with the Los Angeles Dodgers at home and the San Diego Padres on the road.
San Diego should clinch a playoff spot before the weekend, but the Padres could play to knock out Arizona and stay fresh for a likely opening-round series with the Cubs.
It's unlikely, but the San Francisco Giants could make a late push if the Reds, Mets and DBacks struggle.
San Francisco gets the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado at home for six games. A 6-0 finish is likely required, but that might not be enough if one of the three teams above the Giants has a successful week.
