Latest MLB Playoff Picture 2025, World Series Bracket and Wild Card Race

While each night offers a bit more clarity on the 2025 MLB playoff picture, there's still plenty to sort out between now and Sunday's regular-season finale.

Because, as per usual, this sixth-month marathon remains too close to call during its final days.

Four playoff berths and three division titles are still up for grabs. And while the math works more in the favor of some than others, the math isn't always more than a one-game advantage—or even just a tiebreaker.

In other words, buckle up for the four-day thriller ahead. And in the meantime, join us as we run through the latest playoff bracket and take a closer look at the wild card race in each league.

Playoff Picture

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

The Seattle Mariners (AL West), Philadelphia Phillies (NL East) and Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central) have all claimed division titles. The Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have all clinched playoff spots.

If the campaign closed today, here is how the postseason field would shape up.

American League

No. 1 Toronto Blue Jays

No. 2 Seattle Mariners

No. 3 Cleveland Guardians

No. 4 New York Yankees

No. 5 Boston Red Sox

No. 6 Detroit Tigers

National League

No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers

No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies

No. 3 Los Angeles Dodgers

No. 4 Chicago Cubs

No. 5 San Diego Padres

No. 6 New York Mets

AL Wild Card Race

Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

With the Blue Jays and Yankees in a dead heat for the AL East crown—albeit with Toronto holding the tiebreaker—one will win a division title and the other will get a wild card spot. Chances are, they'll likely be joined by another division peer in the Red Sox, who have a two-game cushion on the Tigers and a three-game edge on the Astros, plus the tiebreaker over Houston.

Assuming Boston gets in—it's hosting Detroit for a three-game series starting Friday—that leaves the Tigers and Astros jostling for the final spot. Detroit has a one-game lead and the tiebreaker edge, but Houston still has a pulse.

Frankly, though, this all comes down to which squad snaps out of its funk first.

The Astros have lost five in a row, and yet they're still the "hotter" team in this hunt, as the Tigers have now dropped eight in a row. This isn't some new development, either, as Detroit has gone a woeful 5-15 in the month of September, which is how it went from seeming locking up the AL Central to now scrambling to grab the AL's final playoff spot. Houston, which is 9-12 in September, closes out the regular season with a road game against the Athletics on Thursday and then a three-game road series against the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend.

NL Wild Card Race

Matt Dirksen/Getty Images

The Cubs have a wild card spot in hand, and the Padres probably do, too. San Diego remains in the NL West race, but it needs to overcome a 2.5-game deficit against Los Angeles, which is functionally more like a 3.5-game gap, since the Dodgers win the tiebreaker.

In other words, two of the three wild card spots are spoken for. That essentially leaves the Mets, Reds and Diamondbacks battling for that last playoff ticket, although if you want to be technical, the Cardinals and Marlins haven't been officially eliminated yet.

This functional three-team race has New York a game up on Cincinnati and Arizona, but there is no breathing room for the Amazins, since the Mets would lose the tiebreaker to either team. The Reds hold the tiebreaker edge on the Diamondbacks should that come into play.

While none of the three is playing tremendous baseball, Arizona has won seven of its last 10, while Cincinnati has six wins and New York has five over the same stretch. All three teams have four games left. The Mets visit the Cubs on Thursday and then close the season on the road against the Marlins. The Reds host the Pirates on Thursday and finish with a three-game road series versus the Brewers. The Diamondbacks, finally, host the Dodgers on Thursday and then travel to face the Padres this weekend.