MLB Playoff Picture 2026, Wild Card Standings and Bracket Review Entering Last Week

Half of the 12-team Major League Baseball postseason field still needs to be decided in the final week of the regular season.

All three division titles in the National League are now claimed after the Atlanta Braves secured the NL East crown on Sunday.

That leaves the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks to fight for the three wild-card positions.

The American League Central and West races may not be decided until the the final day of the regular season since the Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers each possess one-game advantages.

Only one of the four teams fighting for the Central and West crowns will get in as a wild-card team since the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox already confirmed their spots in the playoff bracket.

American League

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AL East

1. Tampa Bay (95-60)
2. New York Yankees (89-66)

AL Central

1. Cleveland (81-75)
2. Chicago White Sox (80-76)

AL West

1. Texas (78-78)
2. Houston (77-79)
3. Seattle (73-83)

Wild-Card Race

1. New York Yankees (89-66)
2. Boston (84-72)
3. Chicago White Sox (80-76)
4. Toronto (77-79)
5. Houston (77-79)
6. Baltimore (75-81)

Tampa Bay can become the first division winner in the AL as early as Tuesday.

The Rays and New York Yankees play a day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. One win gives Tampa Bay the divisional crown.

The Yankees are still technically alive, but they'd need to win out against the Rays and Baltimore Orioles and then have Tampa Bay lose all three games of its weekend series in Philadelphia.

New York is most likely locked into the No. 4 seed. The rivalry with the Boston Red Sox will probably be renewed in the wild-card round since Boston owns a four-game advantage on the Chicago White Sox for the No. 5 seed.

The White Sox have the easier final week on paper compared to the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central race.

Chicago finishes with the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies, but the White Sox are 5-8 in their last 13 games.

Cleveland enters Boston on Tuesday with a five-game winning streak and a one-game lead in the division race.

At minimum, the White Sox should be safe in the wild-card race because they are up three games over the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros. It would be incredibly difficult to blow the wild-card lead with the White Sox's final week schedule.

Houston has to set its sights on overtaking the Texas Rangers in the AL West.

Texas is at home for three games with the New York Mets and then on the road in Minnesota this week. The Rangers, who are 6-2 in their last eight games, should be able to close out the West.

Houston is on the road in Seattle against a Mariners team that is still mathematically alive before it closes for four games in Sacramento against the Athletics.

Texas comes into the week with the better recent run of results, so it's easy to place the Rangers in the AL West favorite role.

National League

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Division Winners

Milwaukee (98-58)

Los Angeles Dodgers (96-60)

Atlanta (92-64)

Wild-Card Race

1. Chicago Cubs (87-69)
2. San Diego (87-69)
3. Philadelphia (86-70)
4. Arizona (82-74)

The Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies should be the three wild-card teams in the NL.

All three of the franchises could have their playoff berths confirmed before their respective weekend series.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are four games back of the Phillies. They need to be perfect this week against the Rockies and Padres to have a shot at chasing down a wild-card spot.

The Cubs should be viewed as the front-runner for the No. 4 seed because of their schedule.

Chicago finishes with the Miami Marlins and the Red Sox, who by Friday should be locked into the AL's No. 5 seed.

San Diego is on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers before it comes home to play Arizona.

Philadelphia welcomes the Milwaukee Brewers and Rays to Citizens Bank Park for three games each. Milwaukee is still playing for home-field advantage, while Tampa Bay will most likely have the AL East locked up before the weekend.

The No. 6 seed will go to Atlanta for the wild-card round, while the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds play each other.

The Padres are 9-1 over their last 10 games, but their schedule is much more difficult than what the Cubs have in front of them.

The Brewers own a two-game edge in the race for the No. 1 seed. They host the St. Louis Cardinals after their midweek trip to Philadelphia. They should be able to close out the top seed over the Dodgers, who have to battle with the Padres on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday prior to a weekend visit to San Francisco.