The 2023 Major League Baseball playoffs start in 15 days, but a lot is yet to be determined in MLB’s playoff picture . So far, four teams have clinched postseason berths. The Orioles and Rays joined the NL East-winning Braves and NL-West winning Dodgers as 2023 playoff teams on Sunday. The Twins and Brewers are closing in on division titles in the AL and NL Central, respectively, but the wild-card races in both leagues figure to come down to the wire.
In the American League wild-card hunt, three teams are fighting for two spots. The Rays have a huge lead for the AL’s No. 4 seed, and they’ll host a Wild Card Series if they can’t catch the Orioles in the AL East. The Astros are trying to fend off the Rangers and Mariners in the division, and the Blue Jays are jostling with those three AL West clubs for the final two wild-card spots.
In the National League, the Diamondbacks and Marlins both had weekend sweeps that launched them into playoff position. They enter Monday with the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds in the NL wild-card race. The Phillies are hanging onto the No. 4 seed in the NL, but have had a shaky September. The Cubs (who were swept by the D-backs over the weekend), Reds and Giants are also in the mix.
The 2023 MLB playoff picture is also notable for who is not in it. The Yankees, Mets, Padres and Cardinals — all playoff teams in 2022 and expected contenders in 2023 — have had disappointing years that will end with the regular season. The Angels saw their playoff hopes dashed in a dismal August. The Halos crashed out of the race in August and finally shut Shohei Ohtani for the season over the weekend.
As a reminder, MLB now uses a 12-team playoff format with the three division winners and three wild card teams in both leagues qualifying for the postseason. The two division winners with the best records in each league get byes to the League Division Series round, while the other eight teams square off in a best-of-three Wild Card Series.
Who’s clinched?
Braves : Clinched NL East
: Clinched NL East Dodgers : Clinched NL West
: Clinched NL West Orioles : Clinched AL playoff spot
: Clinched AL playoff spot Rays: Clinched AL playoff spot
Here’s a look at the MLB standings and playoff picture for the 12-team postseason as of this morning. All division and postseason odds are courtesy of SportsLine, and you can check out the expanded standings here.
2023 MLB playoff picture
American League
Byes
No. 1 Orioles and No. 2 Astros
Wild Card Series
No. 3 Twins vs. No. 6 Rangers
No. 4 Rays vs. No. 5 Blue Jays
National League
Byes
No. 1 Braves and No. 2 Dodgers
Wild Card Series
No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 Marlins
No. 4 Phillies vs. No. 5 Diamondbacks
American League standings
AL EAST W L GB DIV POST Baltimore – z 93 56 — 78.4% 100.0% Tampa Bay – z 92 59 2.0 21.6% 100.0% Toronto 83 67 10.5 0.0% 72.8% N.Y. Yankees 76 74 17.5 0.0% <1.0% Boston 74 76 19.5 0.0% <1.0%
AL CENTRAL W L GB DIV POST Minnesota 79 71 — 99.8% 99.8% Cleveland 72 78 7.0 <1.0% <1.0% Detroit 70 79 8.5 0.0% 0.0% Chi. White Sox - e 57 93 22.0 0.0% 0.0% Kansas City - e 48 102 31.0 0.0% 0.0%
AL WEST W L GB DIV POST Houston 84 66 -- 75.6% 96.8% Texas 82 67 1.5 9.9% 72.1% Seattle 81 68 2.5 13.5% 56.7% L.A. Angels - e 68 82 16.0 0.0% 0.0% Oakland - e 46 103 37.5 0.0% 0.0%
National League standings
NL EAST W L GB DIV POST Atlanta - x 96 53 — 100.0% 100.0% Philadelphia 81 68 15.0 0.0% 99.3% Miami 78 72 18.5 0.0% 52.8% N.Y. Mets 69 80 27.0 0.0% 0.0% Washington
66 84 30.5 0.0% 0.0%
NL CENTRAL W L GB DIV POST Milwaukee 84 65 — 98.3% 100.0% Chi. Cubs 78 72 6.5 1.7% 49.8% Cincinnati 78 73 7.0 0.0% 36.0% Pittsburgh 70 80 14.5 0.0% 0.0% St. Louis 66 83 18.0 0.0% 0.0%
NL WEST W L GB DIV POST L.A. Dodgers - x 91 57 — 100.0% 100.0% Arizona 79 72 13.5 0.0% 51.1% San Francisco 76 74 16.0 0.0% 10.9% San Diego 72 78 20.0 0.0% <1.0% Colorado - e 56 93 35.5 0.0% 0.0%
Wild-card standings
American League
TEAM W L WCGB Tampa Bay - z 92 59 +9.5 Toronto 83 67 +0.5 Texas 82 67 -- Seattle 81 68 1.0
National League
