Entering play on Thursday, most teams in Major League Baseball are beginning their final stretch of 10 games to complete their 162-game marathon through the 2025 season.

This brings us to a time of year ripe with competition, as teams make their final push to punch their ticket to October. Magic numbers are beginning to dwindle, with three teams having already clinched their spot in the postseason tournament, and plenty of jockeying for seeding taking place as well.

For the most up-to-date tracker that follows each prominent team’s magic number to clinch the playoffs, their division, and even a potential first-round bye, make sure you check out our 2025 Magic Number Tracker!

Our editorial team updates the article each night after all the games are complete, with full explanation of the tiebreakers and playoff scenarios for every contender that is still left standing.

With a week and a half left to play, let’s take a trip around the league and look at the current state of the playoff race, and other top headlines as the 2025 season winds down to completion.

Wild Card Race

With roughly 10 games left to play, a little over half the league is still in contention to nab one of the 12 spots in this year’s playoff field.

The New York Mets have left the door wide open in the National League Wild Card race, with 10 NL teams still currently sitting within two games of a playoff spot. Meanwhile on the American League side, there are eight teams left in contention.

AL Wild Card

• New York Yankees (85-67): +2.0 GB

• Seattle Mariners (83-69): —

• Boston Red Sox (83-69): —

• Cleveland Guardians (80-71): 2.5 GB

• Texas Rangers (79-74): 4.5 GB

The New York Yankees are currently leading the AL Wild Card race and are sitting only four games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. The Boston Red Sox have fallen two games back of the Yankees for third place in the AL East, but they do hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Yankees.

The Seattle Mariners are in a battle in the AL West, sitting just a half game behind the Astros for first place in the division. Houston has the day off, then gets to play host to the Mariners in a three-game series over the weekend.

With the two teams having split their first 10 contests this year right down the middle, whoever wins that series very well could win the division, as they will claim the tiebreaker. Whoever finishes second is likely to grab a Wild Card spot.

At the same time, the Cleveland Guardians are making a mad dash towards a playoff spot, and someone will have to get edged out if they keep winning at this same incredible rate.

The Guardians have won 11 of their last 12 games, to move 2.5 games from a playoff spot. They also have narrowed the gap in the AL Central, trailing the Tigers by 11 games two weeks ago, and now sitting just 4.5 games back, with four left to play head-to-head against Detroit.

Whether it is Detroit, Boston, Seattle or Houston, the Guardians very well could push somebody who at one point seemed like a lock to make the playoffs on the outside looking in.

Prior to the Guardians’ surge in the standings, the Texas Rangers were the team making a real push up the ladder, but getting swept by the Astros this week has really diminished their playoff hopes.

NL Wild Card

• Chicago Cubs (88-64): +10.0 GB

• San Diego Padres (83-69): +5.0 GB

• New York Mets (78-74): —

• Arizona Diamondbacks (77-76): 1.5 GB

• Cincinnati Reds (76-76): 2.0 GB

• San Francisco Giants (76-76): 2.0 GB

The Chicago Cubs have already punched their ticket to October, sitting 12 games up in the loss column of the three Wild Card hopefuls with 10 games left to play.

While it is unlikely that the Cubs will catch the Brewers in the NL Central, they aren’t mathematically eliminated just yet, sitting five games back.

On the other hand, they hold a five-game lead over the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot, so they are at least in line to host their Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field.

The San Diego Padres will be the next likely Wild Card team to clinch their spot, but they still have the division on their mind, just two games back of the Dodgers in the NL West.

Really, in the National League it all comes down to the Mets.

The Mets have been on a freefall in the standings since the middle of June, when they once held the best record in all of baseball. It has been three very long months since then for the Mets, who are clinging to a 1.5 game lead in the race with 10 to play.

Any of the Reds, Diamondbacks or Giants could catch the Mets, but San Francisco may be the least likely, only because they are the one team that does not hold the tiebreaker over the Mets, and they are about to play four games against the Dodgers in L.A.

This weekend won’t be much easier on the Reds, who play a four-game set against the Cubs, although they at least have the benefit of home field advantage.

Finally, the D-Backs are set to host the now NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game set, with Philly still pushing to earn a first-round bye.

Meanwhile the Mets are set to play host the Washington Nationals, after they finish their series against the Padres on Thursday afternoon.

Needless to say, the Mets have a great opportunity to create some space in the standings heading into the final week, but you can never fully predict what will happen in a playoff race that has gotten this tight.

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Overall Playoff Picture

Let’s take a look at what the playoff field would look like if the season ended today!

*Teams in bold are leading their respective divisions, teams italicized have already clinched their playoff spots.

American League

1. Toronto Blue Jays (89-63)

2. Detroit Tigers (85-67)

3. Houston Astros (84-69)

4. New York Yankees (85-67)

5. Seattle Mariners (83-69)

6. Boston Red Sox (83-69)

The Blue Jays and Tigers have been the favorites to clinch their division for weeks now, but late pushes by the Yankees (4.0 GB) and Guardians (4.5 GB) have at least turned this into a bit of a race to watch down the stretch.

It certainly appears that whoever finishes atop the AL East, likely Toronto, will get a first-round bye, but the competition between the AL West and AL Central leaders could come down to the wire.

In the AL West, the Astros and Mariners are separated by just a game in the win column, with that head-to-head series looming large this weekend.

The Astros will then hit the road to face the A’s and the Angels to close out their season, which should give them a bit of an edge over the Mariners, although they get to finish their season in Seattle against the Rockies and the Dodgers.

National League

1. Milwaukee Brewers (93-59)

2. Philadelphia Phillies (91-62)

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (85-67)

4. Chicago Cubs (88-64)

5. San Diego Padres (83-69)

6. New York Mets (78-74)

The Phillies were the first team in Major League Baseball to clinch their division, and now they have their sights set on clinching a bye in the first-round.

At the moment, it certainly appears like they will grab it, along with the Brewers, who are more likely to lose out on their division then they are to lose out on the bye. The Cubs are closer to the Brewers in the standings then the Dodgers, and have already clinched their postseason berth before Los Angeles as well.

If the Dodgers can hold off the Padres in the NL West, they are likely to play host to the Mets in the Wild Card round. Meanwhile the Cubs and Padres certainly appear to be heading towards a showdown at Wrigley Field.

Collector Appreciation Day at Lids 🔥

September 20th is Sports Card Collector Appreciation Day! Join us in celebration and visit your local Lids store.

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Visit your local Lids store on Saturday for an excellent deal and get ready for the release of Bowman Hobby boxes at Lids on September 23rd!

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