The playoff field for the 2023 Major League Baseball season is starting to take shape shape, though there’s a bunch of jockeying still to be done in the coming weeks. Two divisional races appear to be sewn up, with the Braves and Dodgers owning commanding leads in the NL East and NL West, respectively. The other four divisions remain up for grabs, and the AL West race has tightened significantly in recent days as the Rangers struggle and the Mariners surge.
One AL West team that does not appear headed to the playoffs? That would be the Angels. It’s been a dismal August for the Angels, who tried to build a winner around Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline. Instead, the Angels have completely fallen out of the race and Ohtani was revealed to have a UCL tear this week. He will not pitch again this season. Oh, and Mike Trout went right back on the injured list after returning for one day.
There are still plenty of teams in the playoff hunt, tough. The wild-card races are loaded, especially on the NL side. The Phillies are on top, but it’s not a large margin. The Giants, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Reds and Marlins are fighting for the last two spots, and the Padres are trying to hang around and make a push. In the AL, the Rays are, for the time being, comfortably in, but then it’s the Astros, Blue Jays and Mariners fighting for the last two spots while the Red Sox are in the mix.
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 Rangers (currently own tiebreaker over Mariners)
Wild Card Series
- No. 3 Twins vs. No. 6 Astros
- No. 4 Rays vs. No. 5 Mariners
National League
Byes
- No. 1 Braves and No. 2 Dodgers
Wild Card Series
- No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 Diamondbacks
- No. 4 Phillies vs. No. 5 Cubs
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