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The Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox are easily the three best teams in the American League, and have been for much of the 2026 season. Only one of them, however, will be able to reach the AL Championship Series.
The unusual state of the current baseball season has created a situation where those three teams will start to knock each other out during the first two rounds of the postseason, beginning next week, while a lesser team will have an easier road to the ALCS. The current 12-team playoff format, started in 2022, gives the top three seeds in each league to division winners in an attempt to reward excellence over the six-month regular season. First-round byes go to the best two of those teams in each league.
Unlike the NFL playoff format, MLB does not reseed or rebracket during its postseason, and instead uses a fixed bracket. The No. 4 and 5 seeds—currently the Yankees and Red Sox—will play a three-game Wild Card series next week for the right to face the No. 1-seeded Rays in the Division Series. The Red Sox clinched their postseason spot on Sunday, completing a remarkable, second-half turnaround that followed the firing of former manager Alex Cora.
The No. 3 and 6 seeds—currently the Rangers and White Sox—are in position to play the other Wild Card series, seeking to advance to play the No. 2 Guardians in the Division Series.
Competitive power in the AL, however, lies heavily within the East division. The AL West is currently led by the Rangers, holding a 78-78 record, and it’s possible that Texas or rival Houston will win the division with a sub-.500 record, and claim the No. 3 playoff seed and home field throughout the Wild Card round.
Even if that doesn’t happen, MLB could have its worst-ever full-season playoff entrant, surpassing the 2005 Padres, who reached the postseason that year with an 82-80 record.
The situation has gained widespread notice across baseball, and even in politics.
“So if the playoffs started today, you’d have the teams with the second and third best records in the AL face off in the Wild Card and then the winner plays the team with the best record in the AL in the ALDS,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a social-media post. “The other side of the bracket is basically three .500 teams.”
Broader Considerations
In the NL, the situation is far more conventional, as the three current division leaders—the Brewers, Dodgers, and Braves—each have better records than the Cubs, Padres, and Phillies that hold the three Wild Card slots.
This is hardly the first time, though, the current MLB format has generated controversy. In prior years, top teams with first-round byes have openly complained about gathering rust during the Wild Card round, and in 2023, three 100-win teams were quickly eliminated and failed to reach the LCS.
It’s possible there will be postseason changes for next year and beyond, as the playoff format is a matter of collective bargaining between MLB and the MLB Players Association. Those labor talks, while still ongoing, have been marked by heavy division on many economic-related matters. A management lockout is expected when the current deal expires Dec. 1, and a new agreement will likely require overcoming that stoppage.
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