MLB standings 2025: Updated playoff bracket, magic numbers through Sept. 27 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The chase for October is underway, and plenty of the usual suspects find themselves in the mix.
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The Yankees and Dodgers remain hopeful of a return to the World Series despite each struggling more this season than the last, while the Phillies are hoping this is the year they finish the job even after losing Zack Wheeler to injury.
New faces are leading the charge as well. No team had a hotter summer than the Brewers, who surged to the best record in baseball. In the AL, meanwhile, the Blue Jays are jockeying for a bye but still have competition in the AL East. Toronto hasn’t won a postseason game since 2015. In the AL Central, the Tigers’ shocking collapse has put their entire postseason chase up in the air.
Elsewhere, the Mets and Padres have become postseason staples but have been painfully streaky this season — and it could cost both division titles. The Red Sox and Cubs, meanwhile, could bring two of the biggest brands in baseball to October after battling mediocrity over the last handful of years.
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Those teams and more are still in the mix to head to the postseason, where the slate will be wiped clean.
Here’s an updated look at the MLB standings and each team’s magic number to clinch.
MLB standings 2025American League playoff bracket
Standings updated through games on Sept. 27.
Seed
Team
Division
Record
Win pct.
1
Blue Jays*
East
93-68
.578
2
Mariners***
West
90-71
.559
3
Guardians*
Central
87-74
.540
4 (WC)
Yankees*
East
93-68
.578
5 (WC)
Red Sox*
East
88-73
.547
6 (WC)
Tigers*
Central
87-74
.540
American League wild-card standings
WC1: Yankees*, 93-68 (.578), +6.0
WC2: Red Sox*, 88-73Â (.547), +1.0
WC3: Tigers*, 87-74Â (.540)
Astros, 86-75Â (.534), ELIMINATED
* Indicates clinched postseason berth
** Indicates clinched division title
*** Indicates clinched first-round bye
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National League playoff bracket
Standings updated through games on Sept. 27.
Seed
Team
Division
Record
Win pct.
1
Brewers***
Central
96-65
.596
2
Phillies***
East
95-66
.590
3
Dodgers**
West
92-69
.571
4 (WC)
Cubs*
Central
91-70
.565
5 (WC)
Padres*
West
89-72
.553
6 (WC)
Reds
Central
83-78
.516
National League wild-card standings
WC1: Cubs*, 91-70Â (.565), +8.0
WC2: Padres*, 89-72Â (.553), +6.0
WC3: Reds, 83-78 (.516)
Mets, 83-79 (.516), ELIMINATED
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* Indicates clinched postseason berth
** Indicates clinched division title
*** Indicates clinched first-round bye
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MLB magic numbers for 2025
Some teams have spent most of 2025 knowing that reaching the postseason was a near certainty, but officially clinching a bid is still a massive moment of relief for both the organization and the fans.
12 teams will clinch a postseason berth by the end of the day on Sept. 28, and the last handful of spots could come down to the final weekend. Magic numbers are one way to tell how close each team is to clinching.
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The math behind magic numbers is as follows: Add one team’s wins and the losses of the trailing team, then subtract it from 163. If a team leading the division has 90 wins and the second-place team has 63 losses, their magic number would sit at 10. Because tiebreaker games no longer occur, though, the magic number can be one number higher or lower based on which team owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The first number below is the magic number for teams leading the division or wild-card races to clinch that race. The second number is the elimination number for teams trailing the division or wild-card races, and how far they are from division or playoff elimination. Two x’s means a team has been eliminated from that race or has won it.
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Updated through games on Sept. 27. 11 postseason berths have been clinched.
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AL East
Blue Jays, x/x (clinched AL East)
Yankees, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
Red Sox, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
AL Central
Guardians, x/x (clinched AL Central)
Tigers, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
AL West
Mariners, x/x (clinched AL West)
AL Wild Card
Yankees, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
Red Sox, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
Tigers, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
NL East
Phillies, x/x (clinched NL East)
NL Central
Brewers, x/x (clinched NL Central)
NL West
Dodgers, x/x (clinched NL West)
NL Wild Card
Cubs, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
Padres, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
Reds, x/x (clinched postseason berth)
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