There are fewer than two months left in the 2025 MLB regular season, and the playoff races in the American and National Leagues are really starting to heat up.
In the American League, five teams are within five games of the final wild card spot, while the No. 4 team – the Texas Rangers – is just a half-game out of the third spot. A lot could change in the next few months, especially with teams like the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays selling at the deadline, but there likely will be a team – or two – that misses the playoffs that was expected to make it in.
In the National League, the top wild card teams (New York, Chicago and San Diego) seem pretty set in stone, but the Cincinnati Reds (three games back) are still within striking distance with plenty of games to go.
Here’s a look at the playoff odds for every team in the hunt, and a few storylines to watch when considering bets for these playoff markets.
American League Playoff OddsDivision LeadersToronto Blue Jays: -2500Detroit Tigers: -5000Houston Astros: -1000
Toronto (19 games over .500), Detroit (17 games over .500), and Houston (14 games over .500) all appear to be locks to make the playoffs in the 2025 season.
Detroit has a seven-game cushion in the AL Central – the largest of these three division winners – which is why oddsmakers have it priced at -5000 to reach the playoffs for the second straight season.
It would be relatively surprising to see any of these teams fall out of the race, especially since they’d slot in pretty high in the wild card standings if a team were to overtake them in the division.
Wild Card RaceBoston Red Sox: -450Seattle Mariners: -360New York Yankees: -330Texas Rangers: +115Cleveland Guardians: +320Kansas City Royals: +650Tampa Bay Rays: +950Minnesota Twins: +1800Los Angeles Angels: +2500Baltimore Orioles: +5000
The AL wild card race is going to be extremely fun to watch down the stretch of the season.
Entering Wednesday’s action, the Texas Rangers could overtake the New York Yankees, who are just a half-game ahead of them in the standings. New York has played under .500 ball over the last few months, and despite some trade deadline moves, it is fading fast in this market.
Oddsmakers project the Yankees to be the team that is currently holding a spot to be the closest one to drop out (-330 to make the postseason).
While Cleveland, Minnesota, and others are long shots to make the playoffs, Texas is a team to watch since it has been elite at home (36-20) and still has 25 games at Globe Life Field left in the 2025 season.
National League Playoff OddsDivision LeadersPhiladelphia Phillies: -3000Los Angeles Dodgers: -20000Milwaukee Brewers: -10000
All three of these division leaders appear to be locked into a playoff spot, as the implied probability for Philadelphia (the team with the worst odds) to make the playoffs is 96.77 percent.
There’s a chance that all three of these teams could lose their spot atop the division (Milwaukee has the largest lead at four games), but they’d all just fall into a wild card spot, barring a crazy run from the Reds or another fringe wild card team.
Wild Card RaceChicago Cubs: -1400New York Mets: -650San Diego Padres: -575Cincinnati Reds: +250San Francisco Giants: +600St. Louis Cardinals: +1100Arizona Diamondbacks: +2500Miami Marlins: +3000Atlanta Braves: +5000
There is a lot less intrigue in the National League, as the Reds – who made some big moves at the deadline to acquire Ke’Bryan Hayes, Zack Littell, and others – are the only team that seems to have a chance to supplant New York, Chicago, or San Diego.
However, there is a lot of time left for a team like the Giants or Cardinals (both hovering around .500) to get hot and make some inroads in this race.
For now, Cincinnati is the only team at plus money that I’d consider in the NL playoff market.