The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season is approaching its end and with just a few weeks left in the schedule, we’ve seen some of the most polarizing stories to come out of it in the past month. Whether it’s one of the tightest A.L. wildcard races there’s been in years, the most shocking falls from grace or one unexpected National League team gearing up to make another historic run, let’s dive into some of the most compelling storylines as the MLB playoffs approach.
A.L. wildcard dogfight
As of Sept. 10, three teams are three games or less behind the third and final wild card spot in the American League. The Cleveland Guardians — who hold the coveted final spot — are grabbing on for dear life as the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays battle it out in live time to see who can punch their ticket to the postseason.
With so little room for error, each game has been treated like that of the playoffs. If you’re a fan of any of these teams, there’s no doubt you’re checking the standings after each day of games to see if your squad made the slightest margin of room ahead of the next. It’s no shocker that all five members of the American League East are in the running for a playoff spot, with the Tampa Bay Rays having all but clinched a division title, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees sit comfortably in the first and second wildcard spots. As for the other two East teams, the Orioles have struggled to find their identity all year but still hover around the .500 mark, while the Blue Jays have found a way to stay competitive despite posting one of their worst offensive seasons in a while.
Out of all these teams, it’s the Blue Jays with the easiest remaining schedule, as they don’t play a team above .500 for the remainder of the season. The Jays post one of the league’s worst offences, with near-league lows in OPS, slugging and stolen bases. It’s their will to win close games — carried over from last year’s World Series run —that’s helped them mount a late-season push, with some bats getting hot at the right time, hopefully flipping the script on what was once a putrid offence. As for the pitchers, they need to stay healthy for their final stretch of games. Relying on bullpen arms to go multiple innings and starters to put up legendary performances can’t be something to fall back on for an extended period.
It will be interesting to see who ends up claiming that final wildcard spot. Don’t be surprised if tiebreakers come into play by the end of the season and a couple of fanbases go home sad after what is sure to be one of the wildest endings to a regular season in a while.
Seattle’s fall
Without a doubt, one of the most unexpected stories of the season has been the regression of the Seattle Mariners.
After what was their best season in franchise history in 2025, the team now sits five and a half games behind a wildcard spot and possesses what looks to be one of the most uninterested groups of players in the entire league. Not even a year ago, the team was just a few outs away from clinching their first-ever World Series berth on the heels of one of the most competitive championship series against the Blue Jays. Since that heartbreaking loss, the team seemingly carried that feeling into 2026, playing some uninspiring baseball, to say the least. 2025 MVP candidate Cal Raleigh is riding one of the most surprising fall-off seasons in league history, posting career-worst stats across the board even after showing some signs of improvement in the past few weeks. Unless the team makes a miracle run to the close of the season, this ultimately falls on Raleigh, who was seen as one of the faces of the league after his insane 2025 campaign.
While Raleigh’s performance, or lack thereof, does carry most of the weight here, it’s also the supporting cast that’s letting down their fanbase and leader. Julio Rodríguez, who was one of the best centre fielders in baseball in previous years, has dipped to some of the lowest lows in his career, too. The three-headed snake culminates in Josh Naylor, who signed a huge deal with the team before the start of this season and now falls into the same category as the two aforementioned Mariners who can’t seem to put together any consistency in their overall game.
Down the entire lineup, the team has just looked poor, with day-to-day rosters being filled with the same players who can’t string together hits and minor leaguers who haven’t translated their games to the big leagues yet.
Arguably the most disappointing has been the pitching staff. Outside of the Dodgers, the Mariners possessed one of the most stacked rosters of pitchers in the entire sport. Dominant starters, trustworthy relievers and a lockdown closer — everything fell apart from the beginning of the season to now. Even after trading some arms away at the deadline, no band-aid can fix what this pitching staff has done on the field thus far.
Ultimately, it’s led fans and media to target the manager, Dan Wilson. Once considered the glue of this team, Wilson’s “good vibes” that carried the team to game seven of the championship series last year haven’t been the same since. Holes are becoming noticeable in his managing style, and the number of questionable calls he’s made throughout the year has made Mariners fans upset.
Unless this team mounts a season-saving comeback, be sure to see some significant changes in the Mariners organization moving forward.
The Cubs are making serious title contention noise
Unsurprisingly, the Chicago Cubs have continued to improve on the field since this recent championship window opened just a few years ago. This year has been no different, as they currently sit with one of the best records in the National League and are coming off a record-setting night against the best team in baseball, launching nine home runs in a game.
The team is first in runs per game, tied for first in hits, fourth in batting average, first in on-base percentage, first in slugging, first in OPS and first in runs. Talk about a dominant offence. Led by star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, the team has been swinging the bats at a consistent rate for months now, destroying opposing pitchers game after game.
Crow-Armstrong is putting together his best season as a major leaguer by far. Leading his team at the plate and posting a career-best in almost every major stat, including an outstanding .949 OPS.
Somehow, it’s not even his bat that’s been the most impressive.
The centre fielder is posting the best defensive season for any outfield player in baseball history. Yes, you read that correctly. His combination of outs above average, range and speed, arm strength and fielding run value all rank amongst the league’s best. Almost every day you see a new highlight of Crow-Armstrong making yet another insane diving or home run-saving catch for the Cubs.
Others, such as Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki, have also combined to make this Cubs team a sleeper pick for a World Series contender. If they can get hot at the right moment, there’s no telling how far this offence can take the Cubs and repeat what they accomplished exactly a decade ago.