The 2026 postseason field is starting to take shape.
Ultimately, a 30-team league will be whittled down to 12 teams: three division champions and three Wild Cards in both the American League and National League. The two division champions with the best records in both the AL and NL will enjoy first-round byes, while the other eight teams will compete in best-of-three Wild Card Series that begin Tuesday, Sept. 29.
So far, though, just the first two postseason berths are locked up.
Which teams have clinched playoff spots?
- Milwaukee Brewers - NL (clinched Sept. 11)
- Tampa Bay Rays - AL (clinched Sept. 11)
Here’s a look at MLB’s 2026 postseason qualifiers, in reverse chronological order of when they clinched a spot. (This story will be updated each time another team clinches.)
2. Tampa Bay Rays
Clinch date: Sept. 11 STORY>
Playoff spot/seed: TBD
Top players: 3B Junior Caminero, SP Drew Rasmussen, DH Yandy Díaz
Path to the postseason: Not much was expected of the Rays after the club finished under .500 and fourth in the AL East in both of the previous two seasons. (Back in March, FanGraphs’ postseason odds had them finishing last in a tough division.) But the Rays got red-hot in late April -- they went 22-4 from April 22-May 22 -- and never looked back. They took sole possession of first place in the AL East on June 28 and, to date, have yet to relinquish it.
October history: In their 11th season since joining the AL as an expansion team, the Rays made their first playoff run in 2008. Going back to that year, they’ve now reached the playoffs nine times in 19 seasons, including World Series runs in 2008 (lost to Phillies) and 2020 (lost to Dodgers).
1. Milwaukee Brewers
Clinch date: Sept. 11 STORY >
Playoff spot/seed: TBD
Top players: SP Jacob Misiorowski, 2B Brice Turang, LF Jackson Chourio
Path to the postseason: It’s become a familiar story in recent years: The 2026 Brewers faced significant questions about their chances to compete for a division crown. Then they went out and answered all of those questions. At the time of their postseason clinch, the Brewers led the NL Central by 10 games over the Cubs, having gone 76-42 since May 1.
October history: An unprecedented run of success in Brewers history continued. From its one-season stint as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 through 2017, the franchise made four playoff appearances. Since then, it’s made eight in a nine-season span, headed toward what would be a sixth division crown during that time. However, Milwaukee is still looking to reach the World Series for only the second time, following a 1982 loss to the Cardinals (when the Brewers were an AL team).