Anything can happen, but the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox seem like locks to be playing October Baseball.
With two of those teams expected to claim Wild Card spots in the American League postseason, there will be one spot up for grabs. Entering play on Monday, there are six teams within four games of that final wild card spot. The Detroit Tigers are one game out, the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians are 1 1/2 games out, the Orioles are two games out and the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays are 3 1/2 games out.
Both the Orioles and Blue Jays have a real shot of claiming the final wild card spot, joining two of the other American League East teams. If that happens, it will be the first time that four teams from the same division made the postseason.
Every game matters for those teams now, and despite selling at the trade deadline, they both find themselves in a position to get into the dance.
The Blue Jays went to the World Series just last season and spent big in free agency. Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano give them a duo at the top of the rotation capable of dominating any lineup. Trey Yesavage is hurt right now, but when he's back, the Blue Jays' trio of starters could be a problem for opposing teams.
The Orioles traded All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman, outfielder Taylor Ward and reliever Tyler Wells at the deadline. After spending big on Pete Alonso in free agency, the team has underperformed overall. Still, they find themselves right in the mix of what is a weak American League.