Get ready for an unbalanced American League postseason bracket that will probably cause an uproar
When the baseball postseason starts in a few weeks, the format will probably be a major discussion topic. If the playoffs began now, these would be the seeds in…
The American League postseason bracket for 2026 is set to be unbalanced, potentially sparking controversy. Tampa Bay Rays, who lead the league with an 85-58 record, will face off against either the second-best team or the third-best team following the Wild Card round. The worst-performing teams, Houston and Cleveland, will meet in the opening round, with the victor advancing to play the White Sox in the Division Series.
Meanwhile, the top three teams – Chicago White Sox, Houston, and New York Yankees – will be on the opposite side of the bracket, contending for a spot in the AL Championship Series. This setup is primarily due to the White Sox and Houston being seeded above the Yankees and Red Sox as division champions. However, a major issue arises when considering the possibility of re-seeding the field after the Wild Card round, which could result in the top-seeded Tampa Bay facing the team with the second-best record or the team with the third-best mark.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
