The MLB trade deadline is over, the dog days are here and the September stretch drive is a few weeks away, so it's a perfect time to look at the wild-card races and how they're shaping up after the deadline. Let's be honest here: There weren't a lot of impact moves made before the July 30 deadline, with the most important ones perhaps being made by teams that strengthened their bullpens.
This is the third season of the three wild-card spots, so it's worth noting what it took to make it in the past two seasons:
2022 American League: 86 wins
2022 National League: 87 wins
2023 American League: 87 wins
2023 National League: 84 wins
It looks like it will take a few more wins than last season -- in part because we might not have any 100-win teams for the first time since 2014 (we've had at least three in each full season since 2017). It might take 91 or 92 wins to make it into the playoffs in the AL (call this the White Sox effect) and maybe 87 in the NL -- although the NL chasers have been trending up as of late, so maybe that number gets bumped up to 89 or 90 wins.
Let's dig right in and rank the wild-card teams in each league, with my predictions on who makes it.
