The dust hasn't even settled on the 2025 season yet, and we’re already staring down a 2026 spring training that feels like a collision course. If you spent last October watching the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees trade blows like heavyweights in a 15-round fight, you know the American League East isn't just a division anymore. It’s a meat grinder. Honestly, trying to keep track of the major league baseball east standings right now feels like tracking a hurricane—it moves fast, it’s unpredictable, and somebody’s house usually ends up underwater.
We just witnessed one of the most absurd finishes in divisional history. For the first time in a decade, the Toronto Blue Jays sat at the top of the heap, tied with the Yankees at 94 wins apiece. It took tiebreakers and a grueling postseason run to sort it out. And the National League East? Don't even get me started on the Phillies. They ran away with 96 wins while the rest of the division basically tripped over their own shoelaces trying to keep up.
The AL East: A Two-Headed Monster and a Bunch of Spoilers
Basically, the American League East ended 2025 in a dead heat. Toronto and New York both hit that 94-68 mark, but the vibes in those two clubhouses couldn't be more different heading into 2026.
Toronto finally lived up to the hype. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looked like a video game character, taking home ALCS MVP honors and carrying that lineup through some dark stretches. They didn't just win; they dominated the narrative. But if you look at the Yankees, there's this weird tension. They won 94 games, sure, but they lost the division title on tiebreakers and then watched Toronto dance on their turf in the playoffs.
Behind them, the Boston Red Sox managed to scrape together 89 wins. Nobody expected that. Most experts had them pegged for a "bridge year," but Jarren Duran decided he was a superstar and suddenly Fenway was loud again in September.
Final 2025 AL East Records (The Real Numbers)
- Toronto Blue Jays: 94-68 (Division Winners via tiebreaker)
- New York Yankees: 94-68
- Boston Red Sox: 89-73
- Tampa Bay Rays: 77-85
- Baltimore Orioles: 75-87
Wait, the Orioles? Yeah, that was the shocker. After being the darlings of the league for two years, the wheels fell off. Pitching injuries decimated them, and they tumbled to the bottom. It’s a reminder that in the AL East, you’re never more than one bad rotation injury away from the basement.
Why the NL East is Currently a One-Team Show
If the AL East is a street fight, the National League East is a coronation. The Philadelphia Phillies finished 2025 with 96 wins. They were consistent, they were healthy, and they were frankly terrifying at Citizens Bank Park.
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The gap between first and second place was a massive 13 games. The New York Mets finished at 83-79, which is fine, but it wasn't enough to make the Phillies sweat. The most disappointing part of the major league baseball east standings in the NL has to be the Atlanta Braves. 76 wins. That’s it. For a team with that much talent, finishing 20 games back is a disaster.
The NL East Breakdown
- Philadelphia Phillies: 96-66
- New York Mets: 83-79
- Miami Marlins: 79-83
- Atlanta Braves: 76-86
- Washington Nationals: 66-96
The Marlins actually played some decent ball late in the year, finishing only four games under .500. But let’s be real: until the Braves figure out their pitching health and the Mets find some offensive consistency, this is the Phillies’ world. Everyone else is just paying rent.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Standings
People look at the wins and losses and think they tell the whole story. They don't.
You’ve gotta look at the "expected" win-loss records based on run differential. Take the 2025 Yankees, for example. Their run differential was +164. Based on the math, they "should" have won 97 or 98 games. They actually underperformed their talent level. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays were a +77. They won exactly as many games as the Yankees despite being outscored by them significantly over the season.
This tells us that the 2026 major league baseball east standings might look a lot different. If the Yankees' luck turns, or if their bullpen holds just two or three more leads, they’re a 100-win team.
The 2026 Outlook: Who is Winning the Offseason?
Right now, as we sit in January 2026, the betting markets are already picking favorites.
The Blue Jays aren't resting. They just handed Dylan Cease a seven-year, $210 million contract. That is a massive statement. They aren't just trying to win the East again; they're trying to erase the memory of losing Game 7 of the World Series to the Dodgers.
But don't count out the Red Sox. They’ve been "unsentimental," as some scouts put it. Trading for Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras shows they’re tired of being the third wheel in the division.
And then there's the looming free agency of Bo Bichette. If he leaves Toronto, does the power shift back to the Bronx? The Yankees are currently the betting favorites (+200) to reclaim the East, mostly because people expect a "bounce back" from their rotation. Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt are healthy, and in New York, that's usually enough to buy some optimism.
Practical Steps for Following the Race
If you want to actually understand where the major league baseball east standings are headed before the season starts, stop looking at last year's batting averages.
- Watch the "Depth Charts": Check sites like FanGraphs. They project the 2026 standings based on current rosters. Right now, they have the Yankees and Blue Jays in a virtual tie again for 2026.
- Monitor the Bullpen Volatility: Teams like the Orioles and Rays live and die by their 'pen. Baltimore has already started rebuilding theirs by chasing veterans like Zach Eflin to stabilize the middle innings.
- Spring Training Health: This sounds like a cliché, but in the East, it’s everything. If Atlanta’s rotation isn't 100% by March, the Phillies will have the NL East wrapped up by the Fourth of July.
The East divisions represent the highest level of pressure in professional sports. Whether it’s the big spending in New York and Toronto or the prospect-heavy rebuilds in Tampa and Baltimore, there is no "easy" week on the calendar.
Keep an eye on the waiver wire this month. The small moves—the middle-relief acquisitions and the utility infielders—often decide who survives the 162-game gauntlet and who ends up watching the playoffs from a couch in October.
The 2026 season officially kicks off in a few weeks. Based on the current rosters, the major league baseball east standings are once again poised to be the most contested, expensive, and stressful narratives in the game.
To stay ahead of the curve, focus your attention on the upcoming arbitration hearings and the final few "big fish" free agents like Kyle Tucker. Their landing spots will likely dictate the divisional hierarchy for the next three years. Bookmark the official MLB standings page now, because once April hits, these numbers won't stay still for a second.