Look at the national league standings baseball from last year and you'll see a lie. Or at least, a very half-baked truth. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series again in 2025, beating Toronto in seven games, but if you think the regular season standings told the whole story, you weren't paying attention.
The Milwaukee Brewers actually finished with the best record in the NL at 97-65. Philadelphia was right behind them at 96-66. The Dodgers? They coasted into the playoffs with 93 wins.
Honestly, the standings are kinda like a speedometer. They tell you how fast a team is going, but they don't tell you if the engine is about to explode or if they're just cruising in third gear to save gas for October.
The NL West is Basically a Spending War
If you want to understand the national league standings baseball fans obsess over, you have to look at the bank accounts first. The Dodgers aren't just a baseball team; they’re a financial juggernaut. In 2025, they shelled out nearly $170 million just in luxury tax payments. That’s more than the entire payroll of the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Miami Marlins.
It’s brutal.
The Arizona Diamondbacks know this better than anyone. They just pulled off a massive trade for Nolan Arenado to try and keep pace. They’re desperate. They have to be. When you play in a division where the top team treats the luxury tax like a suggestion, you either get creative or you get buried.
The San Francisco Giants are trying a different route. They hired Tony Vitello from the college ranks to manage, hoping a fresh perspective can fix a roster that's been stuck in "mediocrity purgatory" with 81 wins.
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- Dodgers: 93-69 (The kings)
- Padres: 90-72 (Always the bridesmaid)
- Giants: 81-81 (The definition of average)
- D-backs: 80-82 (Better than the record suggests)
- Rockies: 43-119 (Absolute disaster zone)
That Rockies record isn't a typo. 119 losses. It’s hard to even be that bad on purpose.
Why the NL Central is the Most Stressful Division
Everyone talks about the big spenders in the East and West, but the NL Central is where the actual chaos lives. Last year, the Brewers took the crown, but the Chicago Cubs weren't far behind with 92 wins.
The Cubs just signed Alex Bregman. They’re clearly not content with being second best.
And then there's the St. Louis Cardinals. They’re finally doing what fans have dreaded: a real rebuild. They're trading away veterans and looking at 2027 or 2028. It’s a weird vibe in St. Louis right now.
The Cincinnati Reds are the wildcard here. They finished 83-79 last year and actually made the postseason. They have all this young talent that's finally starting to realize they're allowed to win games. If Elly De La Cruz stays healthy, that 83-win mark is going to look like a floor, not a ceiling.
Breaking Down the NL East Power Struggle
Philadelphia is the heavy favorite for 2026, and for good reason. Their 96 wins in 2025 felt sustainable. Their pitching staff, led by Zack Wheeler, is essentially a buzzsaw.
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But the New York Mets are always looming. They finished 83-79, which was a disappointment considering their payroll is the second-highest in the league at over $317 million. Steve Cohen doesn't like losing. You can bet they'll be aggressive before Spring Training starts in February.
- Philadelphia Phillies: 96-66 (The class of the division)
- New York Mets: 83-79 (Expensive underachievers)
- Miami Marlins: 79-83 (Pesky, but lacked power)
- Atlanta Braves: 76-86 (Injuries absolutely gutted them)
- Washington Nationals: 66-96 (Still waiting on the youth movement)
The Braves' 76 wins were a shock. Most experts, like those at FanGraphs, expect them to bounce back in 2026 because you can’t have that much bad luck two years in a row. Or can you?
The Hidden Math of the Wild Card
The national league standings baseball world uses to determine playoff seeds changed a few years ago, and we’re still seeing the ripples.
You don't need to win your division anymore. You just need to be better than the other "not-quite-winners."
Last year, the Padres (90 wins), Cubs (92 wins), and Reds (83 wins) grabbed those spots. It creates this weird incentive where teams that would have traded their stars in July are now buyers. They see that 83-win threshold and think, "Hey, we can do that."
It keeps the standings crowded. It keeps the "meaningful games" going into September.
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But it also rewards teams that get hot at the right time rather than teams that are actually the best over 162 games. Just ask the Brewers. They dominated the regular season and then got bounced in the NLDS by the Cubs.
What to Watch Before the 2026 Season Starts
We are currently in the middle of January. Spring training is about a month away.
The standings right now are all zeroes, but the "projected" standings are already shifting.
- Watch the Free Agent Market: There are still veterans like Paul Goldschmidt (38) and Marcell Ozuna (35) out there who can swing a division by three or four games.
- The NPB Factor: Three top players from Japan are still negotiating. If one of them lands in San Diego or New York, the West/East balance shifts instantly.
- Injury Reports: Ronald Acuña Jr. and Corbin Burnes are the names to track. If they're 100% by April, the Braves and D-backs become terrifying again.
Basically, don't take the end-of-year standings as gospel for the next year. The National League is top-heavy with the Dodgers and Phillies, but the middle class—the Reds, Padres, and Cubs—is getting much more crowded.
If you're looking for an "actionable" takeaway: don't bet on the Rockies, and don't count out a healthy Braves team. The 2026 season is going to be about who survives the summer heat in the Central.
Keep an eye on the luxury tax tracker too. Usually, the teams that pay the most in January are the ones smiling in October, even if the "pure" fans hate to admit it.
The Dodgers are the favorites for a three-peat. It’s boring, I know. But until someone in the NL West or the Phillies finds a way to consistently beat their depth, it’s the world we live in.