AL Wild Card standings: Rays, Mariners top close race at All Star break

The AL Wild Card race has had a major shakeup over the past few weeks. With the Mariners and the Orioles heating up, it has become a tight race for a few of the teams trying to get in. Following the All Star Break it will be interesting to see what a few of the teams on the fence do whether that is buying or selling at the trade deadline. The next few weeks should show who has a legitimate shot in the Wild Card race ad who doesn't.

AL Wild Card standings

1. Tampa Bay Rays, 51-41, +1.5
2. Seattle Mariners, 51-42, +1
3. Toronto Blue Jays, 50-43, —
4. Boston Red Sox, 48-45 — 2 game back
5. Cleveland Guardians, 46-44 — 2.5 games back
6. Baltimore Orioles, 46-46 — 3.5 games back
7. Chicago White Sox, 46-46 — 3.5 games back
8. Texas Rangers, 41-49 — 7.5 games back
9. Los Angeles Angels, 39-53 — 10.5 games back

It is no surprise the Tampa Bay Rays sit atop the AL Wild Card standings as over the past few years they have been very good. One thing that could hold them back this season is injuries. Wander Franco is on the IL and will be out for 6-8 week. They just got Brandon Lowe back, so that should be a step in the right direction,

The Mariners have been the most exciting team in baseball the past few weeks. Early in the season, they were having major struggles. After acquiring Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez, it looked like the Mariners were legitimate about competing. It’s looked great for them recently. Another player who has been terrific for them is Logan Gilbert. He is 10-3 with a 2.76 ERA. All MLB fans enjoy watching Julio Rodriguez play as he’s always smiling having fun.

Over the past few weeks, the Blue Jays have been extremely disappointing. They just recently fired Charlie Montoyo and hopefully that can fix some of their problems. With guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and others, they should be one of the most exciting teams in baseball. But they have looked like they’re not having much fun over these past few weeks. They’ll need to turn it around if they want to make the playoffs this season.

On the outside looking in, the Red Sox, Guardians, Orioles, and White Sox currently are the realist teams who could sneak into the playoffs. The Red Sox were in for the past few weeks, but after a struggling week, got caught by the Mariners. The Guardians have been right around this spot for the past few weeks and could really use a win streak. One of the biggest surprises this season has been the Orioles. They finished a 10 game win streak which put them in a terrific position. And lastly, the White Sox have arguably been the biggest disappointment in the MLB as they have so much talent but are below .500.