Every day, Pinstripe Alley offers updates on what the Yankees’ top American League opponents are up to through the Rivalry Roundup. The AL East is well-trodden ground there, but with the Trade Deadline behind us, we’re going to take a peek around MLB as a whole and check in with each of the other five divisions. Who’s surprising? Who’s underwhelming? Who’s simply mediocre at the moment? Read on and find out.
First Place: Atlanta Braves (68-45)
Top Position Player: Matt Olson (3.4 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Chris Sale (3.9 fWAR)
The Braves have
continued to be the big dog in the NL East throughout 2026 following an out-of-character losing year last season. They are one of the best teams in baseball, but they’re not perfect. After going 40-20 through the first two and a half months of the season, their June was suboptimal, going 9-14 before bouncing back in July, where they currently sit at 16-11. Now, post-trade deadline, they made some moves to help the depth on their major league roster, but it still felt like a bit of a disappointment. They added right-hander Tyler Mahle for their starting rotation, outfielder Lane Thomas, and left-handed reliever Brent Suter, but will that be enough to win it all down the stretch?
The good news is position players like Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, Drake Baldwin, and Ronald Acuña Jr. (who continues to have injury issues but is back in the lineup as of now), along with another dominant season from Chris Sale, have put them in a great position moving forward. Olson has been the backbone of the group, now playing in his 895th consecutive game—setting a new Atlanta record and tying Stan Musial for eighth all-time—while slashing .266/.342/.541 with 31 home runs and holding a 137 wRC+ at age 32. He has been a model of consistency that the group desperately needed.
While they still have some flaws, and Braves fans weren’t happy with losing out on a more bona fide starting pitcher—there had briefly been Tarik Skubal rumors and Jacob deGrom reportedly quashed the possibility of a trade from Texas on deadline day—the squad is back to looking like one that had the best record in baseball early in the season and should contend for a World Series.
Second Place: Philadelphia Phillies (61-53)
Top Position Player: Kyle Schwarber (2.4 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Cristopher Sánchez (4.6 fWAR)
After Atlanta, the picture of the NL East comes into clearer focus, starting with the Philadelphia Phillies. They are a game up in the NL’s second Wild Card position. To give them a better chance at upping their position in the standings, front office heads Dave Dombrowski and Preston Mattingly acquired Luis Arráez from the San Francisco Giants, along with a couple of other bullpen reinforcements. Still, there weren’t any larger moves made despite comments from Bryce Harper saying, “I think we need some help.
Like the Braves, some speculated a move for the starting rotation, given that Aaron Nola has been a shell of himself, currently sporting a 5.55 ERA and a 3-9 record. Outside of him and the ever-shuffling No. 5 spot, the rotation has been very solid, with three pitchers over a 3.0 fWAR, including Cy Young contender Cristopher Sánchez, who is sporting a 4.6 fWAR.
The lineup has been led by Kyle Schwarber, Bryson Stott, and Harper, who have all registered over 2.0 fWAR, with Schwarber and Harper leading the way in home runs with 33 and 24. But if the Phillies really want a crack at succeeding in the postseason, it’s going to take a lot more from position players such as Trea Turner, Brandon Marsh, J.T. Realmuto, and especially Alec Bohm, to make an impact. The addition of Arraez certainly helps the lineup (though it’s an odd fit on defense, with Harper moving back to right field in the shuffle), but it’s going to take much more from within to keep the Phillies in contention.
Third Place: Miami Marlins (58-56)
Top Position Player: Otto Lopez (4.6 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Sandy Alcantara (2.7 fWAR)
The Marlins are just behind the Phillies in the NL East , and they’re two games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot in the National League playoff race after a loss to the Braves last night. At the deadline howver, they moved catcher Liam Hicks to the Tampa Bay Rays, starting pitcher Braxton Garrett to the Chicago Cubs, and reliever Lake Bachar to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Miami has been an interesting team this year, with players who have been some of the best not just in the NL but in all of MLB. Otto Lopez sits alone in fifth in fWAR, and familiar ace Sandy Alcantara sits in a tie for 19th in pitching fWAR. However, their road record that is their undoing this season. They have a 34-23 record at loanDepot Park, but when they walk out of a visitors clubhouse, they often walk back into that same clubhouse with a loss, sporting a 24-33 road record thus far.
It hasn’t been a bad season for the Marlins in the slightest, as they’re trying to improve their record from the previous season once more — staying above .500 would do just that. They have plenty of pieces that can continue to help build the franchise, and they at least resisted dealing Lopez, Alcantara, or Xavier Edwards. For right now, though, it’s about chasing that Wild Card spot and continuing to play solid baseball and win the games they need to.
Fourth Place: Washington Nationals (55-59)
Top Position Player: James Wood (4.2 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Cade Cavalli (2.5 fWAR)
The Nationals are a team that has seen breakout seasons from those they were counting on, but they still aren’t fully there yet. Sitting 5.5 games back of the last NL Wild Card spot, it would take a miracle for them to reach the postseason. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have any bright spots. James Wood and CJ Abrams are having excellent seasons. However, due to long-shot playoff odds, they still decided to send away players, including ace Foster Griffin to Cleveland and masher Luis García Jr. to the Yankees for a quartet of pitchers. The latter made his impact early on in a pinstriped uniform.
The Nationals even have some decent looks in the starting rotation, with Cade Cavalli doing yeoman’s work and leading the entire major leagues in starts. Still, there needs to be serious reinforcements on that side of the coin to make Washington even a Wild Card contender. As of now, they have somewhat of a formula, but with a deadline where the new leader of the front office, Paul Toboni, sold more than he bought, it still feels as if there’s a long rest-of-the-season and future for the franchise.
Last Place: New York Mets (47-66)
Top Position Player: Juan Soto (2.8 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Nolan McLean (2.6 fWAR)
The Mets have been extremely disappointing this season, and that still feels like an understatement. They traded away eight players at the deadline, including former Yankees Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver to the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively, and received 12 different prospect across their several deals. They also traded away their big offseason addition on the mound, Freddy Peralta, to the Tampa Bay Rays (his ugly 2026 only continued last night at Coors Field). After an 83-79 record last year and a run to Game 6 of the NLCS in 2024, it has been one heck of a downswing.
The two players who lead the team in fWAR are really the only two bright spots. Soto has been himself, hitting to the tune of a 159 wRC+ with an OBP over the .400 mark once again. But he’s on the IL right now and doesn’t have much help anyway, and neither does the young hurler Nolan McLean, who at 24 years old has pitched to an excellent 3.29 ERA through 22 starts and 125.2 innings pitched. Francisco Lindor has been underwhelming and hurt, and everyone else has been either mediocre or bad as well. The same goes for the pitching staff. There’s at least some hope for youngsters A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge in the outfield, if you want to find it.
The 2026 season has been a complete wash due to injuries and downright poor performance throughout the Mets organization. For the team’s front office and fans, their minds are already on 2027 and beyond.
