With just seven weeks remaining until the end of the 2024 MLB regular season, the playoff picture is beginning to come into focus.

But with no one on pace for more than 96 wins and only a few dumpster fires on track for 100 losses, there's an awful lot still up in the air.

In fact, each of the six divisions has multiple teams hanging out within one great/awful week of the postseason cutline.

So, let's go division by division and make a judgment call on whether we should be buying or burying each team within seven games of either rising up to snag a spot in the field or plummeting out of the picture altogether.

Records and statistics current through the start of play Sunday, unless otherwise noted.

American League East

Comfortably in the Playoff Picture: Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees
Effectively Toast: Toronto Blue Jays

Boston Red Sox (61-52, 7.5 GB in AL East, 2.5 GB for AL No. 6 seed)

The big question for Boston—as it has been since before the season began—is the starting rotation.

Early on, the arms were surprisingly awesome for the Red Sox. They ended April with a teamwide ERA of 2.62, good for the best mark in the majors. Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck were basically battling each other for early AL Cy Young consideration.

Every month since then, however, things have gotten worse. The team ERA quickly ballooned to 4.12 in May, 4.38 in June, 4.91 in July and now 5.91 in August.

They did make a few intriguing bullpen acquisitions at the trade deadline. They also brought back James Paxton after the Dodgers designated him for assignment. But of the five Red Sox pitchers who have made at least five starts since the beginning of May, the only one with a sub-4.70 ERA is Houck, who hasn't exactly been amazing at 3.58.

They do have a potent offense, though, and with unexpected help on the way, no less.

Trevor Story's shoulder surgery in April was thought to be season ending, but he has been taking infield practice for a little while now and is scheduled for some live BP on Monday. Getting him back could be huge, as middle infield has most definitely been the questionable part of this lineup.

Triston Casas is also very close to a return after nearly four months away. And at that point, this might be the best offense in baseball.

By the end of this upcoming stretch against Texas, Baltimore, Houston and Arizona, though, it might not be enough.

Verdict: Burying

Tampa Bay Rays (58-56, 11 GB in AL East, 6 GB for AL No. 6 seed)

Leave it to the Rays to wave the white flag by trading Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Isaac Paredes and more, only to turn around and immediately take two out of three in Houston to sort of reanimate their playoff pulse.

Getting Jeffrey Springs back from Tommy John surgery on trade deadline day was a nice boost. And given all they traded, the lineup...isn't half bad? Lot of guys in season-long slumps, but Dylan Carlson, Christopher Morel and Jose Siri all can hit and could go on a tear.

But there's no way, right?

Not only did they sell off everything they could, but they have the most difficult remaining schedule and a major hole to climb out of to get back into the wild-card race. Might as well just stay in that hole.

Verdict: Burying

American League Central

Comfortably in the Playoff Picture: N/A
Effectively Toast: Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Guardians (68-49, first place in AL Central, 6-game lead over Boston as current "No. 7 seed")

Well this sure got interesting in a hurry, didn't it?

After seven consecutive losses, Cleveland has left the door more than ajar to the possibility of a disastrous collapse. No rest for the weary, either, as the Guardians have one of the tougher remaining schedules, including road series against each of the Yankees, Dodgers and Brewers, as well as seven games against Kansas City.

Still got to like their chances, though, assuming Lane Thomas (5-for-42 since acquiring him) eventually starts to hit the ball.

Verdict: Buying

Minnesota Twins (65-51, 2.5 GB in AL Central, Current AL No. 5 seed)

Credit where it's due, the Twins have taken care of business against the two worst teams in the American League, going 12-1 against the White Sox and 6-1 against the A's.

However, they won't play either of those teams again this season, they're a couple of games below .500 against the rest of their schedule and they just lost what had been their most valuable pitcher to what might be a season-ending injury.

Joe Ryan (3.60 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 23 games started) landed on the IL Friday with a Grade 2 teres major strain, which typically isn't a quick-recovery injury. Arizona's Merrill Kelly has been out since late April because of it, and it's the same injury that Max Scherzer tried to rush back from last postseason, only to make matters worse.

The Twins already had rookie David Festa and his 5.55 ERA in the starting rotation with Chris Paddack out indefinitely. With Ryan out, they also had no choice but to bring back Louie Varland and his 6.46 ERA.

If Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis) gets back soon and the Twins otherwise stay healthy the rest of the year, they can probably fend off the Royals, Red Sox and AL West runner-up. But what would the betting odds be for "Minnesota Twins' five most important players stay healthy for the next seven weeks"? Somewhere around +2500?

They're sitting pretty at the moment, but they might live to regret doing nothing ahead of the trade deadline.

Verdict: Buying

Kansas City Royals (65-53, 3.5 GB in AL Central, Current AL No. 6 seed)

The concerns that we have about the starting rotations in Boston and Minnesota?

Those don't exist here as Kansas City just might have the best starting rotation in baseball right now.

Fans in both Seattle and Philadelphia would certainly have something to say about that, but the Royals have at least entered the chat by adding Michael Lorenzen to a mix where Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Michael Wacha each have a year-to-date ERA in the 2.70-3.50 range.

Aside from AL MVP hopeful Bobby Witt Jr., do the Royals have enough else, though?

Even after the addition of Lucas Erceg, the bullpen remains highly suspect. And through the start of play Friday, Witt had been worth more FanGraphs wins above replacement (8.1) than every other Royals position player combined (7.8) this season.

If he ever comes back to earth even a little bit, it could be disastrous for Kansas City against what is a brutal remaining schedule.

Verdict: Burying

Note: There is a massive three-game set between these teams in Minnesota this Monday-Wednesday. If the Royals sweep, that would change things considerably.

American League West

Comfortably in the Playoff Picture: N/A
Effectively Toast: Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics

Houston Astros (61-55, tied for AL West lead, 3 GB for AL No. 6 seed)

From June 19 through July 20, the Houston Astros went 19-6, turning a 10-game deficit into a one-game lead in an impossibly short amount of time.

But then they turned around and lost nine of their next 14, including series losses to both the A's and the Rays. That rough stretch was punctuated by a walk-off, extra-innings loss to the Rangers, in what felt like a season-saving moment for one and a dam-breaking moment for the other.

Lo and behold, Houston immediately rallied to win its next four games and once again feels like an inevitable October participant.

Beyond the streaks, the big variable here is the injuries.

Justin Verlander just started a rehab assignment, but is Kyle Tucker coming back?

Or Luis Garcia?

There was hope that Lance McCullers Jr. would be back at some point this season, but the Astros announced last week that he's out for the year again.

They've done everything dating back to June 19 without any of those guys, but they might need all hands on deck for the home stretch of this race with the Mariners.

Verdict: Buying

Seattle Mariners (62-56, tied for AL West lead, 3 GB for AL No. 6 seed)

It should be explicitly stated here that it's not necessarily Houston and Seattle jockeying for one spot in the postseason field. With only three head-to-head games remaining, it's more than plausible they both finish strong enough to overtake at least two of Boston, Cleveland, Kansas City and Minnesota so that the AL West runner-up secures a wild-card spot.

It might be AL West or Bust, though, which is a battle Seattle is likely to lose because of its lack of offense.

Dating back to aforementioned June 19 when this race began to turn on its head, the Mariners have gone 18-25, scoring fewer runs than every team except for that one trying to set a modern-day single-season record for losses.

The pitching has been excellent all season, though, and at least Randy Arozarena has been hitting well since they acquired him. Perhaps once Julio Rodríguez gets back from his high-ankle sprain, he and Arozarena can do a little Judge and Soto impression the rest of the way.

Verdict: Buying

Texas Rangers (55-62, 6.5 GB in AL West, 9.5 GB for AL No. 6 seed)

The reigning champs are certainly on the brink of being toast. They started to make things very interesting in late July, climbing to within 2.5 games of first place in the division and just five games back in the wild-card hunt. But losing nine of their next 12 put them on life support.

They do have 16 games left against the A's, Angels and White Sox, though, as well as seven against Seattle to potentially chase down one of the two teams ahead of them. Never say never. But feel free to say improbable.

Verdict: Burying

National League East

Comfortably in the Playoff Picture: Philadelphia Phillies
Effectively Toast: Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins

Atlanta Braves (61-55, 7.5 GB in NL East, current No. 6 seed)

Dating back to July 10, the Philadelphia Phillies have gone 10-16, seemingly doing everything in their power to make the NL East race close again.

Atlanta has refused to capitalize on the opening, nearly dropping out of the wild-card picture altogether with a 10-16 record of their own.

Adding injury to insult, Reynaldo López landed on the IL last week with the never promising diagnosis of "forearm tightness." His 2.06 ERA was one of the few bastions of hope that Atlanta fans were clinging to as it all slowly crumbled around them, but now the wheels have completely fallen off with two separate six-game losing streaks in the span of less than three weeks.

On the one hand, that No. 6 seed is still right there for the taking.

On the other hand, this team has been trying to limp its way to October since losing Ronald Acuña Jr. in late May and there might not be a closing push left in the tank.

It's fitting that The Walking Dead was set and filmed in Atlanta, because that's what this team feels like these days.

Verdict: Burying

New York Mets (61-56, 8 GB in NL East, 0.5 GB for No. 6 seed)

Reminiscent of five years ago when the Washington Nationals turned a 19-31 start into a World Series title, the New York Mets have had almost the best record in baseball since going 24-35 through the first two-plus months of the season.

There were several catalysts for the turnaround. Replacing Brett Baty with Mark Vientos at third base was the big one. Jeff McNeil starting to actually hit the ball, Jose Quintana starting to pitch well and José Buttó going from a respectable starter to an absolutely dominant middle reliever were also game-changers.

Really, though, they just stopped losing in agonizing fashion.

Ten of New York's first 59 games went to extra innings, resulting in a 3-7 record. They also had six regulation losses by one run and simply were not getting the type of production out of Edwin Díaz that you would expect from the highest-paid closer in baseball. But then they won 10 of their next 11 one-run games—and won all four of their games against the Yankees by a combined margin of 22 runs—and just look the part of a team that knows it belongs in the postseason.

(Prior to this past weekend's series against the Mariners, at any rate.)

They do have seven games remaining against the Phillies, but they also have series coming up against Oakland, Miami and the White Sox before Labor Day. Not only are we buying the Mets making the playoffs, but they might still make this division race an interesting one.

Verdict: Buying

National League Central

Comfortably in the Playoff Picture: Milwaukee Brewers
Effectively Toast: N/A

St. Louis Cardinals (60-58, 8 GB in NL Central, 2 GB for No. 6 seed)

The moves St. Louis made ahead of the trade deadline have worked out swimmingly thus far. Tommy Pham had a .935 OPS in his first 10 games. Erick Fedde's first start wasn't great, but he was much better in his subsequent outing against Tampa Bay. And Shawn Armstrong has been solid out of the bullpen.

Nevertheless, the Cardinals have lost some ground to the Brewers in the NL Central race and haven't been able to make any real progress in the wild-card picture with both the Padres and Diamondbacks on fire as of late.

St. Louis making the postseason felt like a 50/50 proposition a week ago, but it's starting to feel unlikely to happen.

The upcoming schedule isn't doing the Cards any favors, either. After opening this week with three games in Cincinnati, they'll consecutively face the Dodgers, Brewers, Twins, Padres, Yankees, Brewers again and Mariners.

In a word: Woof.

If they're still alive 10 days into September, the schedule does relent a good deal from there. However, what is already an uphill battle might be a full-blown insurmountable climb four weeks from now.

Verdict: Burying

The Other Three NL Central Teams

Chicago Cubs (59-60, 9.5 GB in NL Central, 3.5 GB for No. 6 seed)

Pittsburgh Pirates (56-60, 11 GB in NL Central, 5 GB for No. 6 seed)

Cincinnati Reds (56-61, 11.5 GB in NL Central, 5.5 GB for No. 6 seed)

Might as well just lump this sub-.500 trio together as one big unit of not quite dead-ness.

Pittsburgh looked like a viable postseason threat the morning after the trade deadline, sitting three games above .500 and just two games behind the Padres for the final spot in the field. However, with a 1-8 record since then—with poor Colin Holderman suffering four of those losses after having a 1.67 ERA two weeks ago—the Pirates might be in a position to limit Paul Skenes' innings without facing any real backlash.

The Cubs have gone in the opposite direction, winning eight out of 10 dating back to July 31, climbing back into third place in the division for the first time since mid-June. Their decision to make a move for Isaac Paredes at the deadline was surprising, as it looked like, if anything, they would be selling off Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks. But maybe there's still a pulse here? At any rate, after the upcoming series in Cleveland, they'll play 18 straight against Toronto, Detroit, Miami, Pittsburgh and Washington.

And the Reds have remained the Reds, incessantly between one and six games below .500 on a daily basis since June 3. It just feels like they're destined to finish 79-83, which won't get them anywhere close to the playoff picture. Shouts to Hunter Greene, though, who is having an incredible season in spite of the handicap of pitching more than half of his innings at Great American Ballpark. There's a real case to be made that he should win the NL Cy Young.

All told, though, none of the three are strong postseason candidates. Maybe they can prop up a top candidate in their remaining matchups, though. Pittsburgh still has seven games against Cincinnati and six against Chicago, with the Ohio-based teams slated for one final three-game series to close out the regular season. If anyone owns those head-to-head games, it could get interesting.

Verdict: Burying all three

National League West

Comfortably in the Playoff Picture: N/A
Effectively Toast: Colorado Rockies

The Big Three

Los Angeles Dodgers (68-49, first place in NL West, 7 games ahead of "No. 7 seed" New York)

San Diego Padres (66-52, 2.5 GB in NL West, current No. 4 seed)

Arizona Diamondbacks (65-53, 3.5 GB in NL West, current No. 5 seed)

With the Cubs, Reds and Pirates, it's a question of whether any of those mediocre teams can find a way to turn it on over the final seven weeks to surge into the playoffs.

With these three NL West teams, though, it's more a question of whether anyone can possibly chase them down.

It's not a massive lead or anything. The Snakes are only 3.5 games ahead of the Mets as the first team out. But it does feel like both the Padres and Diamondbacks have run away with this thing, going a combined 32-8 since the All-Star Break while Atlanta is leaking oil and New York can't quite keep pace.

Those two have been so dominant that they're even putting some serious pressure on the Dodgers for what long felt like a ceremonial walk to an NL West crown. Los Angeles hasn't even played poorly, yet this is now by far the closest division race in the National League.

Better yet, all three teams are getting healthier.

Mookie Betts is coming back (to right field) as early as Monday, with Walker Buehler, Max Muncy and probably Tommy Edman not far behind him. Meanwhile, the D-Backs activated both Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly within the past week and should get Christian Walker back by the end of the month. Not to be outdone, the Padres are about to get Joe Musgrove on the mound for the first time in more than two months, and Fernando Tatis Jr.'s triumphant return should be coming at some point.

Of the bunch, Arizona has the toughest remaining schedule and is already at the bottom of the pecking order. If anyone is going to fade, it figures to be the Diamondbacks. But if you want to bet against the team that is leading the majors in runs scored and just now finally has its starting rotation in place, good luck.

Verdict: Buying all three

San Francisco Giants (61-58, 8 GB in NL West, 1.5 GB for No. 6 seed)

Could we see four NL West teams make the playoffs?

The Giants looked dead two weeks ago at 49-55, but they have made the most of a favorable stretch of the schedule, winning 12 of 15 against the Rockies, A's, Reds, Nationals and Tigers to storm back to within shouting distance.

Between Robbie Ray making his season debut in late July and both Blake Snell and Kyle Harrison throwing well since their respective returns from the IL, pitching has been the name of the game for the G-Men. Hayden Birdsong is the only question mark in the rotation, and even he had been mostly solid prior to getting pummeled by the Nationals on Tuesday.

After trading away Jorge Soler, though, what was already a run-of-the-mill offense has become even less intimidating.

It's possible they do enough to overtake both wild-card candidates from the NL East, but this week is going to be colossal in deciding that fate. The Giants have four games at home against Atlanta and could storm into playoff position by taking three of them.

Forced to pick a lane right now, though, with six games remaining against each of Arizona, San Diego and Milwaukee, it's not looking great. They've done enough to beat up on basement dwellers in recent weeks, but good luck once the schedule intensifies.

Verdict: Burying