I have solved this for when you are ready.
At the end of the regular season, the team with the most Wins in the AL plays the team with the most wins in the NL for the World Series.
Concurrently, all the other teams that currently make the playoffs are entered in the Willie Mays Cup – which is just like the playoffs but it is something else that isn’t the World Series. The two teams from the World Series get a bye in the first round of the Cup.
So, for example, the Phillies and Padres would be about to play in one bracket of the Cup.
Done.