MLB Rumors: Expanded 14-Team Playoff Discussed; Division Winners Would Pick Opponent

Major League Baseball and the players association are reviewing a postseason expansion proposal that would include 14 total teams, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. 

The playoff field would include the three divisional winners in each league and four Wild Card berths per league. The teams with the best record in each league would get a bye into the best-of-five divisional series, while the remaining two division winners could pick their first-round opponent from the bottom three wild-card teams. 

The top wild-card seed would then play the remaining, unpicked wild-card team. In a twist to the wild card round in the past, however, the higher-seeded teams would host all three games in the best-of-three series, a major advantage. 

The postseason would then proceed as it traditionally has following the opening round of games. 

Rogers reported that there are "mixed feelings on the proposal" from both sides, with players concerned it might "disincentivize teams from spending and/or pushing for more wins knowing they might make the postseason with, say, 80 to 83 victories."

Meanwhile, "an informal poll of executives at the general managers meetings earlier this month revealed they weren't thrilled with the idea of a televised event on the Sunday night before the playoffs begin where opponents would be chosen. It's ripe for second-guessing and perhaps even bulletin-board material."

Financially, it would make sense for league owners, given the added televised games and four more teams per year gaining a postseason berth and a potential shot at home games. 

Major League Baseball went to a 16-team playoff format in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, providing something of a preview for a potential 14-team system. That format didn't add much chaos to the postseason, with the top two seeds in each league—the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays—meeting in the World Series. 

It would appear another change in the playoff format could be on the horizon. The current collective bargaining agreement between the league's owners and players expires at midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 1.