Building on expansion and realignment plans discussed earlier this week, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred detailed geographic divisions—such as separating teams in multi-team cities—and schedule changes like split seasons and in-season tournaments during his WFAN interview. These ideas aim to improve playoffs and address the 162-game grind, amid upcoming league growth.
In his WFAN appearance with Craig Carton and Chris McMonigle, Manfred expanded on structural tweaks. "We’ve talked about split seasons. We’ve talked about in-season tournaments," he said. "We do understand that 162 (games) is a long pull... you almost inevitably start talking about fewer regular-season games."
He highlighted baseball's unique challenges: "It is a much more complicated thing in our sport... Because of all of our season-long records, you’re playing around with something that people care a lot about." The MLB Players Association declined to comment.
Realignment would prioritize geography for better playoffs, avoiding East-West mismatches like Boston-Anaheim. Manfred wants to keep multi-team markets separate, e.g., Chicago Cubs and White Sox apart. For the Cincinnati Reds, this could mean a division with the Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Detroit Tigers—preserving historic rivalries.
These concepts support expansion to cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Raleigh. Manfred reiterated plans to retire at 70, end of contract. While years away, the ideas reflect MLB's modernization efforts.
