SF Giants might be the unexpected beneficiaries of potential realignment proposal

Whispers of expansion and realignment rose to the surface on Sunday. It could be an idea that takes away from the SF Giants-Dodgers rivalry, but San Francisco would benefit from one proposed realignment idea.

SF Giants might be the unexpected beneficiaries of potential realignment proposal

Talk of expansion is back in the forefront of MLB discussion after Rob Manfred’s comments on Sunday's ESPN broadcast. Manfred has long indicated he’d like a plan for expansion to be in place before his retirement in 2029, and that it would likely involve adding one team in the Eastern time zone and another in the Pacific or Mountain time zones. He expanded a bit more Sunday about how he expects geography should play a big role in a potential realignment scenario –

"I think [expansion and realignment] are related, in my mind," Manfred said on the broadcast. "I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign. I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. And I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN, because you’d be playing out of the East and out of the West."

On the plus side, this type of realignment would be good for potentially enhancing regional rivalries and reducing travel for teams. On the other hand, some teams would have to change leagues to make this work, and long-established rivalries would be broken up – much to the chagrin of the fans.

MLB has seemingly been prepping its fans for the eventual elimination of the National and American Leagues with the Universal DH and balancing schedules so that every team plays each other at least once per season. That would irk traditionalists who have already been spited by rule changes like the extra-inning ghost runner, the pitch clock and the looming ABS challenge system.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic previously shared his prediction of how realignment could look after expansion, and it’s radical. There would be Eastern and Western conferences, similar to the NBA, rather than the American and National Leagues, and some of his divisions appear quite unusual.

The Giants would no longer be divisional rivals with the Dodgers, nor would the Cubs and Cardinals, and the Reds would share a division with the Blue Jays, Guardians, and Tigers, to name a few of the oddities. Bowden also made the two new teams be in Charlotte and Nashville, which flies in the face of Manfred’s repeated calls for one team in the east and one in the west.

Though the Giants would have an easier path to the playoffs sharing a division with the Rockies, A’s and Mariners, this would be too drastic of a departure from the game we all grew up watching and most fans would be unhappy with the changes. If MLB expands to 32 teams, it’s almost a given that there will be eight divisions with four teams apiece, like there is in the NFL. No matter what changes are made, some people are going to be upset, but there’s a better way forward than Bowden’s predictions.

For starters, the National and American Leagues should stay. Geographical realignment makes a lot of sense, but only to a certain point. Only one of Charlotte, Nashville and Montreal are likely to be awarded an expansion team, as well, with Portland or Salt Lake City the front-runners for the other spot. Here’s my revised prediction of what the MLB landscape could look like when all’s said and done –

AL East (Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays)

AL North (Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins)

AL Central (Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers)

AL West (Las Vegas Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, *Portland Expansion*, Seattle Mariners)

NL East (New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals)

NL North (Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals)

NL South (Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, *Nashville Expansion*, Tampa Bay Rays)

NL West (Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francsico Giants)

This sort of alignment would have a few problems as well, but would be mostly respectful to team’s league histories and divisional rivalries. Only the Rockies and Rays would have to switch leagues in this scenario, there would be one new team apiece in the east and west, and most inter-division rivalries would remain intact (sorry, Braves). It would even create new regional rivalries between Atlanta-Nashville and Seattle-Portland. Whether or not this sort of arrangement is practical depends on whether MLB decides to keep or abolish the American and National League setup.

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