MLB proposes 154-game regular season and radical playoff changes

Major League Baseball has proposed cutting the regular season back to 154 games and radically changing the postseason format, starting in 2029. The sweeping proposals, put forward during collective bargaining talks, would revive a schedule length not seen since the early 1960s and introduce a bracket where top seeds literally pick their opponents.

But there is a major catch. The league has tied the entire package to a demand that players accept a salary cap—a red line the players' union has spent decades fighting to avoid.

Shorter season, regular rest

Under the schedule proposal, the current 162-game calendar would shrink by eight games. This would allow the league to introduce a regular weekly off-day, likely on Mondays, to give players a break. Teams playing on Mondays would get Thursdays off instead, though holidays and special events would be exempted.

MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin said the change would protect player health while creating "a new national broadcast window" to showcase star players and teams. Players would not see their base salaries cut under the 154-game model, though performance bonuses and similar contract clauses would be adjusted proportionally.

Postseason selection twist

The proposed postseason changes are even more unorthodox. The Division Series would expand from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format. More strikingly, the league wants to introduce a selection process.

In the wild-card round, which would stay as a best-of-three series, the No. 3 seed would choose whether they want to play the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, with the choice made right after the regular season ends. In the next round, the No. 1 seed would pick which wild-card survivor they want to face in the best-of-seven Division Series.

Caplin said the selection process would "create compelling storylines, intensify existing rivalries and create new ones."

The economic stumbling block

The timeline is set for 2029 to match the start of MLB’s next national television broadcast contracts. However, the timeline is entirely academic unless the league and the players can resolve their deep economic divisions.

The MLB Players Association (MLBPA) said it is reviewing the details but made its frustration clear. "Unfortunately, the league once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players' agreement to a salary cap," the union said in a statement, calling the cap "a system that guts player rights and compensation."

Until the fundamental financial framework is settled, the dream of a shorter season and hand-picked playoff opponents remains firmly on hold.