MLB Wants Teams to Pick Their Playoff Opponents—What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

A shorter season. A longer Division Series. And a postseason decision that could become baseball’s ultimate bulletin-board material.

By ScoreClub Sports | October 9, 2026

Imagine your team reaches October—and another club publicly chooses to face it.

Before the first pitch, the message practically writes itself: “We think we can beat you.”

Now imagine the team they picked sends them home.

That is the drama baseball could unleash under a proposed postseason overhaul. MLB has presented changes during collective bargaining that would shorten the regular season, expand the Division Series and allow certain higher seeds to select their opponents. These are proposals, not approved rules.

For fans, the question is irresistible: Would this make baseball better—or turn October into a gamble that teams might regret?

What Is MLB Proposing?

The reported changes have different proposed start dates:

Proposed change| Proposed start

Reduce the regular season from 162 games to 154| 2029

Expand the Division Series from best-of-five to best-of-seven| 2029

Allow designated higher seeds to choose postseason opponents| 2027

Give most teams Mondays off, with national broadcast exceptions| 2029

The changes remain subject to negotiations with the MLB Players Association.

Picking Your Opponent Could Be October’s Biggest Plot Twist

Under the proposed selection system, each league’s No. 3 seed would choose between the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds for its Wild Card matchup. The No. 1 seed would then choose which Wild Card winner to face in the Division Series.

ScoreClub’s take: That decision could become an event of its own.

Fans would debate pitching matchups, injuries, ballpark advantages and which opponent had caught fire at exactly the wrong time. Every selection would create a prediction—and somebody would have to own it.

Pick the opponent with the weaker record, and you might inherit the hotter lineup. Avoid a dangerous rotation, and you might land in a rivalry series fueled by resentment.

The reward is strategic control. The risk is becoming the team remembered for choosing its own elimination.

Would 154 Games Make the Season Better?

Eight fewer games might sound modest. Across a season, however, a more predictable recovery schedule could matter.

MLB’s stated rationale includes player health and a new national broadcast window. Most teams would have Mondays off, while teams participating in Monday broadcasts would receive a Thursday off instead.

For fans, there is a tradeoff.

A shorter schedule could make each game carry slightly more weight in the standings. It would also mean fewer opportunities to watch your team during the regular season.

ScoreClub’s take: Recovery time has value, but fans will judge the change by the experience it produces. Does baseball deliver healthier stars and a stronger October? Do ticket packages and viewing options still feel worthwhile?

Those questions deserve as much attention as the headline number.

A Seven-Game Division Series: Fairer Test or Less October Chaos?

Expanding the Division Series would require four wins to advance instead of three.

From a competitive standpoint, a longer series could give a strong team more room to recover from one rough start or one disastrous inning. It could also create more opportunities for adjustments—and more pressure on roster depth.

But October’s unpredictability is part of its appeal.

Fans love the tension of a favorite suddenly facing elimination. A longer series might reward sustained quality while reducing some of the urgency that makes a short series so gripping.

The debate: Should the postseason prioritize identifying the strongest team—or preserving the possibility that an underdog can flip everything in a few unforgettable nights?

There Is a Bigger Negotiating Fight Behind the Headlines

These ideas are part of a broader labor negotiation.

The MLBPA has said the league’s proposals are contingent on agreement to a salary cap, which the union opposes. That dispute is a major obstacle between an attention-grabbing proposal and an actual agreement.

Fans can debate the possibilities today. They should not mistake proposed dates for a finalized rollout.

Braves Fans: Who Would You Choose?

Put Atlanta in this hypothetical situation: the Braves earn the National League’s top seed and get to select a Division Series opponent.

Would you choose based on regular-season record? Avoid the strongest starting rotation? Take your chances against a familiar rival?

And if Atlanta were the team selected, how much would that decision energize the clubhouse—and the crowd at Truist Park?

That is the appeal of opponent selection: the series would have a storyline before either team takes the field.

The ScoreClub Verdict

The most compelling idea here is opponent selection. It would attach a public decision to postseason results, giving fans another reason to argue, watch and remember.

The shorter season and longer Division Series require a different evaluation: whether they improve player availability, competition and the fan experience enough to justify the tradeoffs.

All three ideas deserve scrutiny. None deserves to be treated as settled.

Now it’s your turn: Would you support a 154-game season—and should teams get to choose who stands between them and a championship?

Drop your verdict: BETTER or WORSE? Then tell us which proposal you would keep, change or reject.

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