Major League Baseball has put two major changes on the bargaining table: an eight-game cut to the regular season and a postseason in which top seeds choose whom they face. Neither change is settled; the proposal is part of ongoing negotiations with the MLB Players Association.
Under the plan, the season would shrink from 162 games to 154 beginning in 2029, with a regular Monday off-day for most clubs. One or two nationally televised Monday games could remain, with those teams receiving Thursday off instead. MLB says the weekly break would support player health and create a new broadcast window. The shorter schedule would also mean fewer chances for players to reach season and career milestones.
The more immediate change could arrive in 2027: higher seeds would select opponents in the first two playoff rounds. The No. 3 seed would choose between the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds for the Wild Card Series; the No. 4 seed would get the other matchup. After that round, the No. 1 seed would pick which Wild Card winner it faces in the Division Series, leaving the other for the No. 2 seed.
MLB also proposed expanding the Division Series from best-of-five to best-of-seven starting in 2029. The longer round would add as many as eight potential postseason games and spread series across more days, creating additional rest between games. The pitch is more October baseball—and more opportunity for top starters to appear.
But the format ideas are tied to a much larger labor dispute. MLB’s proposals are contingent on players accepting a salary-cap-and-floor system, which the union has opposed. The current labor agreement expires Dec. 1, and the players’ association says it will review the package and respond at the bargaining table. For fans, the debate is already clear: more playoff baseball and a weekly break, but fewer regular-season games and a selection ceremony that could turn a top seed’s choice into a postseason storyline of its own.
