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MLB Insider makes bold ‘inevitable’ expansion prediction
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As the NBA explores expansion packages to bring its league to 32 teams, some have openly wondered if MLB will eventually follow suit, going from 30 to 32 teams in order to embrace an NFL-style divisional structure .
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Discussing the potential for two more teams to join Major League Baseball, ESPN Insider Jeff Passan broke it down, noting that, in his opinion, it's not a matter of when the league will expand but when .
"Expansion is going to happen. It's inevitable. The franchise fees, frankly, are too high, and owners want to get their little taste of it. They feel like just in terms of the schedule, in terms of the number of teams, 32 does tend to make more sense than 30, especially if you're going to be going to eight four-team divisions," Passan explained.
"That being said, geographical realignment has the chance to take away some of those rivalries. And fans are malleable, like we will adjust to most things that leagues are going to feed us. And over time, I think if there were radical realignment, then fans would get used to it. But I think they have to be careful. A lot of things that historically we have come to expect from Major League Baseball, like this is a game without a clock, have been turned on their heads. I don't know if expansion and realignment are going to be done by the time Rob Manfred supposedly leaves after the 2029 season, but all of that stuff is consistently being discussed by owners."
Unlike the NBA, which has two obvious expansion city candidates in Seattle and Las Vegas plus a relatively low barrier for entry, considering the size of rosters, adding two more baseball teams would also require at least six more minor league teams, two spring training home, and well over 100 players who would need to be funneled into each team's ecosystem one way or the other. Would baseball be able to take on that burden now, especially considering there hasn't been a new team added to the league since all the way back in 1998? It's hard to say, but considering the sheer money involved, Passan's take is unquestionably valid.
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