MLB proposes 154-game season from 2029 and best-of-seven Division Series

Major League Baseball (MLB) has proposed shortening the regular season to 154 games, from 162, starting in 2029. The league also proposed expanding the Division Series to a best-of-seven format. ESPN and the Associated Press (AP) each report the proposals. They were made in collective bargaining negotiations with the MLB Players Association (MLBPA).

According to ESPN, MLB made the proposals on Thursday.

In a statement quoted by ESPN, MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin said the plan would let top seeds select their opponents in the first two playoff rounds. He said a 154-game schedule would allow a weekly off day and a new national broadcast window.

Proposed format

According to ESPN:

• The wild-card round would remain a best-of-three series.
• In each league, the No. 3 seed would choose whether to play the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, right after the regular season ends. ESPN described this as a first in professional sports.
• In the Division Series, the No. 1 seed would choose which wild-card winner to play, right after the wild-card round ends.
• Monday would be a standard off day for most teams, with the possible exception of one or two national broadcasts. Teams playing on a Monday would be off on Thursday. Holidays and special events would cancel the league-wide off day.
• MLB is not proposing to cut yearly salaries. Bonuses and "similar provisions" would be adjusted proportionally.
• MLB wants the change to start in 2029, when the sport's next national media deals begin.

ESPN reported that 154 games would return MLB to its calendar before 1960, when the season was expanded to 162 games. ESPN also noted that, in this postseason's American League bracket, the three teams with the best records (the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox) were on the same side of the bracket.

Link to a salary cap

According to ESPN, the schedule proposals are part of a larger MLB proposal that includes a salary cap, a sticking point with the union. ESPN reported that the sides have not agreed on larger economic issues, and that the schedule and other major issues are on hold until they do.

What each side says

MLB: "Returning to a 154-game schedule would allow us to introduce a weekly off day, which is good for player health, while also creating a new national broadcast window to showcase our most exciting teams and players," Caplin said in the statement quoted by ESPN. ESPN also quoted him as saying a shorter season "unlocks making October even better for our fans," and that letting top seeds pick opponents "would create compelling storylines, intensify existing rivalries and create new ones."

MLBPA: "Players will weigh in on these proposals and we will respond at the bargaining table," the union said in a statement quoted by ESPN. It added that the league "once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players' agreement to a salary cap, a system that guts player rights and compensation, as well as its other anti-player proposals."

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not describe the terms of the salary cap proposal, a timeline for the union's response, or when the current labor agreement expires.

Analysis

The schedule changes appear tied to the wider economic talks. According to ESPN, they are on hold until the sides agree on larger issues. That makes a salary cap, which the union strongly opposes, the central question. One scenario is that the format changes become a bargaining element in a broader deal. Another is that disagreement on economics delays any decision on the calendar. MLB's 2029 target is linked to new national media deals, which may affect timing. The reports reviewed do not set out a negotiating timeline, so the outcome remains open. Neither side's position is assessed here as more justified.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.