MLB Realignment for 2020: Who Wins, Who Loses?

by  |  April 13, 2020

MLB realignmentWith COVID-19 delaying the start of baseball season, MLB executives proposed the idea of playing an accelerated season at Arizona spring training ballparks and Chase Field, with a regular season start date potentially in late May or early June. Another idea calls for realignment within Cactus and Grapefruit league setups, rather than normal MLB divisions. Therefore, the path to making the postseason might be easier than usual, or potentially harder, based on the length of the season and what percentage of games are divisional.

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

    • NORTH: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates.
    • SOUTH: Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles.
    • EAST: Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins.

CACTUS LEAGUE

    • NORTHEAST: Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics.
    • WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels.
    • NORTHWEST: Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals.

Here’s a look at winners and losers from each league based on this new potential MLB realignment.

Grapefruit League Winner: New York Yankees

An MLB powerhouse already, the Yankees’ path gets even easier now by adding another rebuilding team into their division. The Yankees get to face the Blue Jays, who will be better but still aren’t ready to win now, along with the rebuilding Tigers and the Pirates, who have gone through many bad contracts and front office decisions. The only competitive team besides the Yankees is the Phillies. It would be interesting to see how much Joe Girardi would know about game-planning against his former team. However, are they really that much of an upgrade over the Rays, who would’ve been competitive in the American League East anyway? Also, the Phillies have a lot of streaky players, too. Overall, the Yankees benefit most, and depending on the number of games MLB plays, it’s possible to top last year’s .636 winning percentage, especially with the addition of Gerrit Cole and, likely, a healthier team.

Grapefruit League Loser: Minnesota Twins 

The Twins’ path will be a lot tougher in the proposed MLB realignment. They improved in the offseason, signing Josh Donaldson, trading for Kenta Maeda without giving up much, and re-signing Jake Odorizzi, Sergio Romo and Taylor Rogers. However, their path would be a lot harder having to play the Braves, Rays and Red Sox, which is tougher competition than the AL Central. Outside of the Dodgers, the Braves may have the best roster in the National League, with young talent that will continue to develop. The Rays are one of the best-run teams in baseball, and they get the best out of young players and unexpected players on cheaper contracts. As for the Red Sox, assuming players aren’t suspended for electronic-sign stealing allegations, they’ll be competitive simply because they can feast on the Orioles, Tigers and Royals. While the White Sox are on the rise and the Indians are still good, the Braves are further ahead with their young players and the Rays are better than the Indians. Having to compete with the Braves and Rays, along with the likelihood of a shortened season, is a huge whammy for the Twins in comparison to competing in the AL Central.

Cactus League Winner: Milwaukee Brewers

Leaving a tough NL Central to play in a division with the Padres, Rangers, Royals and Mariners could absolutely propel the Brewers to 2018 heights with an MLB realignment. Despite losing Mike Moustakas and Eric Thames, they re-signed Josh Hader and signed offensive depth in Omar Narvaez, Ryon Healy and Justin Smoak. Add to that, if  Lorenzo Cain and Travis Shaw bounce back this year, the Brewers will be even better. The Padres are worthy contenders, too, with Chris Paddack likely available for the season and more young pitching in their farm system. The Rangers stealing Corey Kluber from the Indians makes them a little better, but is it that much better than the Reds (who signed Wade Miley and get Trevor Bauer for an entire season), Cubs and Cardinals? Plus, the offense for each of those teams is better right now than any other in this division, which could help the Brewers solve starting pitching questions. Unless the Padres can make a big leap like the 2018 Braves did with their young players, this division shouldn’t be too hard for the Brewers to win, despite losing some pieces.

Cactus League Loser: Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are another AL Central team entering a tougher division. Now having to face the Dodgers, Angels and Reds, it will be a bit harder for these young players to make the leap they could have made had they got an AL Central schedule. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball, and the Angels and Reds both got better this offseason, and now the White Sox would play them more frequently than the Tigers and Royals. Also, even though Chicago would have had to play the Indians, now they get to see their dominant pitching staff more often, instead of more spread out. Like the Twins, the White Sox improved this offseason, signing Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, Nomar Mazara and Gio Gonzalez, so they should progress even faster. Still, an emerging team would have fared much better playing a full season in the AL Central under the MLB realignment for 2020.