Major League Baseball made a new offer to the players' union in labor talks on Thursday. It would cut the regular season from 162 games to 154 and make the Division Series best-of-seven, both starting in 2029. Most teams would get Mondays off. Starting in 2027, top playoff seeds would get to pick their opponents in the first two rounds. The No. 3 seed would choose between the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, and the No. 1 seed would choose which wild-card winner to play. MLB says it won't cut player salaries for the shorter season. The current labor contract expires Dec. 1, and the Associated Press reports owners are expected to lock out the players.

This Is Good For Tired Players And For October

MLB says a weekly day off protects players and makes the playoffs better to watch.

Players would get a weekly day off. "Returning to a 154-game schedule would allow us to introduce a weekly off day, which is good for player health," MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. The league's own site says teams sent players down to the minors about a quarter less often in weeks with an off day. Cubs Insider writer Evan Altman said a weekly day off is something he has "zero problems with."

Players have wanted this before. CBS Sports writer Mike Axisa notes the players' union has shown interest in a 154-game season in recent years because of injuries and workload. Longtime third baseman Anthony Rendon has said players could benefit from a shorter season. Metsmerized reports that 30% of respondents to one anonymous player survey agreed.

The playoffs would get longer and better. Caplin said the change means "fewer weekday afternoon games, a longer Division Series and more opportunities to see the game's best pitchers on the biggest stage." MLB says a seven-game series gives the best teams a better shot at advancing.

But Picking Your Opponent Is A Gimmick

Critics say the choose-your-opponent idea is a novelty, and the seeding makes it unfair.

A weaker team could end up doing the picking. ClutchPoints MLB editor Joey Mistretta pointed to this year's playoffs. Houston won the American League West with only 81 wins, while the Yankees and Red Sox had better records and went in as wild cards. Under the proposal, the No. 3 Astros would have picked their wild-card opponent. Mistretta wrote that under the current seeding, "you would have years where an 85-win division winner may get to pick an opponent while a Wild Card team with 90 or more wins wouldn't."

Picking opponents looks like a novelty. Altman called the idea "more like a novelty than a viable long-term plan." He said Caplin's claim that it would create storylines and rivalries is "a little overblown." The AP reports that MLB proposed a version of it in 2022 bargaining. It was part of a 14-team playoff plan players didn't agree to.

Some think the drama is the point. J.P. Hoornstra of The Big Lead called it "a league-imposed chip on the shoulder of every lower-seeded team that gets picked and a creative subplot for fans."

And It's Really About Money And The Salary Cap

The union says it's tied to a cap players won't accept, and skeptics call it a salvo before a possible lockout.

MLB tied every part of this to a salary cap. The union said 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." The players' union has vowed never to accept a cap, the AP reports. MLB Trade Rumors writer Charlie Wright said that makes it unlikely the union accepts the plan. BroBible's Douglas Charles called the offer "more likely just another salvo" ahead of a potential lockout.

The owners have done the math. Axisa wrote that "the underlying assumption should always be" that the owners "have gamed out the money" and won't take a big hit. Teams would lose four home games each, but bigger playoff TV deals could make that up. Robert Colonna of Metsmerized wrote that a longer postseason "may be the primary reason" MLB wants a shorter season. He said it would bring "significantly more playoff revenue."

Records would get harder to break. Colonna wrote that Albert Pujols would have lost 176 games over his career. He said that would have made 700 home runs "nearly impossible" for him.

Where This Lands

MLB says a weekly day off would help players and give fans a better October. The union says the league tied every proposal to a salary cap it rejects. Mistretta says picking opponents has a seeding flaw, and Altman calls it a novelty. Hoornstra calls it a creative subplot for fans. The union says it will respond at the bargaining table. The labor contract runs out at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 1.

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