Rob Manfred's Vision For Baseball Could Have Drastic Impact on Seattle Mariners

Speaking on Sunday night's 'Little League Classic' broadcast on ESPN, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke of possible expansion and possible divisional realignment, which could both have profound impacts on the Seattle Mariners moving forward.

I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign.

I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel.

I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because youd be playing out of the East, out of the West and that 10 oclock where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would be two West Coast teams.

That 10 oclock slot thats a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.

If Major League Baseball added two more teams and got to 32, like the NFL, the league could be split into two-16 team leagues.

Under Manfred's proposal, it sounds like the American League and National League could cease to exist, with more of an NBA and NHL-style Eastern and Western Conference taking hold.

While teams would still have games across the country and in other time zones, the Mariners, for instance, would greatly reduce travel.

For instance, if the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays were no longer in the same league as the M's, perhaps they could limit those trips to every other year, replacing them with teams like the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

The league could look into building eight, four-team divisions, like the NFL, which is what former MLB executive Jim Bowden proposed in the Athletic.

He'd have the Mariners paired with the Giants, A's and Rockies.

M's fans would certainly welcome this divisional change, as Seattle has been stymied by the presence of the Houston Astros for a decade now.

The Mariners haven't won the American League West since the 2001 campaign.

Manfred has said that he wants to have expansion in place by the time he retires, which is 2029.

For now, the Mariners will focus on winning their current division.

Seattle enters play on Monday at 1.5 games back of the Astros.

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