Updated Post: Oct. 8, 2026 at 3:00 pm

The Major League Baseball Players Association has put out a statement to respond to the league’s latest proposal, stating that the league is still trying to make the players reason with a salary cap.

“We are reviewing these materials, including the proposed changes to the playoff format,” the statement reads. “Players will weigh in on these proposals and we will respond at the bargaining table. Unfortunately, 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 current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on December 2.

Original Post: Oct. 8, 2026 at 2:08 pm

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Major League Baseball submitted its most recent collective bargaining proposal to the Major League Baseball Players Association. Their proposed changes revolved largely around the playoffs and the length of the regular season.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Regular Season Length

MLB is proposing cutting the regular season from 162 games to 154 games. MLB moved from 154 games to 162 in 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League. If the season is still 185 days, this would give players more rest throughout the season and could help cut down on player injuries while reducing player fatigue across the season. With the changes to the postseason, it is unclear if the season would stay 185 days, or if the eight days cut from the season would happen solely to add more days to the postseason.

Certain players have mentioned before that players could benefit from a shorter season. Anthony Rendon might be the most well-known example of voicing this sentiment, but Chad Jennings of the Athletic reported Rendon was not alone in that feeling. A prior anonymous player survey also found that 30% of players who responded felt that way as well.

It is unclear if this change would impact player salaries. What it would definitely impact is players’ ability to break records going forward. A player who plays across ten seasons would lose 80 potential games. A player who plays for 15 seasons would lose 120 games. A player like Albert Pujols, who played for 22 seasons, would lose 176 games; more than a full season. It would have been nearly impossible for him to hit 700 home runs if this change was in place for his career.

Division Series Changes

MLB would like to expand the Division Series from a five-game series to a seven-game series. This would have the potential for eight more postseason games. This change would make the postseason longer, which may be the primary reason MLB wants to shorten the regular season. This would lead to significantly more playoff revenue for the teams and owners who make the postseason.

MLB would also like to schedule more off days throughout the postseason. This would give pitchers more rest and allow for more prime-time games. In the most recent Wild Card Series, two of MLB’s largest fan bases, the Braves and Phillies, watched their teams face off in two 1:00 PM weekday games.

Playoff Opponent Selection

Under this new playoff system, the higher-seeded clubs would be able to pick their opponent in both the Wild Card Series and Division Series.

The first two seeds would still get a bye to the Division Series but there would now be a benefit for the third-best record in the playoffs. Currently, you can have the third-best record, but if you did not win your division, you not only still have to play in the Wild Card Series, but you also are not the home team. That most recently happened with the White Sox and the Astros.

In this system, the third seed would be able to choose who their opponent is in the Wild Card Series out of the fifth and sixth seeds, while the remaining two teams would square off.

From there, the first two seeds would get to pick who they want to play out of the Wild Card Series winners, with the top seed selecting first. This could add a level of strategy to the postseason as teams look to determine who they feel they match up best against.