Major League Baseball could be returning to action mid-summer and in a way that we have never seen it before.

Yesterday Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the MLB is now considering a plan that could have the season resume in late June. The biggest surprise in his report was that the games could be returning to team’s home stadiums all around the county.

Previous reports of an MLB return have talked about potentially playing games exclusively in Arizona and Florida at team’s spring training facilities, with the idea to limit travel as much as possible. Now the MLB is looking into a path to resume the season in which teams could play in their home stadiums, with travel being restricted by realigning divisions geographically.

Instead of six divisions, the MLB would have three 10-team divisions, combining the National League divisions with their American League counterparts. With being said, the Eastern Division would include the following teams:

  • New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins

This division realignment would set up the intriguing scenario in which the Mets would be in the same division as the New York Yankees. Instead of playing a pair of two-game Subway Series’ at each New York ballpark, the Mets and Yankees could be set to play each other more times than in any season before.

Nightengale reported that the MLB still hopes to play between 100 and 110 games this year. Since they are trying to limit travel, it would be a pretty fair assumption to expect all league play to take place within each division. In a 110-game schedule, the Mets would likely play 12 or 13 games against the Yankees, setting up four potential Subway Series this year.

Any debates about which team reigns supreme in New York City could be put to the test this year.

Imagine, four head-to-head pitching matchups between the game’s best two pitchers, Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole. Or seeing which slugger hits the most home runs in the East, Aaron Judge or Pete Alonso.

The entire season could be packed with thrilling storylines centered around New York’s two teams going head-to-head. Both teams went into this season with championship aspirations and are sure to be among the most competitive teams in this new East division.

A pennant race between the Yankees and the Mets could be one of the most exciting conclusions to what is sure to be one of the strangest seasons in MLB history.