The league also wants to let higher playoff seeds pick their opponents in the first two postseason rounds.
MLB owners have put a shortened regular season on the table in labor talks with the players' union, proposing a cut from 162 games to 154 starting in 2029. It would mark a return to a schedule length not used in the American League since 1960 or the National League since 1961, though this time with interleague play, which didn't exist back then.
Alongside the shorter schedule, owners are pushing to expand the Division Series from best-of-five to best-of-seven, while leaving the other playoff rounds at their current lengths. The proposal also includes a twist: higher-seeded teams in the first two rounds of the postseason would get to select their opponents rather than simply facing the team assigned by standard bracket seeding.
The changes arrive as part of a broader push by ownership, which has also sought a hard salary cap, an overhauled reserve system, and a reworked path for amateur players entering MLB. Together, the proposals represent one of the largest potential shifts to the annual MLB calendar in more than 65 years.
The players' union has not yet responded publicly to the specific scheduling and playoff proposals as labor talks continue.