© Kelley L Cox | 2020 Jul 21
For a Giants team in the midst of a rebuild, the silver lining of the 60-game sprint is a more level playing field. A cinderella becomes more likely; get hot for a couple months, and you might find yourself at the top of the standings come playoff time.
Now it looks like the odds of that happening about to get even better.
Major League Baseball and the Players Association have agreed to extend the 2020 postseason to a 16-team format, meaning that more than half of the league’s 30 teams would punch their ticket come October, according to multiple reports. Every first- and second-place team in all six divisions will make the postseason, plus the two teams with the best record in each league aside from that group, according to Jeff Passan.
Every first- and second-place team in Major League Baseball will make the playoffs in 2020, sources told ESPN. The two teams in each league with the best record outside of those six will round out the playoff field. Altogether, there will be 16 teams in the 2020 MLB postseason.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 23, 2020
Based on preliminary reports, it seems this new format would eliminate the one-game Wild Card playoff, much to the delight of the Giants’ friends across the Bay. The first round would consist of a best of three series, played in consecutive days, all at the home stadium of the higher seed, according to Ken Rosenthal.
Another potential ripple effect would mean less action at the Aug. 31 trade deadline, with a much larger swath of the league in potential contention.