MLB Playoffs: 4 teams that would benefit from a 16-team playoff
By Scott Rogust
Which teams benefit the most with MLB’s new playoff format?
MLB Opening Day has finally arrived on Thursday, and even before the season officially kicked off, the league and players union were negotiating a new deal. The topic of discussion is, of course, the expansion of the postseason. As of this writing, the MLB Players Association and MLB have agreed to the 16-team playoff format.
This news is not only tremendous for favorites like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, but for those squads that would’ve been on the outside looking in for the 10-team format. These four teams in particular benefit the most from the expansion of the postseason.
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Entering the 2020 season, it’s basically a foregone conclusion that one of the Atlanta Braves or Washington Nationals will clinch the NL East Division Championship. Despite those two being the presumed favorites, the division is for the taking. We’d originally consider the New York Mets for this list, but they’ve already been hit with the annual bad luck bug just hours before Opening Day.
So, the nod goes to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Philadelphia’s batting order is incredibly stacked. Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, JT Realmuto and Andrew McCutchen lead the way, but we can’t forget about the sneaky good signing of Didi Gregorius, one of the game’s more consistent hitters. As for the pitching, they do get a bit of a boost in the form of Zack Wheeler, the former Met.
Most importantly, however, they have a new skipper in Joe Girardi, who knows what it takes to take a team to the League Championship Series and the World Series. Put all that together, and you’ll see vastly improved and fun Phillies team for the 60-game campaign, which should result in a postseason berth.