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The Seattle Mariners and MLB expansion
What will realignment look like?
Now that we have 32 MLB teams, with four franchises in brand-new locations, it is time for realignment. With the help of SoDo Mojo's Site Expert Chris O'Day, he's realigned what we think is a great setup for this new era of baseball.
With 32 teams, we believe MLB will go to four divisions in each league, made up of the West, Central, East, and South. Keeping historical rivalries and traditions intact was important, but also creating more rivalries to give a little extra spice to these new divisions.
Here are the new divisions in each league
NL East- Phillies, Mets, Pirates, and Montreal Expos
NL South- Braves, Nationals, Marlins, Nashville Stars
NL Central- Cubs, Reds, Cardinals, Brewers
NL West- Giants, Padres, Dodgers, Angels
When looking at this new National League, we've realigned the Angels and Expos (Rays) to the NL. Neither team has major historical connections to the AL that it would be jarring for fans to see them move, and I believe it would massively help both franchises. The Expos in the new NL East have an easy divisional travel schedule while returning to their original division from back in the day, under the new Tampa Bay "way" they run their franchise, it'd be fascinating to see them constantly battle the Mets and Phillies. While the Pirates may be unhappy about leaving the central, it should force their hand to be more financially competitive.
The Angels may be nervous about joining the Dodgers in the same division initially, but I believe this could turn into one of the better rivalries in baseball. An all-California division with franchises that are loaded with star power.
The NL Central does not change much, but the NL South creates a brand new rivalry. Atlanta leaves the NL East they've owned for so long but will enjoy an easier travel schedule, as well as welcoming the expansion Nashville Stars to their division. It may take a couple of years, but I expect those two to become a fantastic rivalry in the Southeast.