Rob Manfred teases huge quality of life upgrade for Mariners with realignment

It is likely just a matter of time before Major League Baseball expands for the first time in a quarter-century. And when it does, the Seattle Mariners will have more right than most to let out a massive sigh of relief over what it would mean.

Amid the Mariners' 7-3 loss to the New York Mets in the Little League Classic on Sunday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred joined ESPN's broadcast booth and touched on a number of topics, including the possibility of expansion and subsequent realignment. You can watch the clip here, courtesy of SNY:

"I think the first two topics [expansion and realignment] are related in my mind," Manfred said, as transcribed by Brandon Wile of The Score. "I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign. I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel, and I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN."

The league has consisted of 30 teams since the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays joined in 1998, but Manfred has been floating expansion for years at this point. And if the league does grow its ranks, 32 would figure to be the magic number.

Realignment could make life so much easier for the Mariners

The complication with a 32-team league, of course, is that the number of clubs in each league would increase from 15 to 16. In that case, MLB will have two options: Have one division in each league contain six teams, or go to four divisions with four teams apiece.

This would be a significant change, and Manfred clearly wants the new divisions to make a certain kind of sense from a geographic perspective. As in, more sense than the American League West makes right now.

To wit, here's how much distance is between Seattle and the other four cities in the division:

• Athletics in Sacramento, CA: 753 miles
• Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, CA: 1,161 miles
• Texas Rangers in Arlington, TX: 2,068 miles
• Houston Astros in Houston, TX: 2,315 miles

These are the teams the Mariners play the most, and it's not ideal that three of them are at least 1,100 miles away. It makes sense that the Mariners would consistently be among the most well-traveled teams in the league. This season will see them travel a total of 44,622 miles, the fourth-most of any team.

Though this is not the reason the Mariners have a .471 winning percentage away from T-Mobile Park since 2000, it may be a reason. And as such, one can't help but wonder: How much easier could their travel schedule become once MLB expands and realigns?

Back in 2023, Jim Bowden of The Athletic pondered a "Pacific Coast Division" with the Mariners alongside the A's (who will be in Las Vegas come 2028), San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies. Here's how the distances would compare:

• San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, CA: 808 miles
• Las Vegas A's in Las Vegas, NV: 1,114 miles
• Colorado Rockies in Denver, CO: 1,307 miles

It's an average of 1,076 miles, compared to 1,574 for the Mariners' current divisional opponents. That is more or less an hour's worth of flight time.

Then there's the possibility of MLB expanding to Salt Lake City, Utah, which Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported is among the "strongest two expansion markets" along with Nashville, Tennessee. Salt Lake City is closer (830 miles) to Seattle than Denver, so it would make sense for any new expansion team there to share a division with the Mariners, A's and Giants.

Either way, any hours the Mariners would save in transit would mean more time at home and quicker arrivals to hotels on the road. That means more time to relax, recharge, and spend time with loved ones. Such things are conducive to quality of life regardless of one's profession, and especially so for athletes who spend half the year traveling.

Look, we're not naive enough to think that an easier travel schedule is all that is standing between the Mariners and a lasting dynasty. But from where we're sitting, the potential benefits of it are worth sacrificing long-standing rivalries with the two Texas teams.

Of course, all of this is just talk until expansion actually happens. It's on Manfred to stop teasing it and actually realize his vision.