MLB: Which clubs would benefit from rumored division realignment?

The simplest realignment is to combine the AL West and NL West, AL Central and NL Central, and AL East and NL East. That’s precisely what you see above. I can’t imagine MLB would look at in any other way.

Count my interest peaked! You can contrive all sorts of headlines based off this three-division layout, including recent World Series matchups between the Dodgers and Astros and Cubs and Indians. Plenty of intrastate battles would be on the docket, among them the Yankees vs. Mets, Indians vs. Reds, and Dodgers vs. Athletics – all teams expected to contend this year.

Keep in mind, the regional plan calls for divisional play only, meaning a team would play zero games against opponents outside of their division.

That said, which teams would be better off with their realigned division compared to their traditional division?

NL East Contenders

The NL East has emerged as one of the most competitive divisions in MLB. Last season, four out of five members managed at least a .500 record, which no other division could attest to. The Nationals are coming off a title, and the Mets, Phillies, and Marlins are expected to improve this season.

Looking at the revamped East division, robust squads like the Nationals, Mets, and Phillies could get a boost against lesser squads like the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Pirates. They would also detach from the Atlanta Braves, who are built for a serious run if a 2020 season happens.

Of course, there isn’t a team that wants to see the Yankees on their schedule, but that’s the price of geography in this instance. Still, the NL East would essentially replace the Braves with the Rays in terms of caliber and gain a bleeding Red Sox team, and three suffering teams.