What expanded playoffs in 2020 could mean for the Atlanta Braves

The run to the World Series for the Atlanta Braves could get a little trickier in a shortened 2020 season if Major League Baseball decides to expand the playoffs.

These are certainly weird times — that’s the phrase that keeps popping in my mind. On a day when the Atlanta Braves should be playing their second game of the season, we currently have no idea when they’ll play again.

Major League Baseball continues to try and figure out how they’re going to handle a shortened season and the best way to get the most out of the time they’ll have to do so — and how to recoup as much revenue as possible.

One way to do that is to expand the postseason, keeping more fans engaged and generating more revenue. Although, it sounds like these games could be played at a neutral site.

Expanding the postseason is not a new idea, commissioner Rob Manfred has floated the idea out there before and is something that will likely come up in the next CBA.

Perhaps this is a way for him to give that a trial run and see how the fans react.

Of course, this is all speculative right now and we don’t have any details on what this would look like, but let me tell you what I would do, and then we’ll discuss how it impacts the Braves.

I would do it just like the NBA and NHL where eight teams from each league make the postseason. You could do a similar model to what the NHL does and take the top two teams from each division and then two wild card teams.

The first two rounds would be best-of-5 and the last two best-of-7.

That seems pretty straight forward and reasonable to me, but let me know your ideas in the comments below.

As for the Braves, I think this would all but lock them up for a playoff spot. I’d be pretty disappointed if they weren’t one of the best eight teams in the NL.

It also gives them a much better chance of finally advancing in the postseason.

But it also makes their road to the World Series a lot more difficult having to go through four rounds, including to short series.

And I certainly don’t love the idea of playing postseason games at neutral sites, unless that site is within driving distance for me.

What are your thoughts on expanding the postseason in 2020 and what that could mean for the Braves chances of winning a World Series? Let us know below!