With the 2020 MLB season on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and league officials recently presenting a plan to the Players' Association for playing the season in Arizona, there is an arguably more radical idea that has reportedly been discussed.
SNY's Andy Martino reported Wednesday that the Arizona plan was one of several ideas, with one official involved in its design telling SNY on Tuesday that it's "this or nothing." High-ranking league officials had expressed a more measured tone on the idea.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports, another option would be eliminating the National League and American League structure for 2020 and instead separating the leagues by spring training location -- leading to "Grapefruit" and "Cactus'" leagues in Florida and Arizona, respectively.
The idea, like the one that has the entire league playing in Arizona, would be to centralize teams and minimize travel, leading to each team playing its home games at their regular spring training site.
Per the report, the "Grapefruit and Cactus League" plan would lead to realignment for the 2020 season due to there being National League and American League teams in both Florida and Arizona. Teams would be grouped in each division by proximity, leading to easier travel to and from games.
For the Mets, their division (the Grapefruit League East in Florida) would somehow get tougher than the current NL East.
The five teams in the Grapefruit League East would be the Mets, Nationals, Astros, Cardinals, and Marlins. That's three playoff teams from 2019, including the World Series winner and American League champs.
The Phillies would be in the Grapefruit League North with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers, and Pirates. And the Braves would be in the Grapefruit League South with the Red Sox, Twins, Rays, and Orioles.
Looking at the above, it's fair to believe that certain teams wouldn't be very pleased with the alignment.
For example, the Mets would have to deal with three playoff teams from 2019 being in their division. And the Braves would be in a division with three playoff teams from 2019 (including themselves). The Phillies would have three of the worst teams in baseball (the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Pirates) in their division.
Meanwhile, the Cactus League in Arizona would feature just three playoff teams from 2019 in the entire 15-team league.
According to USA TODAY Sports, the "Grapefruit and Cactus League" plan would likely lead to a universal DH for the 2020 season (something that would benefit the Mets), and feature a World Series between the winner of the Grapefruit League and Cactus League.
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