Proposed MLB realignment could give Pirates path to playoffs while staying under .500

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred sparked plenty of lively debate over the weekend with his comments on live television about potential expansion and divisional realignment.

“I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign,” Manfred said during ESPN's broadcast of Sunday's Little League Classic between the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners. “I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel."

As fans began to speculate about what a possible geographic realignment could look like, it harkened back to a 2023 column from former MLB general manager Jim Bowden in The Athletic (subscription required) proposing such a realignment if the league were to add expansion teams in Nashville and Charlotte.

If you thought the current National League Central was winnable, just wait until you see the Pittsburgh Pirates' proposed new division.

Proposed MLB realignment could give Pirates path to playoffs while staying under .500

The so-called "Bowden Realignment Plan" divides the league into two conferences (Eastern and Western), with four divisions in each. According to the plan, the Pirates would fall into the Mid-Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, along with the Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Nationals and the proposed Charlotte expansion team.

Based on the current MLB standings, such a division would be an absolute gift for the Pirates. The nonexistent Charlotte team, of course, is the wild card of the group; but the Orioles and Nationals join Pittsburgh among the bottom-10 teams in the league, and the Nationals are one of just three teams with a worse record than the Pirates this season.

Under Bowden's plan, MLB could maintain the 12-team postseason field, with six clubs from each conference (the four division winners and two wild-card berths) – and the proposed Mid-Atlantic Division would be so weak on paper that the Pirates could theoretically clinch a playoff berth without even reaching a .500 record.

Of course, a division title would be far from a sure thing for the Pirates, but the proposed new structure would give them a far easier path to the postseason. Pittsburgh's front office is already doing less than the bare minimum to field a competitive team, and the threshold for the "bare minimum" would be considerably lower in the proposed Mid-Atlantic Division.

Bowden's proposed realignment would be a gift to the Pirates and their postseason chances – chances they don't even deserve under the current front office that is running the franchise into the ground. Geographic realignment could theoretically allow the Pirates to stumble into the playoffs; now, if only they had a roster that could actually be considered a threat by the time they got there.

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