Major League Baseball handed the players' association a sweeping scheduling proposal during collective bargaining Thursday. The league would shorten the regular season from 162 games to 154 starting in 2029, expand the Division Series from best-of-five to best-of-seven, and allow higher seeds to choose their opponents beginning in 2027. Owners also proposed adding nine additional days off, extending the postseason to a maximum of 42 days, and making most regular-season Mondays a league-wide off day except for up to two nationally broadcast games. Spokesman Glen Caplin said the shorter schedule would introduce a weekly off day benefiting player health while creating a new national broadcast window.

Every scheduling sweetener is contingent on players accepting the salary cap and floor system the owners are pressing for — a system the union has vowed never to accept. The MLBPA called the conditions 'a system that guts player rights and compensation,' and reports note the proposals also include limits on contract values and length. Baseball's five-year labor contract expires Dec. 1, and management is expected to lock out players then, a confrontation that could delay or wipe out the 2027 season. CBS Sports reports the cap remains the single biggest issue, with schedule and format questions secondary.

Under the proposal, teams would play four day-night doubleheaders, one against each division rival, with Monday games on national holidays and Thursday off afterward — mirroring the Monday off days minor league schedules have used since 2021. Fewer weekday afternoon playoff starts would follow, after some teams struggled to fill afternoon stadiums. Per MLB Trade Rumors, the setup could have let this year's top-seeded Brewers choose Atlanta over San Diego, while CBS notes the timing aligns with the national TV deal expiring after 2028.

The 154-game season and best-of-seven Division Series would begin in 2029, matched to the next national media rights deals, while opponent selection would start in 2027 if accepted — though acceptance looks unlikely with the cap attached. The union's response sets up a winter of brinkmanship: the CBA expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, and a lockout is widely expected. Expect counterproposals and a fight over the cap to define the months ahead.