Radical MLB realignment suggestion would pit Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox as division rivals

No one really knows what baseball is going to look like once there's new CBA in 2027. The game itself should be relatively unchanged, but there's expected to be changes to payroll, roster rules, and just about all of the procedural tentpoles of the regular season and offseason. The uncertainty has allowed some to take some liberties with guess, and one of them includes a division realignment that would pit the Chicago Cubs as division rivals with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Pirates blogger Kody Duncan suggested that if the new CBA does not include a salary cap or salary floor, then the league must realign the divisions. He reworked the division based on his own "fairness", and well, it's clear what he was trying to do.

Duncan's wastes little time with his agenda, listing the revamped National League Central first. He removes the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cubs from the division while adding the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Guardians, and Miami Marlins. Call us crazy but it seems to us that Duncan's "fairness" was really just finding the best path to a division title for the Pirates.

Radical MLB realignment suggestion would give Cubs two shocking new rivals

Once you realize that, the whole thought exercise kind of loses value, but I couldn't help but notice where the Cubs were listed. The Cubs moved to the American League East, and be welcomed by the Red Sox, Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Baltimore Orioles. For some reason, the Tampa Bay Rays were moved to the American League Central.

Nonetheless, the idea of the Cubs being division rivals with the Red Sox and Yankees briefly got me thinking, would that be better? I'd argue it would be worse, but for different reasons. The advantage the Cubs have over the Brewers currently in the National League Central is spending. Even if it hasn't worked out in the Cubs' favor, it's an advantage that should count for something.

That wouldn't be the case while sharing a division with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays. All three of those teams finished the 2026 season with a higher luxury tax payroll than the Cubs. If money wouldn't be the advantage for the Cubs, then player development would have to become the focus, and well, the organization has fallen short there.

All this to say if you are thinking about drawing up a division realignment mock-up, don't. They seldomly make sense, and it's best to leave that type of thinking to the decision-makers.

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