New MLBPA proposal would give Reds excellent postseason odds

A 16-team playoff would greatly increase the Reds odds of ending their postseason drought.

According to ESPN, the Player’s Association submitted a proposal to league Tuesday that outlined a 16-team playoff. This proposal would certainly increase the Cincinnati Reds‘ odds of snapping their postseason drought.

The Reds have not been to the postseason since 2013 when they lost in the Wild Card Game to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then, Cincinnati has traded away players like Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier and Johnny Cueto. This led to six-plus years of rebuilding on the part of the front office.

However, heading into the 2020 season, the Reds appeared to be in prime position to end the playoff drought, but the coronavirus pandemic halted spring training and delayed the start of the 2020 season. Fans are still waiting for the owners and the player’s union to come to an agreement on how to proceed, with the majority of disagreement centered around money.

The MLBPA sent a new proposal to the owners yesterday. Outlined were an 89-game season, full prorated salaries and a 16-team playoff with eight teams from each league. Even in a shortened-season, you’d have to squint pretty hard to think that the Cincinnati Reds wouldn’t be among the Top 8 teams in the National League.

After seeing improvements in David Bell’s first year as skipper, the front office brought in reinforcements this past winter with the additions of Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama. Eugenio Suárez is also said to be 100% healthy. The Reds already boasted one of the best starting rotations in the league, so the additional bats had some predicting an NL Central title.

Unfortunately, the recent proposal from the players is likely to be rejected. However, Jeff Passan of ESPN argues that it does bring the sides closer to a specific number of games. The players had previously advocated for 114 games, while there’s a threat on behalf of the owners reducing the season to just 50 games.

While baseball fans all over the country are sitting on the edge of their seat, waiting to see if the owners and players are ready to agree to a deal that puts baseball in play for the 2020 season, whenever the season finally gets underway, the Cincinnati Reds will definitely be among the teams in a mix for a playoff spot.