Report: MLB could allow teams to choose opponents in playoff expansion

Major League Baseball is considering an expansion to its playoff format from five teams to seven in each league beginning in 2022, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Under this new format, the team with the best record in each league would get a bye into the division series while the other division winners would take turns choosing their opponent from the wild-card teams on live television.

The club with the second-best record in the league would get first crack at picking an opponent. After the division winners make their selection, the remaining wild-card team with the best record would host the other leftover team.

One key difference would be the elimination of the one-game playoff. The division winners - and top remaining wild-card team - would host all three games of a best-of-three wild-card round.

Baseball's current structure - implemented in 2012 - has two wild-card teams in both the American League and National League. Those clubs face off in a one-game playoff with the winners advancing to their respective division series.

These changes would need approval from the Major League Baseball Players' Association. The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire after next season.

If this plan comes to fruition, it would not be the first time MLB has expanded its postseason scope. The original wild card was introduced in 1995 with only one team per league qualifying when both leagues moved to a three-division format.