The Padres seem headed to a big victory at the bargaining table. Within a year looms a brown-and-gold windfall that has nothing to do with A.J. Preller's roster-improvement plans and largely won't be of the Padres' doing, though Peter Seidler and Ron Fowler can — and likely will — support efforts to make it happen.
What's in store, it appears, are expanded World Series tournament fields for many years to come, perhaps as soon as 2021. Playoff contention and wild cards will be less difficult to earn, no small perk for a Padres franchise that has posted 11 losing seasons in 13 years and must contend with a Dodgers franchise that has won the past eight NL West races and shows no strong signs of slowing.
Caveat: Playoff expansion isn't certain. MLB management and the players union must hash out details, first for 2021 and then other years under a new labor pact to replace the CBA now entering its final year. This past season's expanded World Series tournament fell under a one-time agreement, influenced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Follow the money, though, and Padres teams seem assured a broader path to the postseason.
The number of wild-card berths per league appears headed up from two, the number stipulated by the current labor pact dating to 2012.
