Rob Manfred's expanded league could break up Cardinals-Cubs rivalry

On ESPN's broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball, commissioner Rob Manfred came on to talk about the state of the sport. One such topic was about expanding the league and thus re-aligning divisions and leagues.

Expansion has been a hot topic since 2023, when cities like Nashville, Portland, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Montreal, and others were discussed as good fits for a new MLB team. These new teams have yet to be announced, but expansion and realignment are certainly on the mind of Manfred.

"I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically re-align. I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel, and I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN."

When MLB introduced a balanced schedule two years ago, the concept of geographic rivals was tossed aside. Now, every team plays each other at least once during the regular season. For Manfred to want that geographic rivalry back is noteworthy.

Geographic realignment will certainly affect the St. Louis Cardinals, a team with not many close neighbors.

The St. Louis Cardinals may lose some of their biggest rivals via expansion and re-alignment in Major League Baseball.

If/when the league expands to 32 teams, four-team divisions are inevitable. It's also possible that the American League and the National League become extinct as we know them. Instead, conferences similar to what the NBA and NFL have would take over.

Due to the vast array of teams on the East Coast, the Cardinals would probably find themselves in the newly-named Western Conference, similar to their city mates, the St. Louis Blues.

When looking at a map of where MLB teams fall throughout the nation and in Canada, there are a few different paths the league could take when assigning a four-team division to go along with the Cardinals.

Option 1: Rivalries Remain
St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, and Chicago White Sox

With this divisional realignment, the Cardinals and Cubs remain together as forever rivals. They also get to see their cross-state rival, the Kansas City Royals, more often. The Chicago White Sox are included in this division due to proximity.

This alignment makes things difficult for teams like the Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds, but they can fit into a division surrounding the Great Lakes.

Option 2: Old Rivalries Are Renewed
St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and Houston Astros

The Cardinals and Royals remain stuck together. St. Louis loses its rivalry with the Cubs, who could move to the Eastern Conference depending on how things fall. This proposal actually comes courtesy of Jim Bowden of The Athletic.

With this new division, the Cardinals get the Houston Astros back as a rival, a club that shared a division with St. Louis from 1994 until 2012. The Cardinals will also see the Texas Rangers, a team they battled in the 2011 World Series, more often.

This new division breaks up what the Cardinals were used to with Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Pittsburgh, and it takes them away from their biggest rival in the Cubs. This wouldn't be an ideal breakdown for St. Louis.

Option 3: Josh Jacobs' Idea
St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota Twins

This realignment idea comes courtesy of Redbird Rants' site editor, Josh Jacobs, two years ago. Josh placed the Cardinals in a division with the Cubs, White Sox, and Twins.

The Cardinals maintain a relationship and rivalry with the Cubs, and they get to experience more games against former American League Central foes in the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins. The Twins and Cardinals have been middling organizations these last few years, but Minneapolis is a significantly larger market than St. Louis. This places St. Louis as the smallest market team in the division, a new spot for them.

No matter how realignment goes with an expanded MLB, the Cardinals will have to see new opponents far more often and wave goodbye to familiar foes.