Phillies Might Land in Incredible New Division in MLB Geographic Realignment

The possibility exists for realignment in Major League Baseball and while the Philadelphia Phillies might stay in the NL East, the rivals might change.

Aug 18, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have always been members of the National League East. Realignment probably won’t change that. But it could certainly change the teams the Phillies play in divisional action each season.

A couple of years ago, Jim Bowden at The Athletic (subscription required) attacked the idea of geographic realignment with a plan that would drastically change the Phillies’ current division. With the desire of Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred to expand and realign, Bowden’s projections were resurrected on Monday.

A New Phillies Division?

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Bowden chose to realign based entirely on geography and not the traditional American and National Leagues that have ruled the game for more than 100 years. In fact, he even changed the league names to the eastern conference and the western conference, making it sound more like the NBA and NHL than baseball.

The Phillies would end up in the eastern conference and remain in the east division. In fact, their primary rivalry with the New York Mets would remain intact. But one of the game’s biggest rivalries would join the division — the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

Based on geography, Bowden devised a division with two of the biggest rivalries in the game and three of the biggest television markets in baseball.

The rest of the division would move into different divisions based on geography.

Phillies Divisions Through the Years

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The franchise is old enough for the Phillies to have played at a time when the National League didn’t have divisions, which would have been before 1969. The Phillies were formed in 1883 and have always been in the National League. When the NL went to two divisions in 1969, Philadelphia joined the NL East. At the time, the division included the Chicago Cubs, the Montreal Expos, the Mets, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals.

When Major League Baseball adjusted divisions in 1993, it added the Miami Marlins, then an expansion team, to the East. The following year, the Majors went to three divisions, and the Atlanta Braves joined the holdovers East teams — the Phillies, the Mets and the Expos, now the Washington Nationals.

What Rob Manfred Said on Realignment

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Manfred told ESPN on Sunday during MLB’s Little League World Series game that he would like to visit geographic realignment as part of MLB’s effort to expand. He hopes to pursue both before the end of his tenure as commissioner in 2029. By expanding to 32 teams, it would bring two new games but also unbalance current divisions.

He sees it as a chance to address some of the significant geographic inequities that still exist in the game. He highlighted player travel as a chief concern.