Chicago White Sox: 16 playoff teams is a major benefit in 2020

The Chicago White Sox are one of many teams that really benefit from 16 teams making the playoffs.

Major League Baseball announced that 16 teams were going to make the playoffs in the 2020 season. There are only 60 regular-season games this year which change a lot about the season but having eight teams from each league makes things a lot more competitive. The top two teams in each division are going to make up seeds 1-6 and then 7 and 8 will be the next best records. This development makes things look really nice for the Chicago White Sox.

This is a young and talented team that has proved absolutely nothing on the baseball field. They look really nice on paper but they really need to go out there and prove it. A lot of people believed they could be a playoff team with the normal system but with these added playoff teams they should have an even better chance.

In 2019, they finished in third place behind the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. Well, the Indians are on a downward trajectory so the White Sox can absolutely jump them. That leaves the Twins as the primary team in their way for the division. With this new 16 team format, the White Sox should have an even better chance at making the postseason because it would surprise no one if they came in second place. A second-place division finish has them going to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

There could even be a scenario where they make the playoffs behind both the Twins and Indians as one of those at-large teams. They will be battling with teams like the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Los Angeles Angels for those spots if it came down to it. It is going to be a lot of fun watching the White Sox be in the mix like that because it isn’t something that we are really used to.

With all of this talent on the roster, there should be cautious confidence in this team. They are very young and inexperienced but there is no doubt that they have enough veteran leadership and most importantly enough talent. Hopefully, the 2020 White Sox is one of the eight American League playoff teams.