MLB insider reveals how mismanaged Mets-Braves debacle could affect Padres

While the Friar faithful enjoy some of the most beautiful weather year-round, the same cannot be said for the majority of baseball fans throughout the United State of America. For those teams without retractable roofs, Mother Nature can wreak havoc on the best laid plans.

Major League Baseball had a decision to make earlier this week, and looking back on it, one might think they chose incorrectly. The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves were set to play a crucial series, but were only able to complete one of three games due to a hurricane hitting the southeast this week. The Mets and Braves saw the final two games of their series postponed, and both teams are now scheduled to play a doubleheader on Monday if needed.

Currently, the Mets and Braves are battling for one of the final NL Wild Card spots along with the Arizona Diamondbacks. One of those three teams will be the San Diego Padres opponent next Tuesday when the MLB Postseason begins. But Rob Manfred could muck it all up.

MLB insider reveals how mismanaged Mets-Braves debacle could screw Padres

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic cited some disastrous consequences that could emerge depending on how the final three days of the 2024 season unfold. Rosenthal cites the possibility of Manfred exercising his discretion to cancel the doubleheader if the two games between the Mets and Braves is needed only for seeding purposes.

That's a good point. Manfred may see no need for either New York or Atlanta to suit up for the final two games of the regular season if one or both teams has already secured a playoff spot. Perhaps the MLB Commissioner would prefer to get those teams on the road to their impending destination with the postseason beginning just one day later. But that hardly seems fair, right?

Both the Padres and Milwaukee Brewers will have played 162 games while it's conceivable that the Mets and Braves might only have had to endure a 160-game season. Furthermore, if seeding is at stake, and Manfred just makes a unilateral decision about which team goes to San Diego and which club take a flight to Milwaukee, that isn't fair either.

Mets-Braves doubleheader could decide Padres opponent in NL Wild Card Series

There is, of course, the other side of the coin that would see either the Mets or Braves have to play two games on Monday in Atlanta before one (or both) could end up catching red eye to San Diego that night with the NL Wild Card Series beginning on Tuesday.

No matter which way you slice it, the potential for problems exists with the upcoming doubleheader and the playoff schedule. The next few days will give Padres fans a clearer view of who they'll face next Tuesday, but the prospects of San Diego getting the short end of the stick is certainly a possibility.

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