Colorado Rockies: What relegation could look like in MLB

A common thought experiment in MLB is that of relegation, the ultimate anti-tanking measure. People often throw it around as an excuse to make teams like the Colorado Rockies or Baltimore Orioles clean up their act. What could that actually look like in the MLB?

I have spent a considerable amount of time looking into this, figuring out the economics, logistics, and hey, we are in a lockout between the players and owners. This is one of the few times this could ever be implemented, so why not have a semi-serious conversation about it? Let’s get into it.

How would relegation work to make teams, like the Colorado Rockies, clean up their act?

While not a full system, the way MLB currently works is through a profit-sharing network, where teams keep 52 percent of their profits and they redistribute the rest throughout the league.

So, for example, with this structure in 2018, the remaining 48 percent of profits were pooled together and split 30 ways (3.3 percent per team). That amounted to $118 million for every MLB team, including the Colorado Rockies.

The first step to figuring out if relegation is possible is to figure out a system where the owners do not lose money in allowing these new competitors. Even if they are making billions off of these teams, they won’t be giving up millions to let Des Moines, Iowa have a team, even if it means short-term expansion fee benefits. It’s all about the money they could make, not the money they are making.