Just about the time you are reading this, officials of Major League Baseball should be discussing an issue that has never come up before in our lifetime: contraction. You know the story; MLB commissioner Bud Selig has said folding two franchises, rolling back the majors from 30 to 28 teams, may be a necessary move to help baseball maintain fiscal health.
The most likely scenario, according to published reports, has the National League's Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins going out of business, reducing the NL to 14 teams, the same number as its American League counterpart. Another says Montreal and the Minnesota Twins will disband, in which case the Milwaukee Brewers would probably shift back to the American League to maintain two 14-team circuits.
But there have been other possibilities mentioned, and here are just a few of the rumors I've heard concerning clubs that may fold, move or merge: