Expanding the Supreme Court to Depoliticize It

I've got an op-ed in The Hill that calls for an expansion of the Supreme Court as a way to depoliticize it.  And to be clear, I'm not calling for Court-packing by Dems.  That would only require adding a couple of seats.  I'm calling for a major structural change in the Court—an expansion plus a shift to sitting in panels.  And I'm perfectly fine if the majority of the initial picks went to President Trump, as I think that the structural change would be very healthy for the Court and the political process, and with a larger Court, there will be much more frequent turnover among Justices.  

I'm sure my proposal will be some skepticism (to say it lightly), whether because folks think this is a barely closeted Court-packing scheme (but why bother with this when there's a much simpler way to pack the Court), or because they somehow think that there's something sacred or efficient about 9 Justices (clearly those folks have never been to a SCOTUS oral argument, but I suspect those are also the same folks with the naive idea that judges ever merely apply the law as written).  

Yet, I think a SCOTUS expansion is coming in any future Democratic administration for a very simple reason:  Republicans overplayed their hand and upset the basic equilibrium of the Court.  Democrats were far from happy with the Court before Trump, but the Court was basically a wash:  it made both Dems and Reps unhappy on certain issues.  As long as no side overreached, the Court was able to maintain a level of legitimacy.  If the Court now veers right, that will be lost, and all bets are off about preserving its current form.  There are lots of ways the Court could be remade; I'm trying to find one that creates a healthier judicial system.  And note that it only takes 50 votes in the Senate, not a Constitutional amendment, to expand the Court, but that it can't be dialed back without vacancies or a Constitutional amendment.