I had this happen recently with three flights on a MSY-PHL trip we are making (Mr. travelmad478’s outbound, then my outbound, then our return together). AA re-booked us on connecting flights that would arrive 5 hours later (although there was plenty of space on connecting flights that would arrive at more or less the same time as our original flight). Interestingly, when looking for replacements on Matrix, I noticed that although nonstops had been removed from the schedule on the days that we were flying, they still existed on the days immediately preceding our flights. I called and got the dates changed with no fuss at all—which was a pleasant surprise, especially since we had gotten these flights originally for the stunning price of $38 each way (Basic Economy, but who cares on a flight that short?)