Major League Baseball’s commissioner says Montreal will be a “frontrunner” when the league expands, but the timetable for expansion is still undefined.
On Thursday night, Rob Manfred visited a broadcast booth in Chicago during a White Sox game and in a conversation with the announcers, mentioned he believes baseball is a growth business and “growth businesses tend to expand.”
“My frontrunner would be either Montreal or Mexico City where we could go plan on a sustained basis, and I think it would be great for the growth of the game,” he said.
However, Manfred said expansion will have to wait at least until the stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa are resolved. Both teams are in the midst of trying to find new homes.
The Expos played here from 1969 until 2004 and were the first MLB team located outside of the U.S. The Blue Jays were founded in 1977.
This isn't the first time Manfred has mentioned Montreal as a possible candidate for expansion. He has said the city needs to present a firm plan, including the construction of a new stadium, to justify the return of a franchise to the city.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre is pushing to have professional baseball return; last month the city unveiled a plan to bolster baseball's popularity at the grassroots level. And for the last three years, the Toronto Blue Jays have played two exhibition games at the Olympic Stadium before the start of the regular season, with attendance increasing every year.
