Rob Manfred says potential MLB expansion would provide ‘opportunity to geographically realign’

Commissioner Rob Manfred can see MLB expanding and geographically realigning.

“I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign,” Manfred said on the ESPN broadcast of the Little League Classic between the Mariners and Mets. “I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because you’d be playing out of the East, out of the West and that 10 o’clock where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would be two West Coast teams. That 10 o’clock slot that’s a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.”

Rob Manfred says that MLB could geographically re-align if the league expands

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Manfred has said he wants to have the locations of two new teams picked out by the time he retires in 2029, although the clubs won’t yet be playing. But Manfred has long said league expansion will follow after the Rays and the Athletics complete their long-running quests for new stadiums.

MLB believes Nashville and Salt Lake City, Utah, are the two strongest markets for expansion, according to USA Today, with no plans to give a franchise back to Oakland, Calif. MLB last expanded in 1998, when the Diamondbacks and Rays entered the league.

“I think the owners realize there’s demand for MLB in a lot of great cities, and we have an opportunity to do something good around that expansion process,” he said.

(Photo: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)