Toronto Baseball Insider has no direct affiliation to the Toronto Blue Jays or MLB
Report: New update on a second Canadian team joining the MLB
Photo credit: Mike Carlson/MLB Photos
Rob Manfred has always had his sights set on expansion for the MLB, he is now dead-set on adding some franchises before he retires in 2029, a second canadian team is imminent and while many predict Montreal, it's actually Vancouver with the high likelihood of joining the Toronto Blue Jays up north.
Montreal is still in the running to have a team once again but Vancouver makes sense for a lot of reasons.
Vancouver in the hunt for MLB franchise.
Kinjal Talreja of Essentially Sports wrote an article recently on the possibilities of having an MLB franchise in Vancouver.
"It's Vancouver. And as mentioned, it's not a new idea. «We have a real list of cities that I think are not only interested in having baseball but also viable in terms of baseball. Places like Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, and Nashville in the United States. Certainly Montreal, maybe Vancouver in Canada,» MLB Commissioner said in 2018. The idea was realistic enough that at one point in time, BC Place, built in 1983, was constructed with baseball in mind."-Talreja
While Montreal is a bigger city, and has a history of having a team, Vancouver makes sense because they would need at least one team in the east and one team in the west added to make the schedule work.
There are more desirable places to have a team in the east along with Montreal, whereas out west Vancouver is the clear winner.
"The reason is that Manfred was clear that he's exploring one of two new expansion teams to be in the west. «It would have to be two [new teams for expansion]. With the way our schedule would work, you have to do two. The only other restriction is that, ideally, you would need an eastern time zone team and one in the west.» That being the case, the list is narrowed down."-Talreja
If this were to happen the season would have to be shortened by approximately ten games as there would be too many teams to do 162.
The expansion would also completely alter the divisions and even the way the playoff format works. With how popular baseball has become in Canada however, a second team in Canada makes the most sense.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 13 | 2359 ANSWERS Report: New update on a second Canadian team joining the MLB Will Montreal or Vancouver get an MLB franchise? | ||
| Montreal | 919 | 39 % |
| Vancouver | 1440 | 61 % |
| List of polls | ||