Canadian baseball fans aren't exactly looking for another team to cheer for right now, but Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred provided hope to those who are.
Manfred said that "another city in Canada clearly could work for us" when asked about the possibility of adding a franchise in Vancouver during his appearance on Sportsnet's Blair and Barker on Thursday.
The potential addition of two expansion franchises and the realignment of MLB's divisions have been a hot topic in recent years. But no changes will come until the league's current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026.
"I'm hopeful that once we get through the next round of bargaining, we can turn to an active expansion process, where cities start to submit materials to the committee and we try to pick two cities," said Manfred. "We definitely need an eastern timezone city and we need a western timezone city, just for format purposes. Even if you don't realign, you still want to do that."
A divisional realignment would likely be welcomed by fans of the only team currently situated in Canada, the Blue Jays, as the American League East has long been considered the most challenging division in the majors.
There are plenty of options for expansion cities, both in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Nashville, Salt Lake City, Mexico City and Montreal are all amongst the places frequently theorized as possibilities. Yet Manfred spoke glowingly of Western Canada's passion for baseball during the radio appearance.
"I think Vancouver's a great city," said Manfred. "I think that Canada has been unbelievably supportive of Major League Baseball. I can't say enough about the support that the Blue Jays have received. I happened to be in Western Canada this summer, (and) was absolutely blown away by the Blue Jay gear, the talk about the Blue Jays, how into it they are.
"The Seattle club will tell you, the best series they have year in and year out is when the Blue Jays come to visit and a ton of people from Canada come over to watch the games."
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