FanPost

Let's play Expansion and Relocation!

Greetings and salutations, fellow BBBers.

For this week's FanPost Friday we are discussing expansion and realignment. This is a topic I have always found interesting, so let us jump in!

Montreal, Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, and Nashville are the usual suspects for MLB expansion, though some have proposed cities such as Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. I would also add Vancouver and San Antonio to that list, but I do not think either is as far along on the baseball expansion front as Montreal or Portland. San Juan, Puerto Rico is also sometimes mentioned, but I think that's as likely to happen as Havana getting a MLB team (which is highly unlikely anytime soon).

Personally, I do not think Mexico is a realistic target for expansion right now. There is certainly a lot of wealth in Mexico, but also a lot of poverty (at least relative to US and Canada), and then there's the elephant in the room in regards to the drug war that has killed more than 200,000 people over the last dozen or so years. Monterrey and Mexico City are generally safer cities, but how many players will want to live there during the baseball season and how many fans would travel to see games in Mexico? I like the idea of expanding into Mexico sometime in the future, I just do not think the time is right now.

I would love to see baseball return to Montreal, if only to hear more baseball in French. While I certainly believe Montreal is on the short list for a new MLB team, I have a bit of a hard time thinking it will happen (I hope I am wrong). I could not figure out a way to add Montreal without throwing them in the deep end with NYY and Boston, so sadly I decided to leave them off my proposed expansion.

I am iffy on Las Vegas. They now have a NHL team and will soon have a NFL team (if you can call the Raiders a NFL team anyways). That is two major professional sports teams coming into a city smaller than Montreal in less than five years. Could Las Vegas support a third pro sports team so soon? I do not think so, so I decided to leave them out.

Charlotte/Nashville are both fine targets. MLB could use more southern/southern-ish teams.

Portland seems to have a plan for a stadium, though I cannot say I know much about the corporate/money backing their plan. It would be nice to have another northwest team to be Seattle's rival, and I think Portland is a little further along in this regard than Vancouver.

In my idea of expansion and realignment I have chosen to award Portland and Charlotte expansion teams. I did my best to organize them geographically which is why I have moved the Rockies to the AL and the Rays to the NL to be closer to new division rivals.

AL West: Portland, Mariners, Angels, Athletics
AL South: Astros, Rangers, Royals, Rockies
AL North: White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Clevelanders
AL East: Blue Jays, Orioles, Yankees, Red Sox

NL West: Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Padres
NL South: Braves, Marlins, Charlotte, Rays
NL North: Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds
NL East: Phillies, Mets, Nationals, Pirates

Assorted musings:

  • The NL South would have the worst attendance in the majors.
  • I feel bad for the Jays (but not the Orioles) for remaining stuck in the hell division, but I could not figure out a way to free them without screwing over someone else. I am sure one of you could come up with a better realignment that does not condemn the Jays to the continued terror of the AL East
  • Charlotte could be swapped out for Nashville, I think either could work in that NL South.

I chose not to consider relocation because that could get very messy. The two likeliest relocation targets, Tampa Bay and Oakland, now seem to have plans for new stadiums and they both deserve a chance to play baseball in stadiums that are not horrible. If either plan had not been released this week, I would have played around with relocation and likely gotten myself mightily confused in the process.

Thoughts? Adjustments? How can we get Montreal as an expansion city without dooming them (and Toronto) in a division with NYY and Boston?

Editor's Note: This is a FanPost written by a reader and member of Bluebird Banter. It was not commissioned by the editors and is not necessarily reflective of the opinions of Bluebird Banter or SB Nation.