Major League Baseball last expanded in 1998. For years, commissioner Rob Manfred has maintained the league would not consider expansion until the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays resolved their stadium situations.
In September, the A’s played their final game in Oakland, en route to Sacramento next year and eventually Las Vegas. In July, the Rays and their home city of St. Petersburg, Fla., agreed to build a new ballpark there that would open in 2028.
In the wake of Hurricane Milton, which rendered the Rays’ current home of Tropicana Field unplayable for the 2025 season, city and county officials have focused on the area’s recovery from the hurricane.