Rob Manfred said he is still open to a potential replacement ballpark for Tropicana FieldGETTY IMAGES
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that league officials and owners "now see the season-sharing plan with Montreal proposed by the Rays as the best way -- '100 percent' -- to keep a team, albeit part time, in the Tampa Bay market," according to a front-page piece by Marc Topkin of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Manfred on Thursday said, "People continue to believe that the two-city alternative they're exploring is viable and could be a really good solution for keeping baseball in Tampa Bay." He added that Rays Principal Owner Stu Sternberg had "made a strong case to the owners, which mirrors the comments team officials have made publicly about the Montreal plan being their primary focus." Manfred: "I am 100 percent convinced and, more importantly, the other owners have been convinced by Stu, that this is [the] best way to keep Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay." Manfred added he remained "open to the idea" of the Rays getting a new full-time ballpark in the Tampa area, but would defer to the judgment of Sternberg and team officials. Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro said that Canada's only current team was "open to the idea of the Rays joining them." Shapiro: "We are supportive of them exploring it. You can argue that both ways: It's nice to be the only team but it also would be nice to have that increased interest there as well" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/7).
