Rob Manfred’s repeated assertion that he sees the league growing to 32 teams – and his recent comment that it will do so “shortly” after the A’s and Rays’ situations are resolved – suggests there is a consensus among existing owners that the benefits of expanding outweigh the potential risks.[1] As such, it is not the deeper-rooted issues that, right now, are blocking expansion, but shorter-term reasons. 

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This is not the 1980s, when the owners were sceptical about expanding at all.[2] There are concerns that baseball is losing market share to other sports and expansion is one way to try and regain a foothold, attracting new fans to the sport and generating excitement about the league.[3] Rob Manfred is on the record as saying that MLB is "a growth business... sooner or later, growth businesses expand."[4]

The temptation, therefore, would be to suggest that MLB will begin expansion proceedings in 2026 or 2027. The A’s and Rays stadium sagas are close to being concluded, while a new CBA could be negotiated on the basis of adding two new teams to the league. If proceedings began in 2026 or 2027, it would likely mean that two new teams would be selected in 2028 or 2029, slated to begin play in 2030 or 2031.

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