Is Nashville getting an MLB team? Exploring possibilities of league's Tennessee expansion

Nashville has been dubbed a prime candidate for MLB expansion. The league is looking to grow and add two more teams, and the Tennessee capital has a lot of steam behind it. There is no confirmation yet on which places Rob Manfred will add to the list of MLB cities.

Manfred was specifically asked about Nashville as a landing spot for a team, but he hesitated to name any city in particular. He told the Associated Press Sports Editors:

"I have never identified particular cities as targets," he said. "We need an Eastern time zone and either a Mountain or Western time zone (city), just in terms of making the format work in the best possible way."

He went on to say that there should be multiple candidates in both categories. These candidates are far from confirmed, and the expansion isn't expected to even begin taking place until 2029.

Even though Nashville is technically in Central and not Eastern time, Manfred noted that he believes they will be a candidate Nashville might eventually get a team, but that won't happen for at least a half-decade if it happens at all.

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What cities are up for MLB expansion?

While everything is very early on in the process, several cities have emerged as potential candidates. Nashville is a big one, especially since the MLB Winter Meetings were held there last year.

Rob Manfred has spoken at length about future MLB expansion

It has steep competition, though. Portland, Oregon is another one with a very strong case for an MLB team. Charlotte (NC), Las Vegas (NV), Montreal, Vancouver, and even Mexico have been considered.

Manfred has also spoken about expanding the sport globally, and that's a big reason why they do so many International Series like the Seoul Series and Mexico City Series. However, the immediate expansion to 32 teams likely includes two cities in the US or Canada before they expand elsewhere.

There are a lot of moving pieces to this that still have to come together, and as mentioned, expansion is a few years away even if it's being discussed right now.