Mariners may not get an MLB neighbor in Pacific Northwest any time soon

There has been quite a lot happening in the baseball news cycle recently. On the field, playoff and divisional races remain hotly contested and the Seattle Mariners themselves are in the midst of contending for first place in the AL West.

Off the field, the story that has dominated the spotlight has had more to do with maps and geography than anything else.

Expanding the league to more cities and re-aligning the divisions has become a priority for Rob Manfred

While Seattle was taking a beating against the New York Mets during the Little League Classic, commissioner Rob Manfred was asked about his thoughts on expansion, to which he responded that making a 32-team league would also give the league an opportunity to realign the divisions.

"Realignment has always been a difficult issue in baseball...The reality of today’s media environment is that if you went to 32 teams and you could get to a more geographically-based alignment, you could help your playoff format, you could reduce your travel, you could more easily discuss things like a split season."

Rob Manfred

Realignment aside, the topic of adding to the number of cities with MLB teams begs an obvious and immediate question: Where should the newest teams be located? Along with a handful of other teams, Portland is one of the cities under consideration and could finally give the Mariners a much-needed geographic companion.

For years, the closest franchises have been the San Francisco Giants and Athletics. Now that the Athletics are being relocated to Las Vegas, that leaves San Francisco as the closest team by distance, but Oracle Park is still more than 800 miles away from T-Mobile Park.

If an MLB stadium were to be built in Portland it would be fewer than 200 miles away, a much closer neighbor. Unfortunately, compared to front runners like Nashville and Salt Lake City that have more cultural, financial, and legislative support, Portland is a distant underdog that isn't likely to get one of the two expansion slots that Manfred wants to add by 2029.

Even if Seattle remains as the lone MLB representative in the PNW, the realignment could reduce the wear and tear of cross-country travel on the Mariners, a factor that has long been a downside of signing a contract with the team. It's hard to tell exactly how much that has played a factor in limiting the team's ability to compete over a 162-game season, but fewer travel hours and more rest is bound to have at least some positive impact.

For Seattle residents, things will continue to putter on as per usual. But for residents of the second-best city in the region, Ducks and Pickles will have to suffice in lieu of an MLB franchise, at least for now.