The Seattle Mariners and MLB expansion

Baseball finds itself in the dog days of winter. Almost all of the free agents have signed, and there are only a few question marks for teams left to answer as they head to spring training in the next month. As I search for any Seattle Mariners news or rumors to obsess over, I recently saw an article (paywall) looking at the potential locations for MLB expansion.

As multiple cities are preparing themselves for what will be massively expensive bids to have their city be home to pro baseball, it appears inevitable that MLB will add two expansion teams in the next 5-10 years. This has me wondering, what will baseball look like after expansion, and how will it affect the Mariners?

Who will get the bids?

It has long been rumored that six cities are seriously being considered for expansion. The current front-runners are Nashville, Charlotte, Montreal, Vancouver, Portland, and Las Vegas. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has even stated that these are the cities that are being looked at. Who is most likely to get the expansion bids?

The overwhelming favorite to get the first team is Nashville. They have a strong baseball history, a major market that wants a franchise, and a strong and impressive leadership group ready to oversee the process of expansion, led by MLB legends Dave Stewart and Don Mattingly. It is a near certainty that the Nashville Stars will be the 31st franchise in baseball.