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Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred talks about Rays stadium issue

 
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred talks to reporters Wednesday, April 8, 2015, before a game between the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) WATW203
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred talks to reporters Wednesday, April 8, 2015, before a game between the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) WATW203
Published April 14, 2015

TORONTO — Before taking part in first pitch ceremonies Monday, new baseball commissioner Rob Manfred did a little juggling.

Manfred spoke positively again of Montreal as a candidate to regain a team, but he also reiterated Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg's commitment to the Tampa Bay area.

The subjects could someday be related.

Manfred said it was "impossible to tell" about a specific timeline for getting a team back in Montreal, but expansion was "a back-burner issue" and relocation "obviously depends on developments in other markets."

He also said that Montreal supporters need a specific plan for a new stadium, that he would be "very happy" to meet if the mayor of Montreal wants to talk and that it was "good business" for MLB to have "viable" alternative sites "in the event that there's a problem."

Manfred said he spoke recently with Sternberg, who last week noted the lack of progress in approval from St. Petersburg officials to look for new sites, likely delaying the issue to the offseason.

"I think he remains amazingly committed to the idea of trying to make Tampa work," Manfred said. "He is realistic about the fact that the timeline probably shifted a little bit. As I've said before, I think the key for Major League Baseball is to follow the lead of the local ownership. They have the feel for what's going on in that local community, what the timing can be, what can be accomplished. And I'm very comfortable following Stu's lead on this one."