Rob Manfred seems like a worldly guy. The Major League Baseball commissioner grew up on the East Coast, has a wife and four children, and attended a couple of Ivy League universities.

But I think he needs a trip to Portland soon.

The MLB ballpark plans in Tampa and Oakland have disintegrated in the last month. There’s no viable stadium plan for the Rays and the A’s Howard Terminal gondola plan is such a fantasy that owner John Fisher didn’t even show up to the ceremony unveiling it.

The major difference between the stadium plans in Tampa and Oakland and Portland?

Portland controls land for a stadium. The A’s and Rays don’t. Those franchises also don’t know how they’re going to finance a new stadium if they ever do get land.

Manfred has a sound strategy. He received a contract extension, and he’d like to someday expand his league by two teams to ease the travel demands of players and clubs. Those travel issues were brought up in the last collective bargaining agreement. But before adding two more cities, Manfred would first like to solve the relocation issues facing Tampa and Oakland.

Therein lies the dilemma. Stalled efforts with the Rays and A’s have pushed back the timeline for expansion. As much as Manfred might believe that Montreal and Portland are willing to wait to see how it sorts itself out, I’m convinced that if he doesn’t seize the window of opportunity that it may close on him.

Portland politics require a persnickety approach. We’ve seen support for large-scale projects materialize and disintegrate overnight. Also, there are factions competing for resources and marketshare (See: Trail Blazers, Inc., among others) that wouldn’t particularly mind the Portland Diamond Project failing.

Don’t discount the urgency here.

In the other potential expansion markets mentioned by Manfred there is emerging enthusiasm for other professional sports projects. Charlotte and Nashville, in particular, had to take notice when Major League Soccer drew more than 73,000 for its championship game. MLS expansion franchises are more affordable and easier to obtain. Las Vegas just landed NHL and is busy building a stadium for the NFL’s Raiders. And so I wonder if Manfred understands that he needs to act with alacrity.

Portland is ready -- today. It has a well-organized group leading the charge. It has the support of city leadership. It has a line of investors, including some high-profile names. It has stadium drawings that look so magical and surreal they’ve been nicknamed “Narnia.”

Most of all, though, it has soil.

What we don’t have is a lot of time to sit around, waiting.

Years ago, the Expos used Portland to get a better stadium deal in Washington, D.C. The Expos moved to the nation’s capital and became the Nationals. The late Portland Mayor Vera Katz was pro-baseball, and wanted to make it happen. She did what she could, but failed. But in the end, MLB used her like it’s used others. And that hasn’t been lost on leadership.

Mayor Tom Potter, who followed Katz, saw what happened and wasn’t interested in being used by MLB. His successor, Sam Adams, became an empty suit amid a scandal. His successor, Charlie Hales, also wasn’t interested. And now, Mayor Ted Wheeler, is on board, and I’m told by a source in city government that Wheeler’s enthusiasm was fueled after he got a quick peek at the Portland Diamond Project investor list.

Wheeler went from “lukewarm” in April to “excited” in November.

Portland could immediately solve a relocation issue for the Rays or A’s. Or it could also serve as an expansion city. But it’s too opportunistic and viable to sit on-deck forever. If the NBA’s Trail Blazers are sold in the next 18-24 months, as some expect, whoever buys them would be foolish to not explore adding an NHL franchise to the portfolio. Moda Center is already equipped for it. But adding professional hockey might siphon enthusiasm and resources from the potential MLB effort.

Does the commissioner want to risk that?

The Rays sent a two-sentence letter to Mayor Rick Kriseman on Monday formally notifying him they’ve given up looking for a stadium site in St. Petersburg. The A’s will eventually realize that they’re fighting a losing battle themselves. Manfred absolutely needs those issues solved, but the plodding timeline here doesn’t help anyone. Also, those two messes perpetuate one of baseball’s biggest issues -- the public perception that the league is dying a slow death.

Manfred made his way in the MLB world negotiating labor issues and cracking down on drugs. But his sport needs re-invention. He’s tinkered with pace of games, and rule changes, but most of all, he needs to make MLB feel vibrant, young and alive again.

There are a limited number of cities available to assist.

Portland is ready.

But it won’t wait forever.