Article content

MIAMI — There are two major hurdles standing in the way of Major League Baseball possibly returning to Montreal: Oakland and Tampa Bay.

Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke with media on Monday during an All-Star Game town hall meeting where he said MLB will continue to delay any plans for expansion until after the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays get new ballparks.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or MLB commissioner: Montreal a 'great candidate' for expansion after A's, Rays get ballparks Back to video

“I think it would be difficult to convince the owners to go forward with an expansion until those situations are resolved,” said Manfred.

“Once they’re done, I think we have some great candidates,” Manfred said. “I know the mayor of Montreal has been very vocal about bringing baseball back to Montreal. It was not great when the Expos left. The fact of the matter was baseball was successful in Montreal for a very long time. Charlotte is a possibility. And I would like to think that Mexico City or some place in Mexico would be another possibility.”