Updated 2/9/2026
One of my favorite sports topics is relocation and expansion in the Big Four Sports Leagues. In this post (https://wheelhouseblog.com/2025/03/19/big-four-relocation-and-expansion/), I gave my original thoughts on which Big Four teams should relocate and which cities should get new teams. In this article I have made some updates to my MLB relocation/expansion plans.
MLB
I predict the MLB will expand to 32 teams. 5 new cities should get teams, with 2 expansions and 3 relocations.
The 3 relocations will need to happen before expansion occurs. The first team that should relocate is the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite having decent success, the Rays constituently have poor attendance, even for playoff games. With the new stadium project in the Tampa area collapsing and Tropicana Stadium having its roof ripped off, Tampa needs to leave soon.
I think it makes sense for them to move to Nashville. There is already a lot of momentum for a new team to go to Nashville and be called the Nashville Stars. There also is rumors that the new Tennessee Titans stadium complex will have room for a new MLB stadium which puts it in a great location. Nashville is a good sports town and the Rays moving there solves a current issue while also allowing them to stay in the AL East (for now).
I also think the Chicago White Sox should relocate. They are having tons of issues with finding a new stadium and with current attendance issues. There is already another team in Chicago and they would be a prime candidate to move to Austin. The city has a large, growing metro population that would be a great market to move into. Plus the team would have the San Antonio market close to them.
I also think the the LA Angels should move to Portland. Portland is a big sports city/area without an MLB team. The city recently approved a potential $800 million dollar tax to help build an MLB stadium if a team were to move there. The Angels are second citizens in their town and are due for a move.
The two expansion cities I see for the MLB are Charlotte and Salt Lake City. Charlotte would give the MLB access to the Carolinas market, which is a pretty big baseball area. Salt Lake City already has 2 other sports teams and is a sports crazy town. They also have a big group trying to bring the team there.
Based on the moves above and the Athletics moving to Las Vegas, here are the new divisions I imagine once 32 teams are in the league:
American League
| AL East | AL North | AL South^ | AL West |
| Baltimore Orioles | Cleveland Guardians | Austin Bats (formerly Chicago White Sox)* | Las Vegas Athletics |
| Boston Red Sox | Detroit Tigers | Colorado Rockies** | Portland Pioneers (formerly LA Angels) |
| New York Yankees | Kansas City Royals | Houston Astros* | Salt Lake City Seagulls |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Minnesota Twins | Texas Rangers* | Seattle Mariners |
National League
| NL East | NL North | NL South^ | NL West |
| New York Mets | Chicago Cubs | Atlanta Braves | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Cincinnati Reds | Charlotte Aviators | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Pittsburgh Pirates* | Milwaukee Brewers | Miami Marlins | San Diego Padres |
| Washington Nationals | St. Louis Cardinals | Nashville Stars (formerly Tampa Bay Rays)** | San Francisco Giants |
Notes:
- The Central Divisions in both leagues will be renamed to North
- ^ Indicates New Division
- Italicized Team Indicates Expansion or Relocation Team
- * Indicates Team Switched Divisions
- ** Indicates Team Switched Leagues
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