The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly about to meet with the Major League Baseball Executive Committee to more definitively propose the idea of shared custody with Montreal.
At least that’s what the Tampa Bay Times, Tuesday.
The next meeting between the Rays and major baseball would take place this week, and would aim to move from an “exploratory” plan to a more concrete version.
This meeting would have several objectives, according to the daily Floridian: “reconfirm” the interest of the franchise towards Montreal, whose politicians and developers would start to be “anxious”. It would also serve to awaken politicians in Tampa Bay, who continue to “doubt” the sincerity of the team to move forward with the project.
And if the executive committee accepts the proposal, it would be a “tangible example that MLB owners have less and less confidence in Tampa Bay’s ability to remain the full-time home of the Rays.”
the Times nuance slightly by still speaking of a potential “bluff” on the part of the franchise, but adds that “the project is becoming particularly elaborate and risks alienating potential allies. ”
“The Rays could just stay in Tampa Bay for the next six years,” adds reporter John Romano, noting that they “could simultaneously come to an agreement with another city and leave as soon as the lease at Tropicana Field expires in 2027.”