San Jose, CA: The only team that has the possibility of moving here is the Oakland A's, and an expansion franchise here is out of the question. The A's have been looking at a move to Fremont, CA as well but neither project has gotten the required funding. Ken Rosenthal wrote an article in January about why the A's should move to San Jose, and I couldn't agree more. But the Giants have territorial rights to San Jose, which greatly complicates a possible move. The Nationals moved into Orioles territory when they moved to Washington, D.C. but the A's situation in Oakland isn't as desperate as the Expos'. The A's actually gave the Giants those rights in the '90s when the Giants where exploring a move of their own to San Jose. But the Giants won't be as happy to give them back, so we'll see what the A's decide to do. Proposed plans to move to Fremont, CA for the A's, which at one point had artist renderings and corporate name sponsor in Cisco Field, have been scrapped.
Portland, OR: The Padres AAA affiliate, formerly the Portland Beavers, will move to Tucson and become the Tucson Padres for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. This leaves Portland without a baseball team. Portland has never had a Major League baseball team before, but a dormant franchise in the Seattle Mariners might just have the Pacific Northwest hungry for a second team.
Las Vegas, NV: The idea of moving a team to Las Vegas has been thrown around many times, but I don't think this is such a good idea. Las Vegas' main revenue producer is the entertainment and tourism business, something that isn't true about the home cities of any MLB franchise ever. Without the casinos and hotels, the city wouldn't be much. So while they might have a few decent crowds of tourists and the like, a team there would struggle to sell the necessary proportion of season tickets and struggle to maintain a consistent fan base.
Brooklyn, New York, NY: Seeing as Brooklyn is already getting the Nets in 2012, a new baseball team wouldn't be the trendsetter in the area. But the Brooklyn Dodgers were enormously popular there, but they were the last baseball team since and left over 50 years ago. There are plenty of East Coast teams as it is, but it's about time somebody challenges the Yankees in a possible borough war with three of the five boroughs represented.
Charlotte, NC: North Carolina has plenty of baseball, with ten Minor League teams in the state. But the Charlotte Knights don't do this city the respect it deserves. Charlotte already has a basketball and football team and the Southeast is too great of a baseball region to only be served by one team in the Braves.
Honolulu, HI: Of course, there's always the drastic Hawaii idea that never seems realistic. But perfect weather and a paradise-themed atmosphere could be very attractive for possible free agents. That said, the long travel times to the East Coast would be hard to deal with and the schedule makers would have to go well out of their way to avoid 9 hour flights.
San Juan, Puerto Rico: The Expos played some home games in San Juan in 2003 and 2004, and the results weren't encouraging. But the Expos were a bad and unpopular team then, and it's hard for a community to rally around a baseball team that plays 'at home' only around once a month. The travel constraints mentioned above are a concern here too, but MLB could use this as the first step into expanding into the international Hispanic market (teams in Mexico?).
Vancouver, Canada: Just like Portland, a team could be put in Vancouver to make a second, possibly winning unlike the first, team in the Pacific Northwest. Vancouver is a great city by most accounts and supports its NHL team fantastically.
Indianapolis, IN: This one is a long shot because Indianapolis is surrounded by MLB teams already (Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Reds, Indians, Tigers). But Indianapolis is a very large city that does well in supporting the Colts (and occasionally the Pacers). But this is not a great bet.
Teams That Could Move to These Cities:
Tampa Bay Rays: With two playoff appearances in the last three years including a trip to the World Series, the Rays don't have the recent history typical of a relocation team. But after a destructive offseason, the Rays won't make the playoffs again this year or the next. Now could be the time to move. The fans of Tampa/St. Petersburg seem disinterested in a team whose stars have spoken out against the fan base for not showing up when the team needed them.
Pittsburgh Pirates: History or not, the last 18 years of Pirates baseball has been horrific. The Pirates probably won't move for at least five or ten years because of PNC Park's relative youth, but something needs to be done about this team.
Cleveland Indians: The Tribe has gone quiet in the last three seasons, and the fans have turned their back on the team. The window of opportunity of these Indians came and went after only two good seasons in 2005 and 2007, and the Indians are a franchise lacking direction. A wealthy investor could take the few Indians fans left out of their misery.
Oakland A's: If not to San Jose, then somewhere else. But the Oakland Coliseum is the worst stadium in the Major Leagues, and I don't know if I can even blame the fans for not wanting to come. It's a shame though, because the A's are a young and interesting team.
Toronto Blue Jays: Do chicks really dig the long ball? No, or not in Toronto at least. Those Canadian chicks, and the guys too, missed out on MLB's best homer-hitting team by a wide, wide margin in 2010 that finished with MLB's home run leader but MLB's lowest attendance. The Rogers Centre is not a good park for baseball, and the Blue Jays fans haven't shown the club any love since their back-to-back World Series victories in the early '90s.
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