Commissioner Rob Manfred has made a priority out of increasing Major League Baseball's international footprint, and playing games abroad and even hinting at expansion outside the U.S. and Canada have been notable parts of his still-brief tenure. On that point, it appears that Manfred and MLB and getting more and more serious about expansion into Mexico. First step, though, is scheduling regular-season games there. Here's an illuminating quote from Manfred via MLB.com's Richard Justice:
"We think it's time to move past exhibition games and play real live 'they-count' games in Mexico," Manfred said. "That is the kind of experiment that puts you in better position to make a judgement as to whether you have a market that could sustain an 81-game season and a Major League team.
Not much interpretation required. Expansion is going to happen, even if relocation happens first. The time frame is not certain, but it's going on 20 years since the league added teams.
As for the viability of Mexico as a permanent home for MLB, unknowns abound. Player safety, altitude of the population centers, region-by-region popularity of the sport, travel, corporate presence, media infrastructure -- those are all concerns that MLB will need to evaluate in clear-eyed fashion before such a transformative step can be taken. Playing regular-season games in Mexico is a trial balloon to that end, and don't be surprised if those games happen very soon. As Justice notes, that could be as early as 2018.
