Earlier on Thursday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that MLB had approved the Tampa Bay Rays looking into the viability of splitting their time between Florida and Montreal.
Despite the issues in St. Petersburg being a major black eye for both the Rays and MLB, this didn’t seem like a logical plan.
It’s now pretty much dead. St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman has told the team that he would not grant it permission to speak with Montreal until the city’s current agreement ends with the Rays in 2027.
There was already some collective bargaining and legal issues here, primarily whether the players association would agree to a split season for the Rays.
This only adds to the issues, leading us to believe that it’s dead in the water.
What we do know is that the status quo in Tampa is not sustainable. It also appears that MLB and the Rays are running out of answers.