San Antonio reportedly on list for MLB expansion, but experts advise against getting our hopes up

As MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred once again discusses the possibility of adding teams to the league, a new list compiled by Fox Sports places San Antonio among nine markets most likely to get a pro-expansion baseball franchise.

Even so, experts caution that the Alamo City’s chances of actually landing an MLB team remain slim — namely due to our low median income and relatively slim corporate base.

Manfred recently said he’s interested in a league realignment, which involves reorganizing teams into different divisions, according to Fox Sports. However, for that to occur before the end of the decade, the league would need to add at least two teams to ensure the divisions are evenly matched.

In addition to San Antonio, Fox Sports’ top contenders to land an expansion team include Salt Lake City; Mexico City; Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Oakland, California; Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; and Montreal, Canada.

Even if experts rank SA’s chances of pulling a MLB franchise as slim, the city does have significant advantages, according to Fox Sports.

“It’s between San Diego and Kansas City in U.S. media markets, while its metro population puts it ahead of Portland, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Cincinnati and more cities that are either vying for an MLB expansion team or already have their own club,” the media outlet wrote.

The Alamo City is also just 90 minutes south of Austin, allowing an expansion team to capture fans from both markets. But it “might take both cities joining forces to get the league’s attention away from other candidates that don’t already have Astros fans in them,” Fox News added.

San Antonio economist Chris Baecker remains skeptical, however, writing in a post on social media platform X that the city’s large population doesn’t make up for its low median income.

University of Texas at San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor also pointed out that sports leagues’ expansions are largely guided by corporate dollars.

“San Antonio doesn’t have a large corporate base that can generate enough revenue via naming rights and luxury suites or a big fan base with disposable income willing to invest in season tickets,” Taylor tweeted.

What’s more, MLB Commissioner Manfred’s reputation is more that of an idealist than a doer. An op-ed in Sports Business Journal this week described his expansion talk as “likely just smoke.”

Oh well, at least we still haver the minor-league San Antonio Missions.

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This article appears in Aug 21 – Sep 2, 2025.