Rays gets OK from MLB to explore split season in Tampa, Montreal

NEW YORK — The Ex-Rays?

Starved for fans despite success on the field, the Tampa Bay Rays have been given the go-ahead by Major League Baseball to look into playing a split season in Montreal.

No timetable for the possible plan was announced. An idea under consideration is for the Rays to play early in the season in Tampa Bay and later in Montreal.

Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Thursday at the end of the owners’ meetings, saying the executive council had granted the Rays “broad permission to explore what’s available.”

Manfred said it’s too soon to detail the particulars — as in, where the team would play postseason games, or in what stadiums. He did not address whether this would be a step toward a full move.

“My priority remains the same, I am committed to keeping baseball in Tampa Bay for generations to come,” Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg said in a statement.

“I believe this concept is worthy of serious exploration,” he added.

The revelation is sure to spark interest across Canada, where Les Expos flourished for years with a truly international flair.

The Montreal Expos existed from 1969-2004 before they moved to Washington and became the Nationals. In their last two seasons before moving, the Expos played 22 games per year at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Expos then, like the Rays now, operated with a small payroll, often losing stars to big-market clubs, such as Pedro Martinez and David Price. And low attendance plagued both franchises.

Tampa Bay is averaging 14,546 fans per home game, ahead of only the Miami Marlins. The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inception in 1998 and drew their lowest home crowd of 5,786 against Toronto last month.

The Rays had looked into building a new stadium for years but in December abandoned a plan to build across the bay in Tampa’s Ybor City area. They are committed to play in the Tampa Bay area through 2027.

MLB has played exhibition games in Montreal in recent years involving the Toronto Blue Jays, and have drawn well for those. MLB has loosely talked over the years about expansion into Montreal, but Manfred repeatedly has said expansion will not be considered until the Rays and Oakland Athletics get new ballparks.

The Expos were MLB’s first international franchise and a popular destination for fans and visiting teams when they began, offering a lively, festive atmosphere at cozy Jarry Park with their jaunty organ music, curious logo and red, white and blue colors.

Over the years, the Expos became a force with the likes of future Hall of Famers Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Vladimir Guerrero, but attendance lagged at Olympic Stadium, where the Expos averaged just over 10,000 in 2002, their last season of a full home schedule in Canada.

In other matters discussed by owners:

—Protective netting. Manfred said teams continue to pursue ways to ensure fan safety, with the Washington Nationals joining the Chicago White Sox this week in saying they will expand netting at their parks.

—Home runs. Manfred said it had been determined this current batch of baseballs have less drag on them, making them fly farther. He said the balls were being made the same way as in the past, and it was being studied why these ones are going so far.