I know Austin, TX has been desperately trying to get a professional team in any sport. Could also see San Antonio make a push, as those are two of the top-11 biggest cities (by population) in the country.
Just for fun, here's the top-30:
- New York, New York - Yankees & Mets
- Los Angeles, California - Angels & Dodgers
- Chicago, Illinois - Cubs & White Sox
- Houston, Texas - Astros
- Phoenix, Arizona - Diamondbacks
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Phillies
- San Antonio, Texas - San Antonio Missions (Double-A, Padres)
- San Diego, California - Padres
- Dallas, Texas - Rangers (Dallas-FW metro area)
- San Jose, California - San Jose Giants (Class-A Adv., Giants)
- Austin, Texas - Round Rock Express (Triple-A, Rangers)
- Jacksonville, Florida - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Double-A, Marlins)
- San Francisco, California - Giants
- Columbus, Ohio - Columbus Clippers (Triple-A, Indians)
- Indianapolis, Indiana - Indianapolis Indians (Triple-A, Pirates)
- Fort Worth, Texas - Rangers (Dallas-FW metro area)
- Charlotte, North Carolina - Charlotte Knights (Triple-A, White Sox)
- Seattle, Washington - Mariners
- Denver, Colorado - Rockies
- El Paso, Texas - El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A, Padres)
- Washington D.C. - Nationals
- Boston, Massachusetts - Red Sox
- Detroit, Michigan - Tigers
- Nashville, Tennessee - Nashville Sound (Triple-A, A's)
- Memphis, Tennessee - Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A, Cardinals)
- Portland, Oregon - Hillsboro Hops, (Class-A short season, D'Backs)
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A, Dodgers)
- Las Vegas, Nevada - Las Vegas 51s (Triple-A, Mets)
- Louisville, Kentucky - Louisville Bats (Triple-A, Reds)
- Baltimore, Maryland - Orioles
Other cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, etc. fall out outside of the top-30, obviously.
Of these top-30, we can safely eliminate the following (in my opinion):
- Columbus (Indians/Reds divide the state and they already have a Triple-A team)
- San Jose (California has enough teams)
- Jacksonville (Florida baseball fans are horrible [see Marlins & Rays])
- Charlotte (can't see there being enough of a draw)
- El Paso (better options in Texas and they already have a Triple-A team)
Of the rest:
- I think Louisville, Memphis, and Nashville are all interesting options for an MLB team, but if an expansion were to happen, only one of these cities should get one. Louisville has an interesting history with baseball obviously with the Louisville Sluggers and the Louisville Cardinals college team is a great draw. They'd be my pick of the group.
- Next up would be San Antonio and Austin, Texas. Like above, if an expansion were to happen, I don't think both really need a team. I'd probably give one to San Antonio since Austin is right in the middle of the triangle of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
- Indianapolis would be another interesting midwest option. They already have the Pacers and Colts, and I think Indy's fans are good enough to deserve an actual big league club so that they don't have to root for the Tigers, Reds, or Chicago teams.
- Portland is another city that I think would be a great MLB option. Their fans are rabid for the Blazers and they don't even have a major minor league affiliate. The fit is almost perfect and would give the Mariners a bit of a neighbor.
- Las Vegas and Oklahoma City are both interesting, but I'm not really sure either of them
need a baseball team. OKC neighbors Texas and their 9000 teams and Vegas just added their first major-4 sports club in the Knights. Their fans have been great, but I think an NBA team in Las Vegas would be a more logical choice.
Outside of the country, I think Mexico City and Montreal both make the most sense, along with potentially looking at Vancouver. Honestly, there's a bunch of interesting cities in Canada that could host an MLB club as long as they built a dome. Toronto is a great sports town, but I'd make sure to get the Expos back before anybody else got anything.
If we went big time and added a decent amount of teams, I think I'd go:
- Montreal
- Mexico City
- Louisville
- Indianapolis
- Portland
- San Antonio
I'm awful at putting divisions together, so I won't do that.
Would rather see the Rays moved first before any of this happens.