Another city in the West pitching for an MLB expansion team

A man walks in Stanley Park as the skyline of Vancouver is reflected in water in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games begin Friday, Feb. 12. | Jae C. Hong, Associated Press

Another city in the West is making a pitch for a Major League Baseball team, but it isn’t in the United States.

Vancouver is looking to land a franchise for the Canadian city.

Mayor Ken Sim intends to bring a motion to the Vancouver City Council next week that directs its staff to initiate a process that attracts potential ownership groups interested in pursuing an expansion team, per Business in Vancouver. He said no taxpayer money is contemplated in the process.

“I can tell you, our council, the councillors in my party are very excited about it,” Sim told Sportsnet. “But there is a lot of excitement.

“You look at what happened last year with the magical run that the Jays had, you could tell there’s a huge appetite (for baseball) right across this country, and specifically in Vancouver,” he said, referring to the Toronto Blue Jays making the World Series last year.

“Vancouver’s right, and we want to make that when this opportunity comes up, we’re not flat-footed. We’re being proactive as a city council to make sure that ... we have our ducks in a row, that we’re not the bottleneck that stops a team from coming to Vancouver.”

Who are the frontrunners for MLB expansion?

Salt Lake City and Nashville are widely considered the frontrunners to land an MLB expansion team. Commissioner Rob Manfred favors one new team in the East and one in the West when baseball starts looking at expansion no earlier than 2029. Nashville is the leading contender in the East, while many observers see Salt Lake City as the top prospect in the West.