Is MLB any closer to expansion after Rays stadium approval?

The Tampa Bay Rays aren't going anywhere, which might open the door for the first MLB expansion club in 26 years.

On Thursday, the St. Petersburgh City Council voted to approve a new $1.3 billion ballpark for the Rays near the location of their current home, Tropicana Field. The long-awaited resolution not only serves as a relief for Tampa Bay fans, but also eliminates one of the significant barriers standing in the way of baseball's expansion.

Nearly a year ago, commissioner Rob Manfred said expansion talks could begin "quickly" once the Oakland Athletics and Rays had resolved their stadium issues. So, following Thursday's news, is expansion any closer?

The Rays stadium agreement, while all-but-official, still needs final approval from the Pinellas County Commission, which will vote on July 30. According to Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times, it's "extremely unlikely" that the deal falls through.

The Athletics' situation is more murky.

In April, the franchise announced it would play the 2025 through 2027 seasons in Sacramento before moving to Las Vegas in 2028. Though, months later, there hasn't been a ton of movement toward making the jump to Sin City official.

Recently, Manfred said he was "comfortable" regarding the A's progress, with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority scheduled to meet on July 18 to present a draft of the ballpark's development agreement.

Plenty of uncertainty still exists, though, along with a potentially damning and downright slimy revelation. Per Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, several locals interested in purchasing the A's in an effort to keep the team in Oakland have been "warned to keep quiet," lest they destroy the narrative created by owner John Fisher that baseball isn't viable in the market.

Meanwhile, even as the A's plan to leave Oakland in the dust, they're already attempting to destroy any goodwill gained with fans in Las Vegas. Should the planned relocation succeed, the franchise reportedly wants to play as many as eight home games away from the Sin City in order to "build the team's brand," according to A's president David Kaval.

The way the league and the A's have handled the situation in Oakland isn't the best look and it could sour other cities which could potentially be interested in adding an MLB club. With an agreement to build Las Vegas stadium still up in the air, the mess Fisher and company have created will seemingly continue to hold expansion back, at least for the foreseeable future.