Rays President Matt Silverman was on with Zac Blobner and Jay Recher over on WDAE in Tampa and was asked about his knowledge of Orlando's (or Pat Williams) attempt to bring the Rays to town. His answer won't inspire much confidence.
Zac asked Matt if he was "caught off guard" by the news that Orlando via Pat Williams Dreamers plan, was engaging in the idea of becoming a viable market for the Rays to move to if their stadium plans go down the tubes (my words not Zac's) and Matt Silverman's response can be seen in the tweet below.
Matt's response was to be expected I guess, he seemed to play dumb to the idea, or maybe he just genuinely hadn't been approached with it. Either way, he made it a point to say that its not a conversation that they're active in and then quickly pivoted to highlight just how valuable MLB teams are to prospective cities.
If it is indeed true that the Tampa Bay Rays are completely unaware or unfamiliar with Pat Williams attempt to "steal their team" it just goes to show another flaw in the whole approach. We should be attempting to offer a helping hand and work owner Stu Sternberg politically, rather than going some sort of sneak attack approach. Let Tampa know that we are an alternative option, but do it in an official way.
Perhaps this becomes the next phase of the Dreamers plan if and when the 1.7 billion dollar stadium project is approved. Until then, all we have is this murky quote from the team president.
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