The Athletic's annual MLB player poll shows a vast majority believes that Nashville should be the next home for an expansion team.

Players were given five choices: Nashville, Portland, Montreal, Oakland or "other." Nashville received 69 responses in its favor out of 100 players polled. Montreal (10 votes), Charlotte (five), Austin (five) and Portland, Oregon (four) rounded out the top five.

One player pointed out a potential issue with a team forming in Nashville.

"I think the only issue with them going to Nashville would be that there are so many Cardinals, Braves and Reds fans in that area," the player said. "I think it'd be like any other team; there's not gonna be a huge fanbase at first."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred approves of the league moving to 32 teams, per Julian Basena of the Tennessean, but not before other issues get resolved.

"Commissioner Rob Manfred has long been keen on expanding the MLB to 32 teams. In 2018, Manfred listed Nashville along with Montreal, Charlotte, Austin, Portland, Vancouver and Salt Lake City as possible destinations. Still, Manfred has made it clear that expansion cannot proceed until the Oakland A's and Tampa Bay Rays resolve their stadium negotiations. The MLB has not added a team since 1998."

The Athletics' move to Las Vegas continues its advancement. The Rays are looking to build a new $1.2 billion stadium, and there are also potential buyers both interested in keeping the team local or moving it to a new city.

As Basena noted, a group called Music City Baseball is looking to bring the Nashville Stars to the MLB. The Stars are a former Negro Leagues team which played in Nashville in the 1940s and 1950s.

Nashville is already home to the Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. According to Ballpark Digest, the Sounds drew an average of 7,611 fans per game in 2022, the fourth-highest mark in the minors.

The city is also home to professional teams such as the NHL's Predators, the NFL's Tennessee Titans and MLS' Nashville SC.