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Report: MLB rejects Montreal's offer to host Rays-Yankees as Irma looms

REUTERS/Christinne Muschi SB

It remains unclear if Hurricane Irma will force the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees to relocate their upcoming three-game series from Florida - but what's certain is that the teams won't be heading north of the border.

A source close to the situation told Frederic Daigle of The Canadian Press on Friday that Montreal offered to host the Yankees-Rays series at Olympic Stadium should the games - scheduled for Sept. 11-14 at Tropicana Field - need to be moved due to the storm.

Though Montreal reportedly planned to donate all funds from the series to victims of the hurricane, Daigle reports the league "politely refused" the offer.

This marks the second time in less than a month that Montreal apparently has been rebuffed in its attempts to host relocated games at the former home of the Expos. Quebec's largest city reportedly offered to host the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers at the "Big O" after Hurricane Harvey devastated the city of Houston in late August; that series was ultimately relocated to Tropicana Field.

Major League Baseball hasn't decided where the Rays and Yankees will play their games yet, though a decision is expected to be made on Saturday. If the games are moved, Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards appears to be the leading candidate to play host, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Another possibility would be to play a doubleheader at the Trop on Tuesday before completing the series on Wednesday as scheduled.

Although the Rays and Yankees are scheduled to meet again in the Bronx later this month, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com on Thursday that flipping the series locations is not an option.

Hurricane Irma, now a Category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall in South Florida on Saturday, and the Tampa-St. Petersburg area is expected to be hit either Sunday or Monday. Some residents of Pinellas County were told to evacuate on Thursday night, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

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