Orlando can dream, can’t it?

Former Magic executive wants to bring big-league team to Central Florida

ORLANDO, FLA.—The man who helped bring an NBA team to Orlando said Wednesday that he wants to bring a Major League Baseball team to the theme park mecca.

Pat Williams, a former executive with the NBA’s Orlando Magic, said that Orlando was more deserving than a half-dozen other cities that have been mentioned as homes to potential MLB expansion teams in the future — Charlotte, N.C.; Las Vegas; Montreal; Nashville, Tenn.; Portland, Ore.; and Vancouver.

With a population of 2.5 million residents, metro Orlando also gets 75 million tourists each year. In addition to pro basketball, the region has professional men’s and women’s soccer teams.

“Orlando keeps growing, and sports needs to be a part of that,” Williams said. “Our resumé here is much stronger than those other markets.”

Williams’ desire may be a pipe dream since Florida already has two MLB teams with anemic attendance. The Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays respectively had the worst and second-to-worst attendance of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams this season.

So Williams offered what may be an appropriate name for the team: the Dreamers.

JAYS ADD TWO: The Blue Jays protected right-hander Tom Hatch and infielder Santiago Espinal from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft by adding them to the 40-man roster on Wednesday afternoon.

Toronto outrighted lefty Tim Mayza to Triple-A Buffalo and right-hander Justin Shafer was designated for assignment to make room for the two prospects. The Blue Jays’ roster remains full in advance of December’s winter meetings and Rule 5 draft in San Diego.

Hatch was the return for reliever David Phelps at this year’s deadline. The 25-yearold posted a 2.80 ERA in six starts for double-A New Hampshire.

Espinal was acquired last year as part of a mid-season deal with Boston for Steve Pearce. The versatile middle infielder had a .287/.347/.393 slash line for New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo.