Portland group seeking MLB team proposes ballpark site

A group seeking to lure a Major League Baseball team to Portland announced that it has signed an agreement in principle to develop a 45-acre waterfront site.

The agreement with the Port of Portland was announced Thursday by the Portland Diamond Project. The group also released artist renderings of a new ballpark at the port’s Terminal 2.

“Building an iconic, state-of-the-art ballpark along the Willamette River will catalyze economic development and capture great views of both the urban scale of the city and regional character of the Pacific Northwest,” the group’s founder and president, Craig Cheek, said in a statement.

The group analyzed several available properties in the city with the intention of finding a suitable site for a 30,000-seat ballpark.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has repeatedly said expansion will not be considered until after the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays get new ballparks, and he believes both those clubs will get new stadiums in their current areas.

ANGELS ACQUIRE LA STELLA >> The Los Angeles Angels have acquired infielder Tommy La Stella from the Chicago Cubs for $100,000 or a player to be named.

La Stella has spent the past four seasons with the Cubs. He batted .266 in 2018 while appearing in a career-high 123 games this year. He led the major leagues in pinch hits (24) and batting average (.312) while his 11 RBIs tied for the big league high. He has .264 average in five seasons.

Atlanta drafted La Stella in the eighth round in 2011, he debuted with the Braves three years later, then was acquired by the Cubs that offseason.

The Angels released outfielder Jabari Bush to make room for La Stella on the 40-man roster.