A ‘Major’ bargain

MLB would waive fee for A’s move to Vegas

Major League Baseball doesn’t plan to charge the Oakland Athletics a relocation fee if the team moves to Las Vegas — a rare accommodation that shows the league is concerned about the team’s ability to find a viable home, The Post has learned.

The Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays currently are weighing moves to cities that also reportedly are being targeted by potential expansion teams. The Rays have been rumored to be eyeing Orlando, Fla., or Charlotte, NC. They also may propose a new stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., close to their current home, insiders speculate.

However, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this month vetoed $35 million in funding for a Rays spring training complex after the team tweeted about gun control, an indication that the Rays may face new hurdles in getting state funds for any move. The A’s, meanwhile, were hoping to announce a move to Las Vegas, potentially contingent on getting public financing, this month. The team still lacks key assurances from Nevada state officials to take the next step, sources said.

There is also a vote in Oakland at the end of the month about a new stadium that could make it possible to stay.

It has been speculated that if the A’s left Oakland, the team’s home of 54 years, they might need to pay a relocation fee as high as $1 billion. But MLB held its owners meeting earlier this month under Commissioner Rob Manfred and a relocation fee was not discussed in an open session, sources said. Sports leagues typically charge relocation fees as a way to discourage unnecessary moves and because they are giving up an expansion fee in a desirable city that could be paid by a potential new team, sources said.

MLB’s last team to move was when the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, DC, in 2004, but MLB owned the Expos at the time, so there was no fee.

MLB declined to comment.