NEW YORK — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred made one thing clear: An MLB expansion team is not coming to Nashville — or anywhere — anytime soon.

Manfred said during his annual meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors group at MLB offices Monday that he anticipates having an expansion process in place by 2029, when his term as commissioner ends.

Add in the time needed for the process to play out, time for a stadium to be built or brought to MLB standards, and you’re talking at least another couple of years beyond 2029.

Manfred balked when asked specifically about the viability of Nashville as a candidate for expansion.

“I have never identified particular cities as targets,” he said. "We need an Eastern time zone and either a Mountain or Western time zone (city), just in terms of making the format work in the best possible way.

“I truly believe we’re going to have multiple candidates in both categories.”