Russell Martin and Éric Gagné are promoting Montreal’s bid

During his Major League career (1999–2008), Quebec pitcher Éric Gagné faced the Montreal Expos 19 times, primarily while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His record against the Montreal club is two wins and one loss, and he recorded seven saves against them.

As for catcher Russell Martin, he made his major league debut in 2006, also with the Dodgers, and was therefore unable to play against the Expos, who had moved to Washington two seasons earlier.

Today, the two Quebecers celebrate the team's return to Major League Baseball, in part by reminiscing about fond memories.

More alive than ever, the dream of seeing baseball's top brass choose Montreal during the next wave of league expansion is sparking conversations in most households, and the two former Major Leaguers are no strangers to the topic either.

They discussed it on the “Get It Done League” podcast, where Gagné was this week's guest.

Will we ever see the Expos back in MLB? We have Montreal Royalty—@russellmartin55 and @EricGagne38—weighing in! @BringerOfRain20 | @ArashMadani pic.twitter.com/u2ga0lpcJi

— Get It Done League (@GetItDoneShow) October 7, 2026

For them, there's no doubt that the Quebec metropolis deserves a baseball team. As the largest market among the five cities still in the running to secure a new franchise around 2030, Montreal would be a logical choice for adding a team to the eastern part of the continent.

Russell Martin envisions a 45,000-seat stadium in downtown Montreal, with the city's skyline as a backdrop—comparable to PNC Park in Pittsburgh. That stadium is rightly considered the most beautiful ballpark in Major League Baseball today.

Dreams keep us going, but the improvements made to Olympic Stadium are the factor that, in my opinion, will likely reassure Major League Baseball officials the most when they make their decision. They certainly won't want to repeat the situation with the A's, who are currently playing in Sacramento while waiting to relocate to Las Vegas in the Nevada desert.

The A's situation does indeed involve a relocation and cannot be 100% compared to securing a new team, but the fact that a new baseball club could one day play in a Major League stadium is definitely a plus for Montreal's bid.

In the meantime, the fact that the name “Expos” is coming up more and more frequently in discussions on well-known podcasts suggests that the city's name must also be resonating in the offices of those who will make the final decision. The more often Montreal's name appears in an article or is mentioned on a podcast, the better.

The Expos have captured the imagination of several generations of baseball fans across America, and the addition of a second team in Canada could only enhance the appeal of a sport that has been on the rise in recent years north of the border.

Since 2004, the name “Expos” has never been so prominent, suggesting that the idea of the team's return isn't just in the minds of die-hard fans of the franchise.

Hearing guys like Martin and Gagné talk about it can only be beneficial to the cause.

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