Minor League Baseball's executive vice president said yesterday "about three or four" baseball franchises, all from Class AA and Class A, have filed applications to relocate to Richmond.

Tim Purpura's national organization will approve one of those relocation applications as Richmond seeks a replacement for the Triple-A Richmond Braves. The R-Braves are moving to Gwinnett County, Ga., following this season. No Triple-A franchise in the International League, the only Triple-A league whose members could relocate to Richmond by Minor League Baseball rules, is interested in moving here, according to Purpura.

Purpura would not reveal the identity of the franchises that applied for relocation to Richmond.

The likely Class AA league involved is the Eastern League, whose membership stretches from Portland, Maine, south to Bowie, Md., and west to Akron, Ohio. Kevin Reichard, publisher and editor of ballparkdigest.com, has suggested that Eastern League clubs Erie, Pa., and Norwich, Conn., may be looking to relocate. Those two franchises were last (Connecticut, affiliated with the San Francisco Giants) and next-to-last (Erie, Detroit Tigers) in league attendance last season.

This season in Eastern League attendance, Erie ranks ninth (3,130 per opening) and Connecticut is 11th (2,562).

Acquiring a franchise from the Class A Carolina League is also a possibility for Richmond. Three of that league's eight clubs are in Virginia.

Discussions involving owners of the club whose relocation application is approved by Minor League Baseball and Richmond representatives will commence when the Atlanta organization and the IL release the Richmond territory. The release will come when the Braves and IL are satisfied the Gwinnett stadium will be ready for 2009.

Segments of yesterday's conversation with Purpura:

Q: Has the Richmond territory been released? A: "Not as of yet. As we head into the early days of August, I think we'll have that conversation."

Q: Has Minor League Baseball approved a relocation application for a franchise that hopes to move here?

A: "The territory would have to be released first."

Q: Has Minor League Baseball determined what league would be the best fit for Richmond?

A: "No."

Q: Once Minor League Baseball approves a relocation application, can Richmond reject that recommendation?

A: "At that point, when we make a decision on leagues and a team that wants to be relocated and we approve that, then it's up to the team and the owners of that team to explore the Richmond territory and try to determine whether they can [reach agreement regarding] a lease on the stadium and other things. We can't force Richmond into anything."

Q: When we say "Richmond," we're speaking of a combination of public officials from a multi-jurisdictional group and potential local owners?

A: "Yes."

Q: By when does a deal need to be struck between Richmond and the new franchise to have baseball here in 2009?

"It can go pretty late into the winter. There's precedent for that in other locations. You hope it doesn't. You want that franchise to be able to [prepare for'09] with advertising, tickets, building an image."

Q: What are the chances of Richmond not having baseball in 2009?

A: "I can't even guess on that. What I know to be true is we have leagues and teams interested in the Richmond territory. And I would think there's enough interest there among the owners of those clubs that they would be very vigilant about trying to make a deal with Richmond. That's all I can handicap. I can't tell you, on the other side, how Richmond [representatives] will view this thing. In our meeting we had with them while we were there [in mid-May], they were positive."

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or joconnor@timesdispatch.com.