Oakland A's fans won't like this ... but ex-MLB star Adrián González tells TMZ Sports he believes relocating the team to Las Vegas would be "a great move" for the franchise.
The Athletics appear to be on their way out of the Bay Area after partnering this week with Bally's Corporation to build a potential new stadium right on The Strip ... and González said in L.A. he likes the idea of it all.
The former Dodgers first baseman tells us seeing the success of the NHL's Golden Knights, the WNBA's Aces and the NFL's Raiders leads him to believe the MLB would thrive in Sin City as well.
"Vegas is doing really well with sporting teams," he said.
Of course, there's still a chance the A's could remain in Northern California ... the team is reportedly asking for around $400 million of public funding to help build the new Vegas stadium -- but if Nevada lawmakers shut that request down, the franchise could possibly explore options to stay put.
One man that would certainly be thrilled about that is A's legend Dave Stewart, who told us last month he's hoping for "a miracle" to keep the team in Oakland.
We also talked to Gonzalez about the MLB's new rule changes -- as well as Shohei Ohtani's impending free agency ... and whether or not the Dodgers can land the superstar two-way player.