PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg held his annual Spring Training press conference on Wednesday and discussed everything from this year's expectations to the Sister City plan with Montreal.

Here were some of the key topics covered:

The 2020 Rays

Sternberg said he might be a "little too optimistic" about this year's team. Joking that he was "thrilled" when the Yankees signed ace Gerrit Cole, he added that it would only make it "even sweeter when we beat them."

His favorite part of this year's Rays? The pitching staff.

"I love the catchers, the infielders, the outfielders, but to me, it's all about the pitching," Sternberg said. "Having been at it now for a while, most years I'm very confident in our pitchers, the last couple of years especially, but I would tell you that this group, top to bottom, is through and through the greatest group that we've had since we've been here."

The Yankees have been the popular preseason favorite to win the American League East, but Sternberg said he thinks his team has a chance to compete against New York.

"The division is going to be hard because we probably have the best team or second-best team in baseball that we're competing against," Sternberg said. "But I think we're going to give them a run for their money."

Sister City plan

Since announcing the Sister City plan with Montreal last June, fans have been uncertain about how to receive the idea. Sternberg says he "totally" gets the fan reaction, but that the early reaction from owners around the league has been positive. Commissioner Rob Manfred has shown support of the idea that the Rays could play half their games in St. Petersburg and the other half in Montreal.

"He's been helpful," Sterberg said of Commissioner Manfred's support. "I will tell you, when we spoke to Rob about this, he was head scratching about it. But then he got it. He asked his people in the departments up there, and he saw the merits of it."

Attendance

With the Rays coming off a 96-win season, Sternberg said he expects attendance to increase. Part of the confidence comes from new ticket plans that include nearly half of the home games being $12 or less, including weekend games.

"There's a couple of things that we're trying this year, and one of them I don't think has been done," Sternberg said. "Affordability won't be an issue, and it should never be when attending a baseball game and especially attending a Rays baseball game. We have a couple of other plans rolling out, in addition to our flex plans, that can make it amazingly affordable."

Extensions?

A lot of the talk surrounding the Rays has been about its young core, and Sternberg said he would like to see that core stay together for as long as possible. Blake Snell and Brandon Lowe already were locked up to long-term deals last Spring Training, and there's a chance the front office looks into signing a couple of other players, but Sternberg said the negotiation needs to make sense, especially with most of the players still years away from entering arbitration.