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Fish Tales #2: Marlins and Rays to Swap Leagues/Divisions in 2018

An Early Preview

By Austin Caruso
**DISCLAIMER** The Fish Tales series is FALSE.

In 2018, the Miami Marlins will be swapping leagues and divisions with the Tampa Bay Rays.

This is what we know from the Marlins’ viewpoint:

The Marlins will be traveling north for a large majority of the 2018 season to face AL East division foes: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and the Toronto Blue Jays. The league swap welcomes new challenges, and one such challenge is figuring out who will become the DH. Will the Marlins shuffle their current roster, and possibly move Giancarlo Stanton to DH? Or will the Marlins look to free agency or potentially seek a trade to fill the position.

Moving to the American League will lead to unfamiliar territory for the Marlins outside of personnel and lineup. Not only are the Marlins moving to a new league, they are moving to the AL East which is arguably the most difficult division in all of baseball. Since the Marlins began play in 1993, they have built personal rivalries and memories with the NL East’s Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Washington Nationals. Change can be difficult to understand, however this change to the AL East will bring forth new memories and rivalries of its own.

Over the past five years, here is a quick look at the Marlins’ head to head record against their new AL East opponents:

  • vs. New York Yankees - 2-2
  • vs. Boston Red Sox - 3-7
  • vs. Baltimore Orioles - 2-1
  • vs. Toronto Blue Jays - 1-5

Stats courtesy of baseballreference.com

Although the news is a complete shock, there have been other teams to successfully complete the league/division swap. The Milwaukee Brewers swapped from the AL Central to the NL Central in 1998, and the Houston Astros swapped from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013.

Let’s take a closer look at the AL East teams the Marlins will be facing in 2018:

**The Fish Tales series is indeed false, but what would you think if the Marlins’ league swap was real? What about facing the new opponents in the AL East? Post your thoughts in the comments.

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