Could 2025 mark the first steps toward the Blue Jays-Expos rivalry returning?

In 1998, the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays became a new MLB team, and they've spent the nearly 30 years since serving as an American League East rival to the Toronto Blue Jays.

But even through they've spent that time as division "rivals," it hasn't been much of a rivalry. They've only met once in the postseason, where the Rays swept the Blue Jays in the 2020 Wild Card Series

The existence of the Rays has almost coincided perfectly with Canada's baseball rivalry ceasing to exist, as the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington D.C. after the 2004 season and became the Washington Nationals.

But could this year mark the first steps in the return of Canada's baseball rivalry?

Rays stadium situation and lack of fan support could be start of MLB returning to Montreal

While the Rays have been one of the better MLB teams over the past 20 years, they've continually struggled to draw fans to their home stadium of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

They'll draw even less fans than usual this year after Tropicana Field was destroyed by Hurricane Milton last fall. Those damages have left Tropicana Field unplayable, which has resulted in the Rays playing their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field — the Yankees' spring training home.

Tropicana Field (nicknamed "the Trop") has a capacity of over 42,000, while Steinbrenner Field has a capacity of over 11,000. If the Rays struggle to fill up Steinbrenner field, then it'll be even more abundantly clear the Tampa area is not a suitable market for an MLB team.

And if that ends up being the case, MLB should relocate the Rays to Montreal, and rebranded them as the Expos to play at the iconic Olympic Stadium.

Fans in Canada have been wanting the Expos back for over 20 years, and such a move would also bring back Blue Jays-Expos rivalry.

The Rays have been connected to Montreal a fair amount in the past couple years. In 2022, MLB rejected the Rays' proposed "sister city" plan that would have seen the Rays play half their games in Tampa Bay and half of them in Montreal.

And, in the days after Milton, Montreal was one of the cities that were considering to be a temporary home for the Rays, but it didn't end up working out due to construction at Olympic Stadium.

It's unclear what the future holds for the Trop. Earlier this month the Rays backed out of a $1.3 billion deal that would have put a new $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg.

On Wednesday, the St. Petersburg city council is going to vote on whether the Trop will get a new roof. If that fails, they could need a new home — which is where Montreal could come into the picture.

To this day, people all over Canada still wear Expos gear. If they Rays moved to Montreal, they'd have no trouble cultivating a fanbase. The city showed that in 2018 when the Blue Jays played the Cardinals in a spring training game at Olympic Stadium that ended with a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walk-off.

It also helps that the Rays are already in the AL East, so MLB wouldn't need to move the divisions around if the Rays became the Expos.

Montreal would love to have another chance to have an MLB team, regardless of it's from relocation or expansion. Based off all the uncertainty surrounding the Rays' future, it seems like moving the team to Montreal might be the best way for the city to get a team again.

This year isn't the first time the Rays have had questions about the support from the city. In September 2010, Rays legend Evan Longoria called out Rays fans for not showing up on a day the Rays had a chance to clinch a postseason birth. In 2018, Longoria said that the Rays should "probably" leave Tampa Bay.

The relocation of the Expos meant that Canadian fans were denied the chance to watch two teams from their country face off. If the Rays fail to get fans this year, it could mark the first steps toward the rivalry coming back.