Blue Jays Rumors

6:55pm: Ontario Premier Doug Ford is fully confident the Blue Jays will receive the go-ahead to play in Toronto, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. In the event that doesn’t happen, though, the team has identified Buffalo (home of its Triple-A club) as its Plan B, according to Davidi. Dunedin, Fla., also remains a possibility.

3:27pm: The Canadian federal government has not yet given the Blue Jays clearance to play in Toronto, Mitchell tweets. The city of Toronto and the province of Ontario have, on the other hand, but the Blue Jays will also need approval at the federal level, per Mitchell, who adds that a decision should come within a few days.

3:15pm: Despite MacLeod’s statement, this isn’t a done deal yet, per reports from Scott Mitchell of TSN, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and David Cochrane of CBC.

3:02pm: The Blue Jays have received authorization from the relevant authorities to host regular season 2020 contests at the Rogers Centre, Ontario’s Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod revealed on TSN 1200 (Twitter link).

The organization had previously received clearance only to host Summer Camp activities in Toronto. That’s a much more limited undertaking, as it involved bringing players and personnel into the ballpark complex (which includes a hotel) only once, after completion of coronavirus testing occurred in the United States.

Holding home games in Toronto, while traveling elsewhere for away contests, will present quite a different logistical challenge when it comes to limiting potential COVID-19 transmission. There is presently a mutual ban on non-essential travel between the neighboring nations. Canadian authorities are no doubt concerned with the skyrocketing case numbers coming out of many U.S. cities (including some that host MLB teams).

It’s obviously good news for the Jays that they’ll get to have a relatively normal experience during the season. That’s not to say that there’s much hope of paying fans. But setting up a whole separate operation in some other place might’ve been a costly and challenging venture.

The Blue Jays have received authorization to hold Summer Camp in Toronto. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca first reported the news on Twitter; his colleague Ben Nicholson-Smith has further details (Twitter link). They broke things down in a chat with Hazel Mae (video link).

This was the anticipated outcome, but it didn’t come easily. The relevant Canadian authorities waited until the last moment to give the nod of approval to a quarantine plan that the team will utilize.

For the July training period, the Jays will only bring players that have tested negative for COVID-19 infection. The whole team and key personnel is presently gathered at the organization’s spring facility in Dunedin, Florida.

Once the club is brought by charter up to Toronto, it’ll be limited to Rogers Centre grounds. They’ll stay in the adjacent hotel, with food and other necessities brought into the facility. In addition to regular testing of players and personnel, they’ll be isolated even from hotel staff to the extent possible.

As the Sportsnet crew discusses, this is in many respects a dry run for the forthcoming regular season. The Jays are hoping to utilize their usual home park to host games, but convincing the relevant authorities that it’s wise could represent a significant challenge. That would require comfort with the idea of the Blue Jays and their competitors criss-crossing the border.

Every MLB club faces a difficult task in launching and sustaining a 2020 season. But the Blue Jays face some unique challenges as the only affiliated organization located outside of the United States.

The Toronto organization announced today that it will gather its players and personnel at its facility in Dunedin, Florida. The club says it will “begin the intake screening and isolation process” there.

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The Jays’ next step will depend upon the views of the relevant Canadian authorities. If approval is granted, the club says it’ll charter a flight to train in Toronto “under a modified quarantine, isolated from the general public.” Otherwise, it’ll keep its employees at the Dunedin facility and undertake Summer Training there.

It was just ten days ago that the Blue Jays halted activities at its spring complex as coronavirus cases hit the neighboring Phillies facility and soared in the state of Florida generally. There was indeed cause for concern, as several players and staff members ended up testing positive for COVID-19 infections.

That mini-outbreak served to highlight the need for strict measures if this campaign is to occur in a reasonably safe manner. That’s all the more true for the Jays. With cases within the organization already, and the situation in Florida only continuing to worsen, gathering in Dunedin will have to be done carefully.

No doubt the Blue Jays are aware of all that and planning accordingly. The team’s stated preference is to train and play in Toronto, which will mean convincing the Canadian federal, provincial, and local governments that it can be done without unreasonable risk. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reported earlier today on Twitter, it seems as if that process is moving towards a favorable outcome for the Jays.