Blue Jays to play most home games in Buffalo this season

The displaced Toronto Blue Jays will play in a minor league park in Buffalo, New York, this year after being turned down by the Canadian government and then blocked to play in Pittsburgh by the state of Pennsylvania.

The Blue Jays will play “home games” at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, home of the club’s Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons. General manager Ross Atkins had previously said that if team could not find a major league park, Buffalo would be the most likely site for home games.

The team looked for a major league stadium after the Canadian government declined to allow them to play in Toronto but was unsuccessful in securing a site. Pennsylvania health officials then nixed a deal to play in Pittsburgh with COVID19 cases on the rise there.

The team also held talks with the Baltimore Orioles about Oriole Park at Camden Yards, but the Blue Jays didn’t want to wait to see if Maryland officials would say no with season starting Friday.

Toronto opens the season at Tampa Bay on Friday. The team said the first scheduled home series, against the Washington Nationals on July 29 and 30, will take place on the road to accommodate necessary infrastructure modifications at Sahlen Field to meet Major League Baseball playing standards and COVID-19 safety requirements.

The Blue Jays’ first game in Buffalo will be either on July 31 against the Philadelphia Phillies or on Aug. 11 against the Miami Marlins.

Braves top two catchers out

The Atlanta Braves were without their top two catchers, Tyler Flowers and Travis d’Arnaud, for Friday’s opening game at the New York Mets after both players showed symptoms of the coronavirus.

Flowers and d’Arnaud have tested negative for the coronavirus but did not travel with the team because they had symptoms.

Alex Jackson and William Contreras are next in line at catcher.

Cubs add Dietrich

The Chicago Cubs finalized minor-league deals with infielder Derek Dietrich and outfielder Ryan LaMarre on Friday.

Dietrich and LaMarre will report to the team’s camp in South Bend, Indiana.

The 31-year-old Dietrich, who also can play left field, opted out of his contract with Cincinnati and was released on Monday. He hit a careerhigh 19 homers last year for the Reds, but finished with a .187 batting average in 113 games.

Dietrich missed the start of summer camp with Cincinnati after he tested positive for the coronavirus.