BLUE JAYS WILL PAY HEAVY PRICE IF THEY FLY FREE OF COVID CAGE
Players tweet discontent over news that breaking isolation could lead to fines or jail
Toronto Blue Jays players could be facing a $750,000 fine if caught breaking quarantine.
And some players aren’t too happy about it, as their tweets in reply to the news getting out indicated.
“Here is what’s going to keep #Bluejays players in their stadium/hotel bubble this summer,” TSN’S Scott Mitchell reported on Friday.
“Per several sources, players have been told penalty if seen outside ballpark is $750,000 fine and potential jail time.”
New Jays first baseman Travis Shaw, who was signed as a free agent, was the first to reply, though some tweets were later deleted.
“We were told two weeks ... not all summer ... all summer is a bit much,” Shaw tweeted in reply to Mitchell’s tweet.
“All summer isn’t gonna happen. Not an option.”
Outfielder Randal Grichuk tried to bring some clarity from the players’ side: “I wanna make it clear, we’re not asking for special treatment,” Grichuk tweeted.
“We understand that we need to stay in a ‘quarantine bubble.’ We wanna make sure everyone is safe. The toughest part is them not allowing our family to come with us. That’s what makes it tough for a lot of guys.”
Shaw deleted a couple of tweets.
“1) Let me be clear. We are on board with the TWO week quarantine,” read one of them. “I currently have a PAID for condo a block away from the stadium that I can’t use. At no point would I risk public safety or not follow rules. Is it wrong to want to live in a place that I’ve already paid for ...”
The second deleted Shaw tweet read:
“to be able to go on a walk (WITH A MASK) to be able to get fresh air walk to go get takeout food (not eat inside). We aren’t looking to party, hit the patios, go out at night, anything like that. Public safety is priority number 1 ...”
Former Jays star pitcher Marcus Stroman, now of the New York Mets, tried to bring some levity:
“Guys are going to be walking around in full disguises. Lol,” Stroman tweeted.
Major League Baseball’s current plan for a 60-game season has the Jays travelling to various American locales for their 30 road games, even though the
U.S. is in the midst of record COVID-19 cases, with the pandemic’s spread showing no signs of abating.
Other leagues have already — or will be implementing — bubbles where all the games will be played, without any movement. That includes the NHL, with hubs in Toronto and Edmonton, and the NBA, with everything set up in a “campus” at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
When in Toronto, the Blue Jays and visiting teams are bubbled at Rogers Centre and in the hotel attached to the stadium.
From the start, it was thought that imposing slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s days as a full-time third baseman would not last long, but the experiment appears to be over far sooner than expected.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said on a conference call on Friday that Guerrero Jr., who spent 96 of his 123 games as a rookie at third base, will be shifted primarily to first base for the upcoming shortened season. The manager said Guerrero will still see some sporadic action at third, but first base and designated hitter will be where he is employed most of the time.
Guerrero has an extremely powerful arm, but limited range and by many metrics was rated as the worst — or one of the worst — defensive third basemen in baseball last season. Montoyo said the move gives him the best chance to succeed during this 60-game season. The Jays as a whole are confident they can be a surprising group and are trying to make all of the pieces fit both for now and long term.
Veteran newcomer Travis Shaw, who has been an everyday first and third baseman, is expected to be the regular at the hot corner. Joe Panik and Brandon Drury can also play there, along with Guerrero.
One of Toronto’s top prospects, 20-year-old Jordan Groshans, a shortstop/third baseman, could be the long-term answer at third. Recently drafted Austin Martin spent most of 2019 at third for Vanderbilt, but has since become a regular outfielder.
Montoyo said Guerrero had been doing a lot of work at first base earlier in camp. Though he picked third base as his favoured position and has talked of his enjoyment of being there, the hope is that the switch will work wonders the way it once did for Edwin Encarnacion. Once an error-prone third baseman who struggled at the plate, Encarnacion was a throw-in who came to the Jays and was eventually moved to first full-time. Freed from distractions and able to concentrate mostly on hitting, Encarnacion became one of the most feared sluggers in the game and a Blue Jays legend.