Jays’ trip home a leap of faith

Club can’t avoid fresh batch of daily challenges

If there was any hope that the toronto Blue Jays would be immune from the mlb mayhem related to the relentless coronavirus opponent, it ended last month when multiple players recorded positive tests at their winter base in Dunedin, Fla.

And did we mention Florida, where the team reconvened last week as the Sunshine State’s positive numbers seemed to set new records each day?

now there is another positive test with the team, creating a setback that has left as many as a dozen players back in Dunedin as the team gets to work at the rogers Centre.

A source confirmed on monday that several players did not board the Sunday night charter from Florida to toronto after one player tested positive for the virus. the other players were held back because they had been in close and regular contact with the individual who failed his intake test.

this is not a surprise in the slightest. many of the training camps going — minus those shut down on monday because of shoddy testing timing — are adding positives almost daily. And the Jays themselves boldly said they expected more positives after the outbreak back in June.

But a dozen? that was the number reported by USA today baseball columnist Bob nightengale, confirming the magnitude of the Jays’ challenge.

the COVID-19 crisis already had the toronto club shrouded in the uncertainty of not even having a confirmed home stadium for a season due to begin in a little more than two weeks. And then there are border and quarantine issues that the other 29 teams don’t have to add to their own list of troubles.

With all those circumstances in mind, the challenges facing baseball’s only Canadian team seem to be stacking higher by the day.

though the team won’t comment on the situation, according to the Jays protocol for gaining clearance to hold camp in Canada, the players who have been held back will remain in Florida until they record two consecutive negative tests.

Several players across mlb have publicly acknowledged their COVID-19 positives,

a source said several did Not Board the charter.

but the Jays’ policy is to not reveal names of players involved unless those individuals agree to it.

the absentees may become somewhat apparent once workouts are open to the media. Unlike the majority of mlb teams, the Jays closed the rogers Centre to the press contingent on monday and is expected to do the same on tuesday.

After arriving in downtown toronto late Sunday — checking into the quarantined area of the marriott hotel attached to the dome — the Jays were on the field the following morning with another workout taking place in the afternoon.