Spike in cases shifts focus north
With COVID-19 on rise in Florida, Blue Jays target Toronto relaunch
A dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases in Florida has forced the Blue Jays to delay announcing their spring training and regular-season locations.
However, the club is now focusing on Toronto for both, team president Mark Shapiro said on a Friday conference call.
Wherever they reopen camp, possibly on Canada Day, the Jays plan to have 60 players on hand. Thirty will make the expanded roster for opening day in late July. The rest will form a taxi squad that Shapiro says will probably continue training in Buffalo, home of the Jays’ triple-A affiliate.
With no approval yet from any level of government when it comes to the club’s proposal for making Toronto its base during the pandemic — including travel, quarantining and other health and safety protocols — the Jays are running low on time.
“We were planning for a scenario where we’d do spring training in Dunedin and games (in Toronto) … but as conditions got worse (in Florida) we raised the opportunity of staging spring training in our building (Rogers Centre),” said Shapiro, adding he’s been in discussions with federal, provincial and municipal officials for eight weeks regarding home games.
Their preference to resume spring training in Dunedin as usual was dashed by a record number of new COVID-19 cases in Florida this week — with a high of almost 9,000 on Thursday.
“What’s important for players — and, of course, for everyone — is we’re dealing with a pandemic. So yes, there’s concerns,” said Shapiro, adding that the organization will continue to pay its minor leaguers through Sept. 7, even with their seasons unlikely to start.
“What we have to manage is how we adhere to protocols. Certainly, we’re more confident in coming to Toronto (for spring training and the season, scheduled to start July 23 or 24). But if we have to pivot to Dunedin, we will do our best to keep players out of harm’s way.”
He added that the team’s medical staff is ready to implement health and safety protocols that go “above and beyond” MLB’s operations manual for reopening, which includes daily virus testing and temperature checks.
While MLB camps are expected to reopen in less than a week on July 1, Shapiro says there is actually no formal deadline: “We have to deal with reality … If we delay, there will be an issue in our readiness. There’s no deadline from MLB, but … we are working on an accelerated time frame.”
If the team is unable to secure the required government approval in Canada — which would likely have to include cohort quarantining, similar to the NHL model for reopening — the Florida situation will once again come into play. The Jays closed down their two Dunedin facilities last Friday after multiple positive tests among players and staff.
“We don’t have expectations or numbers, but we expect a lot of positive tests,” Shapiro said. “We’re testing every single person at intake, and I’d expect a large number of positive tests …
“It’s been encouraging, to hear our players and staff express the understanding that their ability to stay healthy is tied to the team’s ability to win. No one wants to sit out.”