Blue Jays Players Returning Home for Training

The Toronto Blue Jays have been told to prepare for spring training at Toronto’s Rogers Centre based on a recent article posted on Sportsnet by columnist Shi Davidi. The team was waiting to hear whether it would be given permission to bring players across the border amid the current crisis hitting Florida, but as of Friday, a decision still had yet to be made.

However, on Sunday, the team began preparing to head back to Toronto and started packing up their equipment and having it loaded onto trucks that were to then begin the drive to Toronto. While this has not been officially announced, it is expected the organization will make it public later this week.

It was reported that some team players would arrive in Toronto as early as Sunday however they have been to wait until formal approval from the Canadian Federal government has been issued. 

The president of operations for the Toronto Blue Jays, Mark Shapiro has said an official decision has not been made. While it remains unclear what exactly is going on, so too does the 2020 season for the Blue Jays as it is unknown if permission to play will be granted. There was discussion of playing in Buffalo, the host city for its Triple-A team. However, that is also off the plate leaving Toronto scrambling as Major League Baseball is set to open training camps as of the 1st of July.

Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Talks BLM Movement

Ross Akins, the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, has stated that he believes the league needs to work more towards having a greater level of diversity, and that includes the Toronto Blue Jays.

On Wednesdays MLB drafter, executives from every team in the league held up signs which stated “Black Lives Matter. United For Change.” Speaking of this during a conference call Atkins said; “As we talk about the lack of diversity on our baseball operations teams, we have worked very hard on trying to correct for that. Major League Baseball has a great fellowship program that has helped, but it has clearly not been enough.”

The Jays general manager said Major League Baseball is heeding to the call for action and will use its platform to help bring change. Adding to his comments, Atkins said, “We have to do more. That was what I think resonated amongst the GMs. What we’re doing is not enough.”