Toronto Blue Jays moving back to Sahlen Field, waiting for Rogers Centre

After starting their season at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., the next move for the Toronto Blue Jays will be back to Buffalo’s Sahlen Field as they continue to wait for the green light to return to Canada.

Toronto will begin a five-game homestand in Buffalo on June 1 according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi as they try to escape the summer heat and humidity in Florida. The team already delayed evening games to 7:37 p.m. ET in order to help with the blinding sun that proved to be an obstacle for players.

Davidi also reports that Sahlen Field will have a new, permanent home clubhouse, batting cages, while also moving the bullpen off the field. Toronto was able to make it work on a temporary basis last season as they converted parts of the stadium to provide the facilities the players needed but with fans returning, that wasn’t going to be possible.

The renovations are a bonus for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons but they won’t be able to make use of it as they will be playing in Trenton, NJ., this season. Now the real question is how long with the Blue Jays remain south of the border?

Seeing the upgrades being made at Sahlen Field, Toronto is making it known that this likely won’t be a short-term move. Considering the number of positive COVID-19 cases hasn’t decreased significantly under another stay-at-home order, it’s unlikely to expect the province of Ontario to not only allow Toronto to play at Rogers Centre but also give the green light for repeated cross-border travel for opponents.

Across Ontario, golf courses and other outdoor recreational facilities remain closed and unless the situation gets drastically improved in Toronto, the Blue Jays will likely have to plan for an extended stay in Buffalo.

Toronto Blue Jays: Concern over George Springer’s injury not being eased

It was nice to see George Springer get in the lineup last week because we got to see the impact he can have at the plate. Unfortunately, that was short-lived as he left the finale against the Atlanta Braves with what the team is calling fatigue.

He has been unable to play in Oakland and it’s uncertain if he will be returning anytime soon. The problem is that there is no clear idea of what the issue is and that’s the concerning part.

"“I would use fatigue, maybe, I wouldn’t use pain,” manager Charlie Montoyo said about Springer’s injury. “Because pain, you can’t play. I wouldn’t call it pain.”"

The team took an overly cautious approach to Springer’s recovery and the one thing fatigue will do is cause further injury. It’s certainly frustrating but it’s early enough in the season that alarm bells need to go off.

Do you like the move to Buffalo for the Blue Jays? How long do you expect them to remain there? Do you think they will play in Toronto this season? Let us know in the comments below.