Blue Jays to have home games in Buffalo in 2020

Sahlen Field (Wikimedia Commons)

The Toronto Blue Jays will have a home base in Buffalo, New York for the 2020 Major League Baseball season according to Shi Davidi of Rogers Sportsnet. The Blue Jays needed to come up with alternative arrangements because the Canadian Federal Government would not allow Major League Baseball games to be played in Toronto without players arriving from the United States to self isolate for 14 days.

It became apparent that the Blue Jays needed to find an alternative, and play their home games in the United States. Earlier this week, they came to an agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates to have their home games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. However, their plan was rejected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Government officials did not want an increase of travel in the region because of a recent spike of coronavirus cases.

By choosing Buffalo, the Blue Jays will play in their Triple A ballpark of Sahlen Field. The Buffalo Bisons have been associated with the Blue Jays since 2013.

However, before the Blue Jays play in western New York, there needs to be some changes made to Sahlen Field. The overall lighting for the stadium needs to be improved, and the clubhouses need to become more coronavirus compliant. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, this will take some time, as the team will be forced to play its home games next week in Washington, and possibly Philadelphia too.

Toronto begins its 2020 Major League Baseball on Friday when they play the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. There is definite intrigue surrounding the Blue Jays this year. Not just about their young core group of infield talent, but their pitching staff too. It will be led by their newly-acquired ace, Hyun-Jin Ryu.