Blue Jays to play in Buffalo for the 2020 season

The Blue Jays season has not gotten off to the start they were hoping for. Not even close.

Just days before the start of the delayed 2020 season, the city of Toronto told the team that while they were okay with the team working out in their home stadium, they were not going to allow them to play games against other teams there because of the risks associated with letting American travelers into the country given the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Those risks/fears are entirely justified even if it sucks for Blue Jays.

This has led to a mad dash to find the Blue Jays a home. The Pirates were willing to share, but the state of Pennsylvania wasn’t having it. The city of Buffalo really wanted to help, but there were concerns early on that the facilities/lighting were not up to snuff. Baltimore was in the same boat as the Pirates. Now, it looks like the team has circled back to Buffalo.

Lets be clear...this is far from an ideal solution. Sahlen Field in Buffalo is a minor league stadium, so there are not going to be the bells and whistles for professional athletes that exist in major league parks. However, it looks like the Blue Jays were out of options in terms of sharing space with a major league team, the idea of playing all road games was certainly not appealing, and the city of Buffalo was happy to help.

It sounds like the Blue Jays will make the temporary move official this afternoon.