Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro admitted Friday that his team's scheduled home opener in Rogers Centre is creeping up faster than you realize.
While there's still no clarity where the Blue Jays' game against the Los Angeles Angels on April 8 will be played, Shapiro said the team is planning for it to be in Toronto.
"I'm not going to concede your assumption that we're not going to open here," Shapiro said in response to a question on a video call from a Sportsnet reporter. "I think opening here with fans is almost impossible. ... We'll adapt to what happens but we're not going to concede because we want to play in Toronto. We want to play in Canada. That remains our hope."
It's widely believed the Blue Jays are most likely to stay at their spring base in Dunedin, Fla., if they need an alternative site. But the progress of Covid-19 vaccines has Shapiro optimistic about games in Toronto at some point next season.
People are also reading…
"Yes, I'm optimistic but this whole pandemic and crisis has been walking the tightrope between optimism and being candid and real as to what the circumstances are," Shapiro said. "While on one side, we are optimistic and hopeful and absolutely clear that's where we want to be, we don't have the luxury to just plan for that. We need to actively plan for alternatives."
The Blue Jays, of course, played their 26 home games in Buffalo last season at Sahlen Field and went 17-9. Early-season weather here most likely makes a return to Buffalo a non-starter.
Shapiro, who has a longstanding relationship with the Bisons from his days as Cleveland's farm director and general manager, said he will look back fondly on his team's 2020 experience in Buffalo.
"My biggest takeaway is pride in our players, our coaching staff and our organization in general to take what could have been an excuse to not be successful and turn it into a positive," he said. "I think that it took a collaboration between the Bisons and Buffalo, our business organization and what they were able to do to transform the facility, and more than anything the mindset of our players to embrace it.
"And not just as a place to play and a fallback but as a place to get better and form a championship foundation."
In his video call on Thursday to wrap up MLB's virtual Winter Meetings, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins acknowledged the topic of a home ballpark comes up when he's talking to free agents but not as much as he expected.
"They want to know they're going to have what they need to compete and what they have to win. They're really driven professional talented athletes. That's what they're focused on," Atkins said. "Where they're actually doing it certainly does matter, but not as much as the chance to win and having what they need to prepare and compete.
"They know we're able to pull that off, in Buffalo last year, and we will have our contingency plans laid (for next season). Our response has landed well when they have asked."
Shapiro said the Blue Jays can't make any early commitments because of the fast-changing nature of Covid-19 and government entities that process information. Things could be quite a bit different at the start of spring training in February to when camp ends the last week in March.
"It feels like weeks are going to be meaningful in making those decisions," Shapiro said.
As part of the work here, the Blue Jays and MLB installed new lighting and a new infield at Sahlen Field. The Bisons expect to have to upgrade clubhouse, workout and staff facilities as part of their new Player Development License with Toronto, and Shapiro said he expects "adjustments" made to the ballpark in Buffalo, as well as Class A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire.
