The Toronto Blue Jays will play their third homestand of the 2021 MLB season at Dunedin’s TD Ballpark, as the team awaits a potential return to Rogers Centre.
The decision was made several weeks ago by Blue Jays management to begin the 2021 MLB season at the team’s spring training home in the form of the first two homesteads. The announcement that the third homestead will also be played in Dunedin means the team will be playing out of Florida through May 24.
After that, plans are in the air. The team obviously would like to see border restrictions lifted by the Canadian government, allowing for a return to Rogers Centre. There has been talk about the team also playing part of the season at Sahlen Field, the home of the Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A East) where the Blue Jays played last season. We don’t want to read too much between the lines, but the decision to extend the stay might mean that the Blue Jays anticipate a return to Rogers Center in June. Also, there are some logistical issues to playing at Sahlen Field: the Bisons are the main tenant, and displacing the Bisons would be disruptive, to say the least. A move to Sahlen Field would likely be one made for the rest of the 2021 MLB season.
The border restrictions keeping the Blue Jays out of Toronto is also causing other scheduling issues in professional and summer-collegiate ball, with some teams deciding to pause operations and others limiting play to their side of the border.
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