TORONTO -- As an already challenging season adds another dose of uncertainty for the Blue Jays, manager Charlie Montoyo’s focus continues to shift toward how his roster will adapt on the fly without Toronto to call home.
Like club president Mark Shapiro, who spoke Saturday after the Canadian government made its final call to deny approval to play the regular season in Toronto, Montoyo on Sunday expressed his understanding of how and why this happened.
“The Canadian government and the Canadian people have done a great job with this virus,” Montoyo said. “I understand. I’m grateful that they gave us a chance to work out here, because going into the season, wherever we play, we’re healthy right now because we trained here.”
Montoyo is confident that his club can make this work, potentially even using it as a point to rally around, but he recognizes it won’t be simple. Baseball players thrive on routine, so an entire season spent “on the road” with a temporary home isn’t what anybody wants. It’s the reality, though, and Montoyo’s job is now to help each player recreate that sense of normalcy, wherever they are.
“Guys like to have a routine,” Montoyo said. “Hopefully, we find a place where they can have their routines that they do when we’re at home. Wherever that is, that would be the main thing for me.”
The Blue Jays are now looking at a variety of sites, including their Triple-A field in Buffalo and their Dunedin, Fla., complex, but other facilities, including other MLB ballparks, are also under consideration.
Once the club finalizes where it will be playing regular-season games, Shapiro said on Saturday that the Blue Jays' alternate training site would likely be located at an existing U.S. Minor League facility that’s near their “home” stadium.
Bass prefers MLB park
Reliever Anthony Bass believes this development is a disadvantage for the Blue Jays, but while he was disappointed and surprised by the decision, he understands why it was made. Looking at other options, he has a clear preference and has communicated that to general manager Ross Atkins.
“I personally feel like our best situation to be in is playing in a Major League ballpark," Bass said. "I think that’s where we’re going to thrive and win.”
Location matters, too. Options in Florida come with a much different COVID-19 reality than other states in the U.S., which concerns Bass, whose daughter is high-risk. He won’t be able to reunite with his family this season regardless of where the team plays.
“I feel like, all of the players, we don’t want to be in a place where it’s a hot spot,” Bass said. “We want to be where it’s safe, a place in the United States where cases are going down or very low. That’s definitely a concern of ours.”
Injury updates
• Chase Anderson (oblique strain) will keep throwing long toss and feels good, but he will open the season on the 10-day injured list.
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (left side discomfort) “feels pretty good” and might take live BP on Monday before the team goes to Boston.
• Montoyo said that Brandon Drury (10-day IL) could potentially join the club in Boston for its exhibition games, at which point he could evaluate how close he is to playing after seeing him with his own eyes.