Toronto Blue Jays reportedly will play most of their home games in Pittsburgh

The team was looking for a new place to play after the Canadian government on Saturday rejected a plan for the Blue Jays to play their home games without fans in Toronto, citing concerns about cross-border travel and playing in “locations where the risk of [novel coronavirus] transmission remains high.” That left the team with little time to find a new home stadium, considering the MLB regular season — shortened to 60 games because of the novel coronavirus pandemic — begins Thursday (Toronto’s season opener, on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays, is Friday).

The Blue Jays’ first home game is scheduled for July 29 against the World Series champion Washington Nationals.

PNC Park was seen as an ideal alternative for the Blue Jays because their schedule overlaps nearly perfectly with that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the two teams share scheduled home dates on July 29, they do not do so again until Sept. 8. The Blue Jays are scheduled to play in Washington on July 27 and 28 and could simply play there again on July 29 and 30, acting as the home team for the latter series

The other two sets of overlapping dates are Sept. 8-9 and Sept. 21-24, when the Blue Jays are scheduled to host the New York Yankees. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, those games will be played in New York with Toronto as the home team.

On Tuesday, Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk told reporters that the team’s ownership had informed the players about three options for Toronto’s home games: PNC Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and Sahlen Field, home of the Class AAA Buffalo Bisons.

“We’ve heard Buffalo. We’re heard Baltimore possibly. We’ve heard Pittsburgh possibly,” Grichuk said.

“To this moment I’ve heard not a definite place to play yet. It’s kind of still up in the air. Which is crazy this close to opening the day. Luckily we start on the road. But yeah, that’s what we’re hearing. Possibility Pittsburgh or Baltimore. Worst case, Buffalo.”

The players preferred the major league stadiums over the one in Buffalo, Grichuk said, because the latter lacks the player amenities — hot and cold tubs and modern weight and training rooms, for instance — of an MLB ballpark.

According to the Associated Press, the Blue Jays also considered their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., but rejected the idea because of the rising number of coronavirus cases in that state.