Baltimore emerging as possible site for Blue Jays’ 2020 ‘home’ games - Sportsnet.ca

TORONTO – Baltimore’s Camden Yards has emerged as a possible alternate site for a Toronto Blue Jays team in need of a temporary home.

The Blue Jays are actively looking at the possibility of playing some ‘home’ games in Baltimore, according to industry sources. However many other possibilities appear to remain in play as well. Among them: the home of Toronto’s triple-A affiliate, Buffalo’s Sahlen Field and PNC Park, the home of a Pirates team led by former Jays execs Ben Cherington and Steve Sanders. It’s also possible the Blue Jays could play ‘home’ games at more than one venue.

With just nine days remaining until the Blue Jays’ home opener, the club has to be open-minded as it searches for answers in conjunction with MLB and the MLBPA. But on paper, Camden Yards makes some sense for a few reasons.

• Players have expressed a preference for a major-league stadium, and Camden Yards certainly has space and amenities to keep players safe and comfortable.

• For the entire month of September, the Blue Jays and Orioles are never home at the same time.

• While scheduling conflicts exist in July and August, nearby Nationals Park could conceivably be used as an alternate site for the dates in question, as colleague Shi Davidi outlined Sunday.

This isn’t the first time the Blue Jays have considered playing at the home of a division rival. Earlier this summer they were in contact with the Tampa Bay Rays about the possibility of playing at Tropicana Field, but the surge of COVID-19 cases in Florida has since made the area less appealing.

On Saturday, the federal government announced that the Blue Jays would not be permitted to play their home games in Toronto out of concern for public health. Since then, team decision makers have faced the dual challenge of finding a home site and preparing players for Friday’s season opener against the Rays.

At some point soon, the club will need a resolution but for now, the uncertainty lingers for staff and players alike.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNwb3J0c25ldC5jYS9iYXNlYmFsbC9tbGIvYmFsdGltb3JlLWVtZXJnaW5nLXBvc3NpYmxlLXNpdGUtYmx1ZS1qYXlzLTIwMjAtaG9tZS1nYW1lcy_SAWhodHRwczovL3d3dy5zcG9ydHNuZXQuY2EvYmFzZWJhbGwvbWxiL2JhbHRpbW9yZS1lbWVyZ2luZy1wb3NzaWJsZS1zaXRlLWJsdWUtamF5cy0yMDIwLWhvbWUtZ2FtZXMvc24tYW1wLw?oc=5

2020-07-20 16:55:00Z
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