Blue Jays to play in Buffalo in 2020

The Toronto Blue Jays will be playing their home games in Buffalo, New York, this season, it was announced today. The Canadian government announced last week that the team would not be given permission to play in Toronto for the 2020 season, necessitating the Blue Jays having to make other arrangements.

Buffalo had been identified as an option early on, though the team had expressed a preference for playing in a major league park. There appeared to be an agreement to have the Jays play in Pittsburgh’s home park for all but two series (when Pittsburgh also had home games scheduled), but that was nixed by the Pennsylvania state government due to COVID-19 concerns. The Jays’ spring training facilities in Dunedin, Florida, had also been discussed, but were not viewed as ideal due to the extensive outbreak of COVID-19 in Florida.

Buffalo’s Sahlen Field is the home of the AAA Buffalo Bisons, and while it isn’t a major league park, it is a quality AAA facility and will allow the Jays to be based in one city and play home games there, rather than having to play every game on the road. Texas, of course, is only playing teams in the Western division of the American League and National League, so the Rangers won’t be facing the Jays this season.