The Blue Jays will leave their temporary regular-season home in Dunedin, Fla., and shift their regular season games to Buffalo, N.Y., starting in June.
The move was expected around that time, as the Jays were concerned about impact of summer weather playing outdoors in Florida.
There was a scenario where they could stay longer in Dunedin if they felt they could return to Toronto shorty thereafter — and thus avoid two moves — but pandemic restrictions in Canada and on cross-border travel make that unlikely.
In a press release announcing the move, the Jays said: “The club’s goal has always been to return to play on home soil as soon as it is safe to do so and until then, the team will play its home games at Sahlen Field.’'
Also: “The team is excited to return to the site of its strong 2020 campaign, this time with in-person cheers from Buffalo-area fans.’'
The Jays’ final series at TD Ballpark in Dunedin will be May 21-24 against the Rays, which follows three-game series with the Phillies (May 14-16) and Red Sox (18-20).
The Jays are 7-4 in Dunedin, compared to 7-10 on the road, and are averaging 1,496 fans, working under pandemic restrictions that limit capacity to around 1,900.
The Jays played their home games last season in Buffalo, which is site of the their Triple-A team. That team has been temporarily relocated this season to Trenton, N.J., and the Jays and Buffalo team are sharing in the costs to renovate Sahlen Field to be ready for major league games starting June 1.
