Blue Jays set for July 30 Roger Centre opener

It’s official: The Toronto Blue Jays are returning to Rogers Center on July 30 after the team received a national interest exemption from COVID-19 restrictions.

With new border rules exacted by the Canadian government on July 5, 14-day quarantines are not required by the fully vaccinated for essential travel, contingent on passing a COVID-19 test. What MLB has proposed on behalf of the Blue Jays: all players, including Blue Jays, be allowed north of the border, but sequestered to their hotels and the ballpark.

This will mark the first home game for the Jays north of the border since the end of the 2019 season. The Jays played the shortened 2020 MLB season at Sahlen Field, home of the Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A East), and so far this season split time between their spring-training home, TD Ballpark, and Sahlen Field.

“First and foremost, the Blue Jays wish to thank Canadians for their unprecedented public health efforts and support for the team. Without you, Blue Jays baseball would not be coming home this summer,” the club said in a press release. “In addition, the organization wishes to acknowledge Blue Jays staff and players for their tireless efforts and dedication during a franchise-defining chapter of team history, and whose resilience never wavered through immense challenges and times of uncertainty.”

Why July 30? It’s the beginning of a long homestand. No word on the crowd sizes allowed at Rogers Centre.

The Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A East) confirmed that they will end the season at Sahlen Field. Bisons officials say it would take two weeks or so to transition back to Buffalo from the team’s temporary home in Trenton. The Blue Jays are set to play in Buffalo as late as July 21, and given the Bisons schedule, it would be August 10 for a return to Sahlen Field.