Blue Jays already working ahead of spring training report dates

The Toronto Blue Jays pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report in just two days, but several key players are wasting no time in getting to work

Two days. That’s all that stands between us and the “official” reporting date for Blue Jays pitchers and catchers to Dunedin, Florida for 2016 spring training.

It’s a much looser date than we make it out to be, though. A nice, hard number to put on the calendar and count down towards, but as is the case with most major league organizations, many Blue Jays players have been in Florida working for weeks.

A head count was taken earlier in the month when Jose Bautista hosted a Super Bowl (and onesie) party in Florida with Ryan Goins, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and others in attendance. Bautista has reportedly organized these offseason training sessions, and ahead of the official opening date of spring, they’re already getting to work. 


Stroman and Sanchez are joined on the mounds here by Jesse Chavez, who is in competition for the final job in Toronto’s rotation or a long-man role out of the bullpen. In an article discussing the 10 most compelling spring training storylines, Jayson Stark nominated the Jays as “the team with the most spectacular spring storylines in baseball”.

“This isn’t a spring training camp,” he writes. “It’s a miniseries.”

Along with a quick video of Ryan Goins, Bobby Tewksbary tweeted out the above video of Troy Tulowitzki getting some work in. Tewksbary is the man responsible for the swings of Chris Colabello and Josh Donaldson, while Kevin Pillar began to work with him this offseason as well.

Hold the champagne and confetti for the two extra days if you wish, but rest assured, Blue Jays baseball is back already.