Blue Jays shutdown Spring Training facility following Covid scare

The Toronto Blue Jays have shutdown their Spring Training facility after a player displayed Covid19 symptoms.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Blue Jays closed their Dunedin facility after a player on their 40-man roster was exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19. The move appears cautionary, however, this is on the heals of the Philadelphia Phillies having to close their facility just up the road in Clearwater after eight people were deemed positive.

Just when it appeared the league and the MLBPA were closing in on an agreement on a potential 70-game season, the pandemic rears its ugly head again as the United States potentially braces for a second-wave of the virus.

The Tampa Bay Lightning also closed their hockey facility after five people within their organization contracted the virus including three players. A number of sports teams in the Florida area have closed their respective facilities in light of this recent outbreak.

According to Joel Sherman, the MLB is strongly considering closing all 30 of their facilities in order to cleanse and establish a new protocol for players.

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The Blue Jays had approximately 20 players utilizing their facility in Dunedin with half of that number being players on the 40-man roster. That group of players will presumably have to self isolate and be tested if the Blue Jays player suffering from symptoms is in-fact positive.

If there is a season, the Florida outbreak could bode well for the Jays potentially playing games in Toronto. The underlying roadblock, however, is that the decision has to come from the Canadian government to loosen restrictions and allow players to travel.

The coming days should give us a clear indication of how many other players from the Blue Jays and teams around the league have tested positive. Those numbers could be the determining factor where the league goes with its plans for the 2020 campaign.

The fate of the season rests in the clutches of the Covid-19 virus once again. Stay tuned.