Blue Jays: Bisons move to New Jersey, temporarily

On Friday afternoon, Buffalo Bisons General Manager Anthony Sprague wrote a letter to fans that the club would temporarily be playing home in games in Trenton, New Jersey.

The reasoning for the move is that the Bisons are conducting upgrades to Sahlen Field in Buffalo so they will be able to play host to Major League Baseball, as well as Triple-A baseball.  Among the main upgrades are moving the bullpen off the field and behind the outfield walls, new batting cages, new weight room and renovating the clubhouse, as well as LED replacements and adding temporary lighting poles.

Currently the Blue Jays franchise is holding out hope that they will be able to return to Toronto to play home games, however, in the mean time they play their host games in Dunedin, Florida.  The expectation is that if the Blue Jays cannot return to Toronto that they would likely play their home games in Buffalo as Dunedin is more prone to extreme heat and rain during the summer months.

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The Bisons will be playing in the home field of the Trenton Thunder who was the Class AA team for the New York Yankees last season, however, were no longer affiliating with them or any other team.

It appears as though the Bisons will eventually return this year only if the Blue Jays do not require the stadium, however, if the club cannot return to Toronto, the Bisons will play their full season in Trenton.  The Bisons are set to open up their season on May 4 in Trenton against the Worcester Red Sox.

The Blue Jays players are familiar with Sahlen Field as they spent their entire 2020 season using the stadium as their home field.  During games in Buffalo last year, the Blue Jays posted a 17-9 (.654) record and finished the season winning five of their seven remaining games.

The stadium upgrades should only make the players experience even better for both this year and the future of the Bisons.