Blue Jays: Semien’s return to Rogers Centre pushed to 2023 with latest CBA fallout

*Disclaimer – after the writing of this article, the MLB and MLBPA signed a new CBA which will not see any games cancelled. Therefore, the Texas Rangers and Blue Jays series scheduled for early April could still be possible at this time. More details to be added once an updated schedule is released*

Last evening, the MLB and MLBPA seemed to be making some ground and fans were optimistic that the two sides could figure out a deal that would keep a 162 game schedule on the table. The union would reject three different proposals from the league before presenting their own, in which the owners immediately responded by cancelling another two series to start the year. The Blue Jays are now currently scheduled to start the year against the Oakland Athletics on April 15th at the Rogers Centre before hitting the road to face the Boston Red Sox for a three-game series.

While losing games is something fans and both sides wanted to avoid, with four series now cancelled on the year, a full season now seems out of reach and a CBA deal could become more difficult once the aspects of lost salary get involved the further the negotiations drag on and further into the season. Another drawback about losing these games is that fans are going to be missing some different teams coming to the Rogers Centre, which now involves a former Blue Jays player that many were hoping to see back North this year.

Joining the club last offseason on a one-year “prove it” deal, infielder Marcus Semien churned out a pretty special campaign in his lone season with the Blue Jays. Slashing .265/.334/.538 through 162 games, Semien broke the record for most home runs in a single season by a second baseman with 45 round-trippers while also posting a .873 OPS. By season’s end, Semien amassed an All-Star appearance, a Gold Glove Award, the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, and AL MVP votes while setting himself up for a massive payday.

Former Blue Jays infielder Marcus Semien was scheduled to face the club at the Rogers Centre in early April but those games have recently been cancelled due to the recent CBA talks.

The Jays attempted to bring Semien back but he eventually signed a seven-year deal worth $175 million with the Texas Rangers, netting the club draft pick compensation for him signing elsewhere after rejecting his qualifying offer. While it sucks to see him head elsewhere, the deal itself is not a small chunk of change and in the end, Semien joins a Rangers squad that got better this past offseason with the addition of Corey Seager as well.

With the ongoing CBA negotiations and the recent cancellation of games, the Rangers were only scheduled to come to Toronto in early April and now those games are gone. The two clubs are now only scheduled to play each other once more in mid-September but it will be South of the border.

Jays fans will now have to wait until 2023 to see Marcus Semien back at the Rogers Centre, another casualty of the ongoing CBA negotiations.