Toronto Blue Jays will play home games in Pittsburgh this year

The Blue Jays will not be able to play home games in Toronto this year. However, they will still get to use a big-league stadium in Pittsburgh.

A few days ago, it was announced that the Toronto Blue Jays would not be allowed to play their home games in Canada this year. It is unfortunate; as the only MLB team outside the USA, this will put them at a disadvantage against the other 29 clubs. However, it appears that they will be able to do the next best thing.

On Wednesday, it was announced by ESPN.com that the Blue Jays will be able to play most of their home games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh this year. An official announcement from the State of Pennsylvania is still pending.

The Blue Jays playing in Pittsburgh is a good decision

Among the other sites being considered were Buffalo, NY, home of the team’s AAA affiliate, and Dunedin, FL, where the team plays their spring training games. However, both would put the team at a big disadvantage; Buffalo’s stadium wouldn’t have the infrastructure that big-league stadiums have, while Dunedin would be far away from the team’s home base and is in an area considered to be a hotspot for the coronavirus.

Though this is a tough situation with no perfect solution, Pittsburgh makes about as much sense as anywhere. It’s relatively close to Toronto — though that might not be as important as usual if there are no fans in the stands. And as the article cited above points out, there are few common home dates between the Blue Jays and Pirates, and the few that they do have can easily be worked around.

This will also make sense from a travel standpoint, as MLB has built a schedule for the upcoming 60-game season that seeks to reduce travel. Though the Pirates are in the NL Central, they’re still relatively far east, so the Blue Jays shouldn’t have that much more travel time, if any.

Though the Blue Jays won’t be at home this year, it’s great that they will at least have a major league stadium they can call home most of the time. If indeed this arrangement works out, kudos to both clubs for getting it done.