The end of Canada’s COVID-19 border restrictions means that Major League Baseball and the Toronto Blue Jays are back to business as usual in time for the playoffs.
Pandemic rules, which expire Oct. 1, barred unvaccinated players from playing Canada’s only MLB team at home.
“Previous vaccination laws have prevented numerous teams from bringing their entire rosters to Toronto, which has benefited the Blue Jays in that other teams have either had to resort to inexperienced players in a full-time role or opposing teams have had to restructure their rotations accordingly. ‘ Tyson Shushkewich, associate editor of the Jays Journal fansite, told CTVNews.ca.
Affected players have been banned, which essentially means they have been released from games but not paid. While this typically affected few players from most teams during the 2022 season, the Jays’ advantage was clear in July, when 10 members of the Kansas City Royals skipped a four-game streak in Toronto that the Jays won 3-1.
Unlike the Blue Jays, the Royals are not contenders in this year’s playoffs, which begin October 7. The Jays, who are currently leading the American League wild card race, were MLB champions in 1992 and 1993. Most recently, they won a postseason game in 2016.
“There are a few unvaccinated players on playoff teams who couldn’t have come to Toronto under the previous rules,” Cameron Lewis, editor-in-chief of fansite Blue Jays Nation, told CTVNews.ca. “The only one who’s really an outstanding player is Robbie Ray of the Seattle Mariners.”
The left-handed pitcher was with the Jays for part of 2020 and all of 2021, when he won the Cy Young Award for the American League’s top pitcher. The following offseason, Ray signed a five-year contract with the Mariners; Lewis thinks his vaccination status may have played a role. As a Mariner, Ray skipped a three-game streak in Toronto in May; the Jays won two games. When the teams met again in Seattle in July, the Mariners defeated the Jays in four games.
“Having to face Ray would be a challenge as he’s become one of the Mariners’ top arms in a very strong rotation,” Shushkewich explained. “Ray also spent the last 1.5 seasons with the Jays which would be an excellent matchup but one that could be difficult for the Jays hitters given his familiarity with the Jays roster and he served very well at Rogers Center .”
Due to Canada’s pandemic restrictions, the Toronto Blue Jays also spent 2020 and much of 2021 playing home games in Dunedin, Fla. and Buffalo, NY before returning to their home game on July 30, 2021 – 670 days after their last game Quarters at the Rogers Center in Toronto.
“It was a disadvantage in that the club couldn’t play in front of a home crowd compared to their rivals and often had a healthy crowd of opposition fans at their home games,” added Shushkewich.
The lifting of restrictions also means the Jays have more freedom to sign and trade for players who are unvaccinated.
“Many have said that the boundary rules have been an advantage for the Blue Jays all season because some teams have to leave some players behind, but it was actually a disadvantage for them because it presented another barrier to player acquisition.” explained Lewis. “With the rule gone, the Blue Jays can sign free agents, trade for players, etc., usually without worrying about who can and who can’t cross the line.”