When the Toronto Blue Jays met as a team on Monday, manager Charlie Montoyo delivered a message of encouragement before everyone dispersed.
“Before everybody left, we told them, ‘Great job through spring training,'” Montoyo recalled in a conversation with ESPN‘s Marly Rivera. “‘We had a great spring training, but we have to do this. We have to do it.
“‘This is a bigger problem than baseball right now. Just stay in shape, pitchers can play catch and we’ll see you in a few weeks.’”
In accordance with a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MLB announced Monday that it will be pushing opening day back until at least mid-May due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spring training had already been postponed, as of Thursday.
Montoyo will leave Toronto’s spring training complex in Dunedin, Fla., to be with his family in Arizona. He said approximately 20 players will stay in Dunedin, but they’ll adhere to social distancing practices.
“They will come in different times during the day,” Montoyo said. “And we’ll have our local staff help out.”
Rivera asked Montoyo when he thought MLB could resume action, and the 54-year-old wouldn’t be surprised by a longer delay.
“It’s too early to tell,” he replied. “But from what I gathered from all the baseball people talking, it seems like June 1 would be the best scenario.
“I said, ‘Wow (when I heard that),’ but that seems like the best scenario right now.”
Rivera also spoke with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on Monday, which was Guerrero Jr.’s 21st birthday. He said he’s still trying to decide whether or not to return home to the Dominican Republic to continue working out during baseball’s stoppage.
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