Blue Jays CEO has 'good information' teams will be vaccinated in 2-4 weeks
After shortening the 2020 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic, Major League Baseball is set to play a full 162-game schedule in 2021 with the vaccine rollout still underway.
And one top executive may know information regarding the league's plan to get the majority of players and team staff vaccinated by early May.
"We've got fairly good information that the vaccine will be accessible to our players and other major-league teams in the next two to three weeks or month," Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro told Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic.
Shapiro also discussed his club's potential return to Toronto after opening the season in Florida.
"So that if by the end of April or early May, all of our players or the bulk of our players and staff are vaccinated and other teams are as well and Toronto is a safe place, it starts to feel like the reasons for us not to be there, the risks start to be mitigated," he continued. "I would say that when we start to have that material progress that we see the vaccinations actually happening, we will start to formalize an ask."
Toronto Mayor John Tory recently extended the cancellation of public events in the city until July 1. The Jays announced their intention to open the 2021 season at their spring training facility in Dunedin and stay there through May 2. After embarking on a 10-game road trip, the Jays' next home game is scheduled for May 14.
MLB proposed a plan to postpone the season by one month and play a 154-game campaign, allowing time for players and staff to get vaccinated before the start of play. However, the MLBPA rejected the proposal because it also included expanded playoffs and a later end to the season.
The majority of MLB teams have already announced their intention to allow fans back into stadiums while limiting capacity. NBA and NHL clubs have done the same, though Canadian NHL teams continue to play without fans in attendance due to government guidelines. The NBA's Raptors, meanwhile, are playing their season in Tampa, but still with limited fans.