© Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Blue Jays Opening Series Against Baltimore, Tampa Bay Canceled
Opening day has been canceled.
As Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred stood at a podium in Jupiter, Florida, missed baseball became a reality. Baseball games will be lost this season.
Manfred announced the cancelation of MLB's 2022 opening day and the first two series of the season. After a new collective bargaining agreement was not reached by the league's imposed deadline of Tuesday at 5 p.m., the league announced the cancelation of the first week of 2022 regular-season games. As part of the 91 canceled games, the Toronto Blue Jays will no longer play their first two series of the season.
Toronto's series lost include a March 31st three-game set at the Baltimore Orioles, and the home opening series against the Tampa Bay Rays, which was slated to begin on April 4th. The games will not be made up and the players will not be paid for the time missed, Manfred told the media. Barring further delays to the season of cancelations, Toronto's first series of 2022 will now begin on April 8th, hosting the Marcus Semien and the Texas Rangers.
The players association has left Florida and Manfred said Tuesday the MLB will regroup and determine the next steps for CBA negotiations.
Along with the rest of Major League Baseball, the Blue Jays' 40-man roster players will remain locked out until an agreement is found. Since early December, major league players have been unable to contact team staff, transactions have been frozen, and major league spring training has been delayed.
Further cancelations to spring games were also announced Tuesday, with the Blue Jays first 14 games no longer on the schedule. The Jays first potential spring training game, barring further delays, is slated for March 14th, against the Detroit Tigers.
