Shapiro: 'Things have gotten more real'

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- On Friday morning, Toronto president and CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins met with coaches, players and staff members at TD Ballpark to communicate how the club intends to proceed following Major League Baseball’s decision to suspend Spring Training games and delay the start of the 2020 season on Thursday.

Those measures include making Saturday an off-day before reopening the facility in Dunedin for an optional workout on Sunday. It will be closed to the public and media. Players and staff will reconvene on Monday to determine the team’s next steps.

• FAQ: How coronavirus impacts Blue Jays, MLB

The Blue Jays are also encouraging staff, when able, to work from home, and are minimizing the number of people congregating in large areas at any time.

“Things have gotten more real and serious of late,” Shapiro said on Friday. “As we began the plan, we’ve got this large group of people in Toronto that are largely staffing an event, running a business. We’ve got a baseball operation that’s large-scale down here with a lot of players and a lot of staff that support those players in spaces that are very tough to manage an issue like this. Then we’ve got a remote group of staff that are out scouting and flying and traveling, which is also a risk. And then most importantly, we have fans.

“So when you start to talk about safety for a broad group of stakeholders and staff, you’re trying to think on multiple levels of what’s the best way to protect and care for all those segments. That got a lot easier to think about with the actions that Major League Baseball took yesterday.”

No one in the organization has yet been tested for coronavirus, though the club has walked its players and staff through a series of protocols in case anyone presents symptoms. The organization also has encouraged everyone to be extremely cautious.

“We’re just trying to do the best we can to educate and support our players and our staff, as well as provide a safe environment,” Shapiro said. “We already did that for our fans by not playing. Now we’re doing that for our staff and players.

“The stakes are real and more clear to them now, partially just because of the extreme nature of we’re postponing the season. Hopefully, we were able to talk those things through this morning and give some more background and reasons for that.”