The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team in Major League Baseball not playing in their home ballpark. And that situation is not changing anytime soon.

Continuing Covid-19 restrictions by the Canadian government have prevented the Blue Jays from returning to their home at the Rogers Centre.

After two months in Florida, the Blue Jays will make Buffalo their temporary home for the second straight season, it was announced on Wednesday.

The Blue Jays will return to Sahlen Field on June 1 against the Miami Marlins after playing the first two months of the MBL season at TD Ballpark, which is their spring training facility in Dunedin.

The Blue Jays and the Toronto Raptors have been forced to play their home games in U.S. markets because Covid-19 continues to be a major health concern in Canada. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs continue to play in Toronto because the NHL created a North Division, which means there has been no need for cross-border travel during the regular season.

Other Canadian teams that have had to relocate due to the pandemic include Major League Soccer's Toronto FC (Orlando), CF Montreal (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Vancouver Whitecaps (Sandy, Utah), and Major League Rugby's Toronto Arrows (Marietta, Ga.).

The Blue Jays last played in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on Sept. 29, 2019. It has a capacity of 49,000. The Blue Jays haven’t ruled out the possibility of returning to the Rogers Centre later in the season, but those hopes seem faint at best.

“The City of Buffalo is thrilled to once again be able to welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to Sahlen Field,” Buffalo mayor Byron Brown said in a statement.

“The Blue Jays and the Bisons have done a tremendous job preparing our city’s ballpark for Major League Baseball, and, after embracing the Blue Jays as our hometown team in 2020, the ability to have the great sports fans of Western New York inside Sahlen Field this time around will no doubt make this summer at the ballpark an unforgettable one for our city.”

In order to accommodate the arrival of the Blue Jays and renovations at Sahlen Field, the Triple-A Bisons will play this season out of Trenton, N.J.

Improvements have been made to the stadium to allow fans back in the stands. The bullpens have been moved beyond the outfield wall, while the field, batting cages and weight rooms are all new.

Initially, a limited capacity of fans, just under 4,000, will be allowed to attend games, with a six-foot spacing between each fan. Fans will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test from at least 72 hours before game day.

In addition, fans over the age of 2 must wear masks at all times except when eating or drinking.

Ontario has been under a lockdown with daily cases of coronavirus averaging over 3,500 for the past seven days. Although the vaccine supply is improving, only 2.72% of Canada’s population has been fully vaccinated.

The news of the Blue Jays staying out of the country is a blow to fans in Toronto, who have not got a chance to see some of the newest stars on the team, including former World Series MVP George Springer, whose six-year, $150 million signing was the biggest contract given out in franchise history

As it turns out, however, Springer did not start the season due to injuries and has played only four games since being activated last week.

But his return to the lineup was followed by more bad news. Springer left Sunday’s 7-2 win over Atlanta early with what the Blue Jays described as fatigue. He has also been battling a quad injury.

In the absence of Springer, other Blue Jays have been showcasing their power at the plate. Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerror Jr. are among the league’s home-run leaders with seven each and offseason acquisition Marcus Semien has six.

Guerrero has had a sensational start to the season, and last month became the youngest player in franchise history at age 22 to record three home runs in one game. Guerrero has a slash line of .340/.479/.617/1.096 along with 20 RBIs.

The Blue Jays are still in the thick of the AL East with a 14-14 record, three games back of the leading Boston Red Sox.

Last season, the Blue Jays made the expanded playoffs, qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2016 before being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Report assembled from Sportsnet, Canadian Press