Blue Jays report to camp in Florida, spring training formally begins Monday

As Vladimir Guerrero Jr., walked on to Field 1 at the Toronto Blue Jays' training facility, one of his teammates sarcastically called out to the rest of the team.

"Vladdy's here! We can start!"

Players laughed at the light ribbing, broke up their conversations, and trotted into position as batting practice began at the Blue Jays player development centre. Although some players — including Guerrero — reported to camp Friday, more continued to trickle in Sunday.

Manager Charlie Montoyo couldn't hide his enthusiasm, chatting with players, reporters, and team staff as he watched batting practice with '90s hip-hop and R&B playing from a speaker set up nearby.

"I'm not only the manager, I'm also a baseball fan," said Montoyo, with a mask pulled down under his chin. "It isn't a Zoom call anymore, so you've seen our guys and they all look great and that just makes me feel even better."

Major League Baseball locked out its players Dec. 2, preventing managers and coaches from speaking to their players for months. MLB struck a new deal with its union Thursday, allowing players to start reporting to training camps Friday.

Montoyo, who continued to work with players in the Blue Jays' minor-league system during the lockout, said it was tough to not be able to communicate with his major-league team.

"The one thing I knew for sure was that they were going to be in shape, because they're hungry," said Montoyo. "I love that part of our club. They're hungry to go and you've seen everybody, they look great."

COVID-19 protocols are still being developed by Major League Baseball for the 2022 season.

When players first arrived at spring training this weekend they had to take a series of COVID-19 tests on top of their usual physicals. Once that