Blue Jays sign letter of intent to leave Dunedin

The Blue Jays have no intention of moving from their current facility in Dunedin, Florida -- their spring home since the franchise’s birth in 1977 -- before their current contract expires at the end of 2017. (AP)

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed a letter of intent to explore the possibility of sharing a spring home with the Houston Astros. Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston confirmed the letter, which Astros owner Jim Crane first revealed to MLB.com.

“We’ve signed a letter of intent and that’s it,” Beeston said. “That’s all it is. We’re exploring the possibility.”

While the Astros could move into the facility as early as 2016, the Blue Jays have no intention of moving from their current facility in Dunedin, Florida — their spring home since the franchise’s birth in 1977 — before their current contract expires at the end of 2017.

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“We expect to live up to our lease in Dunedin,” Beeston said.

Beeston said this spring that the Blue Jays’ current complex, Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, is “not an ideal situation.” The big league stadium is far enough removed from the Blue Jays’ minor league facility that buses are required to shuttle players and personnel back and forth.

The possible shared site would be on the Eastern side of Florida in Palm Beach Gardens, near the spring sites of the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets.

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