DUNEDIN, Fla. — Spring Training is beginning to wind down in Dunedin, meaning it’ll soon be full steam ahead towards Opening Day.

That was on full display at the Toronto Blue Jays’ player development complex on Friday morning, as staffers loaded the transport truck with equipment and other essentials before it heads north for Canada in preparation for the franchise’s return to Rogers Centre in two weeks.

But because the truck was parked where the complex’s usual media scrum setup is located, situated on the north side just a few dozen feet from the parking lot, the club had to relocate John Schneider’s annual morning availability with reporters. However, that didn’t impact the wealth of updates the Blue Jays skipper provided as the sun began to reach its peak behind the complex’s batting cages.

With the first round of the World Baseball Classic over, participating players have started to return to Blue Jays camp, beginning with Leo Jiménez (Panama) and RJ Schreck (Israel) on Thursday, and All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk (Mexico) on Friday.

The 27-year-old backstop will be eased in during his first day back at the complex, but he’s scheduled to catch Max Scherzer’s start on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers at TD Ballpark. He won’t join the team on their upcoming road trip to Port St. Lucie (Mets) and Jupiter (Marlins) on the East Coast of Florida, as Schneider announced.

Instead, Kirk will stay back at the PDC and face the major league arms who’re also skipping the road trip, facing Kevin Gausman on Sunday, then Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage on Monday. Following Tuesday’s off-day, he’ll return to a normal workload and likely catch back-to-back home games Wednesday and Thursday.

The Blue Jays are looking for “more of the same” from Yesavage in his next outing on Monday, per Schneider. He threw two ups (two-innings) as part of a 35-pitch simulated game on Wednesday against minor-league hitters at the PDC. The hope is that he’ll be able to build on that, logging at least another two-inning outing.

There isn’t a set plan for the 22-year-old phenom after that. But there should be time for him to make one final start, possibly in Grapefruit League play or in a simulated environment again, before camp wraps.

Schneider also teased that the organization will officially announce its 2026 Opening Day starter on Saturday. All that remains is informing a certain individual that he’ll be receiving the nod when the real stuff begins against the Athletics on Mar. 27.

By all accounts, though, the betting favourite would seem to be Kevin Gausman — which would be his third career Opening Day start (one each with the Orioles and Giants) and first with the Blue Jays.

We may see Bieber pitching off a mound again soon.

The 30-year-old starter (forearm) will continue throwing from 120 feet, as he’s been doing for the past couple of weeks, but will then be re-evaluated by the club’s medical staff a week from now. If everything checks out, he could throw a side session next Friday — marking a crucial step in his progression one week from Opening Day.

Bieber will begin this season on the injured list, but once he gets off a mound, charting a timeline for his return will start coming into focus.

Tiedemann (elbow) continues to ramp back up after resuming his throwing program at the PDC on Tuesday. He remains limited to throwing on flat ground, and it’s unclear when he’ll be back on a mound again, though the club hopes he isn’t too far away since he was only off for a few weeks.

They’ll continue to work cautiously in his post-Tommy John recovery, but this shouldn’t impact his status for the regular season. And even if it does, he shouldn’t miss much time.

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