Red Sox, Blue Jays to meet in Montreal to close 2016 Spring Training

The Red Sox and Blue Jays will finish spring training in Montreal next year, with the Sox meeting their AL East rivals in the old home of the Montreal Expos on April 1st and 2nd.

It's a little rough, honestly, that these games will come at the end of the spring schedule. During the first game or two, baseball is fresh, and if the allure of pitchers and catchers reporting is enough to spark interest, a full game--even one filled with substitutes by the ninth--is enough to have fans chomping at the bit. But as the weeks drag on, spring training quickly transforms into a seemingly unending purgatory. In many ways, that month before the return of meaningful baseball is the longest of the year.

The Red Sox do seem ready to fight this some by putting a good foot forward north of the border. COO Sam Kennedy has already said that David Ortiz, Xander Bogaerts, and Pablo Sandoval intend to play in Montreal (assuming all three are still with the team), though I'm sure the Sox won't be disrupting their rotation plans to put their best on the mound in Olympic Stadium.

Once the two-game set against Toronto is over, the Red Sox will head straight down to Cleveland to kick off the 2016 regular season against the Indians. Not the typical trip up from Florida the team is used to, but not nearly so taxing as some they've faced in the past.