Coronavirus

Major League Baseball issued a memorandum to all 30 teams earlier today that addressed multiple topics, most notably the halt of any organized player workouts at Spring Training facilities.  The plans outlined in the memo will be in place at least through Monday’s planned conference call between the teams and Commissioner Rob Manfred, and alterations could continue to be made Monday or in the days to come based on further developments concerning the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post detailed some of the main points of the memo, which focused primarily on immediate issues concerning Spring Training matters.  Such bigger-picture topics as a revised schedule were discussed between the league and the union, Sherman noted, though no decisions were made since it is too early to know when the season could potentially get underway.

The memo highlights many concerns that the MLBPA raised with the league over the last few days, as outlined by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic (subscription required).  The Orioles, Brewers, Braves, Marlins and Mets were all cited in player complaints to the union about a lack of access to facilities.  As Rosenthal and Drellich put it, “even as MLB and the PA technically agree that facilities are to be open to major league players for now, they differ about what ’open’ means.”

As outlined in today’s memo, players on a 40-man roster “must be permitted to remain at the Club’s Spring Training site, and are eligible to receive their usual Spring Training allowances.”  Non-roster players were instructed to return to their normal homes, though such players with injury problems were allowed to stay in camp to receive treatment from team medical staffers, and “Clubs should work…to provide suitable accommodations” for any player who wished to remain in the United States rather than another country, or for American players “who reside in high-risk areas in the United States.”

The stability of a team facility offers obvious appeal to players who wish to keep training in preparation for whenever the season begins, though MLB and the individual teams have similarly understandable concerns about keeping players gathered in any sort of clustered situation.  “In the view of several executives and MLB officials, any objection to limited access in the middle of a public health crisis misses the larger point of trying to keep players safe,” Rosenthal and Drellich wrote, adding that teams are also worried about older staff members at the facilities who could be at greater risk of catching the coronavirus.

6:55PM: The Center Of Disease Control And Prevention has issued a recommendation against any events of 50 or more people over the next eight weeks in the United States.  That eight-week timeline would last until May 9, so assuming that the health situation stabilizes within those eight weeks, a Memorial Day start to baseball season wouldn’t seem feasible, given the necessary time required for preseason preparations.

4:56PM: With MLB operations on hold due to the spread of the coronavirus, it’s becoming increasingly likely that the season remains on hold until at least Memorial Day weekend, according to a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Such a scenario would push back the beginning of the regular season to late May. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman expressed a similar sentiment, saying that the commencement of the season “anytime before June would be viewed as welcome.”

Officially, the beginning of the regular season has been delayed for a minimum of two weeks, which points to April 9 as the earliest date for the sport’s return. But in light of recent developments, that date is looking more and more like a mere pipe dream. Indeed, Robert Murray reports that the MLBPA has advised players to consider returning to the place they would be most comfortable for the next 4-6 weeks. The Athletic writers Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported yesterday that it was unlikely for the season to begin before May.

In light of a memo distributed by MLB this morning, minor leaguers have been sent home and organized group workouts at team facilities have been halted. Yesterday, it looked like a host of teams were planning to stick together despite the stoppage, but it’s expected that more and more clubs will vacate their Spring Training facilities in the coming days. And with affiliated baseball discovering its first confirmed case of the virus this morning, teams may be more hesitant to keep players grouped together.

By all accounts, MLB is still aiming to play a 162-game season, but the feasibility of that goal will no doubt be challenged by any significant setback. If indeed the season is delayed until Memorial Day or June, a truncated season may be in order. Otherwise, we might be looking (speculatively) at December World Series games in neutral sites. Of course, specifics on this front are scarce and will remain nebulous until the situation gains clarity.

The consequences of a delayed regular season are wide-ranging, and the subsequent questions that must be resolved will be manifold. Issues such as compensation (especially for minor league players and stadium staff), service time, schedule structure, workouts, and plenty more will need to be sorted out before the 2020 campaign may carry on.

We started the day with teams hunkered down in their spring facilities, awaiting word on what to do next with Cactus and Grapefruit League contests cancelled. MLB and MLBPA discussions resulted in an agreement that allowed players to head home and recommended they do so in many cases. MLB has just announced that Spring Training has officially been suspended.

Thus far, however, teams have taken differing approaches — driven at least in part, it must be noted, by player preferences. In all cases, players can now elect to join their families at their homes. Should they elect to stay, they’ll receive standard per diems.

While all players are being allowed to make their own choices, the disparate approaches don’t seem optimal. We’ll have to see whether this prompts a brighter-line approach at the league-union level.

Then again, teams and players are in a gray area in terms of preparing for the season. It’s clear that Opening Day will be pushed back at least two weeks, but far from obvious when it’ll occur.

We’ll use this post to track the developments on this topic.

Staying as a full group:

• Tigers players voted to remain in Florida for now, and general manager Al Avila will also be on hand, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes.  The players will be taking part in informal workouts with the medical staff and minor league coaches on hand.
• Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria believe the entire Giants team will return to the field when the club’s spring facility re-opens on Monday, the two players tell Henry Schulman and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Just about all of the Rangers’ players plan to stay in camp through week and then proceed to Dallas, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.  Workouts will then continue either at the Rangers’ new ballpark or at the team’s youth academy, provided no further developments have taken place.
• The Yankees players have unanimously voted to remain and keep training, per player rep Zack Britton (via George A. King III of the New York Post, on Twitter). GM Brian Cashman says he will remain as well, along with the coaching and training staff, Jack Curry of YES Network tweets.
• All of the Padres’ MLB roster is staying in the area for now, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter.

Mostly or largely dispersing:

• Most of the Twins are leaving camp, with The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (Twitter link) writing that around 20 players from both the Major League and minor league camps will stay.
• The Cardinals, meanwhile, have decided to close camp for the most part, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Twitter links). Ten to fifteen St. Louis players will remain on hand for the time being.
• It seems that’s more or less the approach of the Braves. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that multiple players have left the facility, some of whom hope to be able to train together in the Atlanta area.
• The Reds are also seeing the majority of players off, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among those to report on Twitter.

Wait-and-see stance:

• A “high majority” of Mets players are expected to remain in camp, a source tells Newsday’s Tim Healey reports.
• The Diamondbacks face “a little bit of a unique situation” in that their Spring Training site is close to their home city, GM Mike Hazen told reporters (including The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert).  Since so many players live in the area, Hazen believes most of the team will continue to work out at the spring facility.
• The Rays’ Florida camp is also relatively close to home, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, though it isn’t yet clear how many players are planning to remain.  Tropicana Field will be opened for informal workouts on March 23, however.
• The Nationals will meet as a team tomorrow, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports on Twitter, with many planning to stick around.
• Most Cubs players will remain in Arizona, at least until their leases run out at the end of the month, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets.
• The Angels are still thinking through their options, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter.
• Likewise, the Marlins are staying close by and waiting to make decisions, Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets.
• All but three of the players in Mariners camp — 40-man members plus non-roster invitees — will stay on hand, Corey Brock of The Athletic was among those to report via Twitter.