Plaaaaay Baaaaall

Well…MLB players are expected to report July 1 to their home fields for COVID-19 testing and to initiate ST 2.0.   Camp is due to begin July 3.  As is usually the case with “normal” ST, pitchers and catchers will report first, with position players due to follow.  It is expected that the players will report to ST on a staggered basis, and that they would be on the field at different times. 

We already know that there will be multiple players, including Charlie Blackmon, who will not be participating due to positive COVID-19 tests.  Those players are expected to follow quarantine protocols, and will not be allowed to report (or return) to the team until it is considered safe.  Those protocols will be transparent once they are fully published.  As a minimum, the requirement will be two negative tests 24 hours apart, no fever for 72 continuous hours, and a completed antibody test.

While MLB is due to begin regular season games either July 23 or July 24, it will not be the same game as we have experienced.  There are a multitude of rule changes to consider as we embark on what is sure to be an adventurous 60 game schedule.

Teams will consist of a 60-man player pool.  That player pool will be submitted no later than Sunday, June 28, at 12:00 Noon (PT).  The transaction freeze will cease Friday, June 26 at 9:00 AM (PT).  So where will Yasiel Puig be reporting?  Consensus pick is San Francisco.  I would not expect the Dodgers to pick up any unsigned FA before the season starts.  I have no doubt that the LAD 60 man team will be superior to any other 60 man team, or at the very least, significantly deeper. 

Only the players on the 40 man roster will be required to report to ST camp (if invited), while the remaining 20 players can be sent to an alternate site.  Does this open up the possibility Bobby Miller and the other LAD 2020 draft signees will be sent to an alternate site to begin their development, and potentially be called on in an emergency?  How about Robbie Peto?  Does this give a carrot for AF to put in front of Landon Knack, Clayton Beeter, and Jared Vogel?   

It will be interesting to see how teams view their 40-man rosters, because not all members of the 40-man roster need be invited to ST.  But if they are not, they still need to be paid.  I would expect a flurry of changes to the 40-man roster before the 60-man squad is submitted. 

The season will start with 30-man rosters.  The roster is due to be pared to 28 after two weeks, and to 26 after two additional weeks.  The 26 man roster will stay intact through the end of the year. Players must be on the 26-man roster by September 15 to be eligible for the playoffs.  Teams will be allowed to take up to three taxi squad members on road trips, but if they take three, one must be a catcher. Sure seems like a good way for Keibert Ruiz’s MLB career to begin.  Or because of the short season do they go with a safer backup like Jose Lobaton or Rocky Gale?

The trade deadline will be August 31 for this year. That will give teams a little more than 30 games to determine their needs to go into the playoffs.

The injured list will be 10 days for pitchers and position players.  The 60 day IL will be reduced to 45 days.  There will be a COVID-19 inactive list that will have no stipulated time that a player must sit out.

The universal DH will be intact for 2020, with 2021 still undecided.

In game scouting will be allowed.

MLB can choose to move a team and playoffs to a neutral city, if it is deemed necessary for health concerns.

There is another COVID-19 change that is being considered. MLB is talking with Nashville about adopting two teams of unsigned players that will comprise an emergency pool.  The players will make $400/week, and a team will need to pay a fee to Nashville if they sign any of the pool players.

Players who have underlying health concerns can opt out with full pay and service time.  It has also been agreed on that the health concern is considered for a family member.  This gives AJ Pollock reason to opt out because of his daughter, Maddie Mae, who is in a NICU bed in an Arizona hospital because she was born three months premature.  I do not know him, but it cannot be easy to plan to play a game and put himself in a situation that could possibly hurt his daughter.  My heart breaks for AJ, his wife, and daughter, and they are in my prayers every day.  The last I have heard; he has not made a final decision.  As it should be, that decision will be between the parents and the doctors.

What will Kenley Jansen and Scott Alexander decide. Doc has already stated that he will be in the dugout as manager.

The 60 game schedule will be comprised of 10 games against each of the other four teams in their division (40 games) and 20 games against the five teams in the opposing league’s same geographical division.  Six of those 20 games will be against the team’s interleague rival, with the other 14 games to be determined.  The best guess is that a team will play two interleague opponents three games, and two interleague opponents with four games.

Extra inning games will be played as they have been in MiLB.  The player who made the last out the prior inning will start at 2B, and play will begin.  As in any other case, that player could be a pinch runner.    If that runner does score, it will be considered an unearned run for the pitcher.  Does this give consideration for Terrence Gore to be on the roster?

There will be no limits on position players pitching, as has been discussed.  The pitcher will be allowed to have a wet rag in his back pocket in lieu of licking fingers.  The previously agreed on three-batter minimum rule per pitcher will be followed throughout the season.

Consideration is being given to suspending games that do not reach 5 innings due to inclement weather, and will be completed at a later date (if needed).

A very recent rule adoption is if a player, manager, or coach comes within six feet of an umpire to dispute a call, that player, manager, or coach is subject to suspension.

There is no change in the playoff structure.  Three Division winners and two wild cards for each league.  One game WC playoff.  A best of five game LDS, a best of seven game LCS, and a best of seven game WS.

Some of the previously published COVID-19 related measures are:

• Players, coaches and support staff will be tested for COVID-19 every other day during Spring Training, the regular season and postseason.
• Players will receive temperature/symptom checks twice per day.
• Antibody testing will be conducted once per month.
• Social distancing will be encouraged as much as possible both on the field and off. Players and other team personnel not participating in the game will be sitting in the stands, at least six feet apart.
• Non-playing personnel must wear masks in the dugout and bullpen at all times.
• No pregame exchange of lineup cards.
• No celebratory contact (high-fives, fist bumps, hugs, etc.).
• No spitting or chewing of tobacco and/or sunflower seeds. Chewing gum is allowed.
• A ball will be thrown out once it has been touched by multiple players.
• Fights are strictly prohibited.

This is a historic and fluid scenario.  It is entirely plausible that the season will not get out of ST, and it is also plausible that the season will continue uninterrupted as are the seasons in Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.  There could be some adjustments along the way depending on how the situation unfolds.  There will undoubtedly be additional COVID-19 positive tests and probably higher than usual roster changes. But even though I have admitted my “coolness” to accepting a 50-60 game season as legit, I will nevertheless be watching and rooting for my Dodgers no less than I have ever done previously.

GO BLUE