MLB owners, players remain at standstill as COVID-19 begins to hit team facilities
The 30 MLB team owners and the MLB Players Association still haven’t settled on how the abbreviated 2020 MLB season will be conducted, but it might not matter.
The biggest threat to a baseball season now is the same as it was in March.
Five players in the Philadelphia Phillies organization and three of their coaches tested positive for COVID-19 at their spring facility in Florida, and other teams across MLB have also reported personnel who have fallen ill.
As a result, MLB has ordered all camps closed for deep cleaning with plans to reopen soon.
The Texas Rangers decided to suspend operations in Surprise, Ariz., before the MLB mandate. No Rangers players, coaches or support staff have tested positive, according to the team.
The country has seen a spike in cases after states started reopening economies that had been shut down by the coronavirus pandemic and after mass protests following the death of George Floyd.
Florida and Arizona, the only two states where teams have spring facilities, are seeing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise.
In Tarrant County, 277 new cases were reported Thursday with six deaths. There have been 8,099 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, with 205 deaths and at least 3,627 recoveries.
Of the six confirmed deaths Thursday, all were older than 50 and had underlying health conditions.
That data is significant because the Rangers plan to hold their second spring training at Globe Life Field in Arlington if the owners and players reach an agreement on a season.
Commissioner Rob Manfred proposed on behalf of the owners a 60-game season at full pro-rated salary, with an expanded postseason for the next two seasons and the designated-hitter rule in both leagues.
The players rejected the offer, despite receiving full pro rata for the first time in an proposal. They countered with a 70-game season, and the owners have told the players they will not go beyond 60 games.
“MLB has informed the Association that it will not respond to our last proposal and will not play more than 60 games,” union executive director Tony Clark said in a statement. “Our Executive Board will convene in the near future to determine next steps. Importantly, players remain committed to getting back to work as soon as possible.”
Health protocols amid the pandemic still have not been completely agreed upon. High-risk players or players with high-risk family members would be allowed to opt out of playing while receiving pay and service time.
Those protocols might be a bigger issue with the spike in cases among teams.
This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 9:37 AM.
