As the coronavirus continues to torment the sports world, the MLBPA has given their players three choices in terms of permitted travel.
In an official memo from the association, players can:
- Stay in the area of their Spring Training facility, whether that be in Florida or Arizona.
- Travel to the area of their club’s home city.
- Travel to the area of their offseason home.
These regulations will only apply to members of the 40-man roster. According to a tweet from baseball writer Marc Carig, some teams are mandating that non 40-man players pack up and head home.
Teams are expected to reimburse players for the unexpected travel in the situation that they decide to leave their spring camp.
Many front-office members from various teams believe that, given the sudden change in workout scheduling, that players will need more time to get ready for game-action.
“I would assume that the longer that it [the hiatus] goes, the longer that we’re going to need to ramp back up,” said newly hired Astros General Manager James Click.
According to Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom, players will need a “few weeks” to get ready for game action again once the lapse in play is completed.
According to Sam Kennedy, the president and CEO of the Red Sox, games missed at the start of this season due to cancellations will be tacked on to the end of the season. Barring a change, this would cause the regular season to extend well into October.
