With Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association set to reconvene this week with hopes of coming to an agreement on how to proceed with a possible 2020 season, the league has “discussed and considered” the use of a universal designated hitter, as per Jim Bowden of The Athletic.
Reports of a truncated 80-game season beginning on July 1 have been discussed, as have ideas for limiting player and staff exposure to the ongoing COVID-19 global health crisis, which halted MLB operations in early March.
Considerations have been reported to include increased doubleheaders, decreased off-days, and a region-based schedule where teams would only play within their division and against their interleague divisional counterparts (ex: NL East/AL East).
The Mets would be left in an advantageous position if the universal DH were to be implemented in 2020. Yoenis Cespedes, J.D. Davis, and Dominic Smith — even Jed Lowrie could get in on the fun, if he’s healthy — would all fit that bill and would afford manager Luis Rojas an array of options when strategizing.
The hurdles left to clear before an agreement can be made are substantial. Player salaries continue to be a point of contention, as is the safety of everyone involved in day-to-day operations around the league.
We’ll keep you posted with more information as it becomes available.
