Uncategorized

You may have noticed recently that we’ve closed the comments section on MLBTR posts relating to COVID-19.  I’ve taken this temporary measure because the discussions have too often become toxic.  Moderating arguments in the comments is not a good use of time for our writers.

We plan to take a few days to amend our commenting policy and our system for enforcement, and then we’ll re-open comments on most posts.  In the meantime, the comments are open on this post, and I’d appreciate your feedback and ideas.

MLB and the MLB Players Association have jointly announced the results of the initial round of coronavirus testing. The league says that 31 players and seven staff members tested positive out of 3,185 total people tested.

At first glance, the ~1.2% rate of positivity is lower than might have been feared. It does not appear that any previously identified cases are included in the numbers, but the results seem generally promising regardless.

That said, the results also highlight the ongoing challenges. Nineteen of thirty teams had at least one positive test. While the idea was to catch any incoming infections before they could spread, that ratio goes to show the extent to which the virus could yet permeate the league if it’s able to gain any footholds.

Clearly, baseball isn’t out of the woods yet when it comes to successfully staging a 2020 season. But it was possible to imagine a world where a large volume of positive tests would’ve thrown up an immediate roadblock.

There are some caveats here. It is not entirely clear, but stands to reason that the league was testing for active infection. Some players may already have recovered from an infection. When comparing to nationwide numbers, it’s important to understand the distinction. Then there’s the fact that all MLB participants just undertook travel, which could pose risk of later-emerging infections that weren’t yet evident upon arrival.

Having a reasonably manageable starting point certainly represents an important first step. But the real work is yet to come. Preventing the introduction of new sources of infection will require near-universal precautions for the duration of the season.

Following yesterday’s decision of Minor League Baseball to cancel the 2020 season, the affiliated Mexican League has followed suit. In an official announcement, the 16-team circuit says it will not attempt to launch play this year.

While it’s obviously disappointing to see Mexico’s top league on ice, the announcement makes clear the decision was made for good reason. Health and safety priorities rendered a campaign untenable, the league says.

No doubt this decision was driven in large by an anticipated inability to generate significant revenue without regular paid attendance. Expanding the income possibilities through television and other media initiatives rates as a priority for the league, the announcement goes on to specify.

Despite the bad news, the Mexican League sounded a rather upbeat tone. Players and umpires will receive financial support, though to what extent isn’t specified. And the league says it’ll use the time off to work on various changes to secure the long-term viability of the business.

8:31pm: Cooper now tweets that minor-league players will need to receive authorization from their team before joining an indy ball roster. But he adds that the expectation is that many teams are amenable to doing so.

7:12pm: Wondering what’ll happen to those minor-league players who weren’t named to MLB teams’ 60-man player pools? While teams are paying stipends to those minor-leaguers they’ve retained, those players’ contracts were formally suspended.

Accordingly, as J.J. Cooper of Baseball America reports, Major League Baseball has determined that clubs lack grounds to prevent minor-leaguers from signing on with independent league outfits. The inverse is also true: MLB teams can’t encourage players to sign on with indy clubs. The situation is different for 40-man players, as MLB contracts were never declared suspended.

As a practical matter, relatively few players will likely end up landing new gigs. The independent leagues aren’t generally rolling in cash, needless to say, and their revenue stream faces even greater challenges than those of MLB teams since in-person attendance is the whole ballgame. Those that are cobbling together 2020 seasons obviously won’t be at full tilt.

That said, the appeal is obvious for players, many of whom would surely make a buck for playing ball rather than sitting dormant and losing a year of development. The calculus would obviously change if there’s some sort of minor-league season to speak of — a decision that could soon be made.

At the same time, there’s obviously some risk in playing outside the affiliated ranks. The controlling MLB team wouldn’t necessarily be on the hook for any injuries or health issues that may arise. And it’s an open question whether an otherwise available team stipend would be withheld from a player earning money for playing baseball in an unaffiliated uniform.

As our sister site Pro Hockey Rumors celebrates its four-year anniversary, we’re looking to add to the writing staff!  In particular, we’re seeking someone with strong daytime availability Monday through Friday.  The position pays hourly.  The criteria:

• Exceptional knowledge of all 31 NHL teams, no discernible bias.
• Knowledge of the salary cap, CBA and transaction-related concepts.
• At least some college education.
• Extensive writing experience, with professional experience and a background in journalism both strongly preferred.
• Keen understanding of journalistic principles, ethics and procedures. Completion of basic college-level journalism classes is strongly preferred.
• Attention to detail — absolutely no spelling errors, especially for player and journalist names.
• Ability to follow the site’s style and tone.
• Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing up the news in a few paragraphs. We need someone who can balance creating quick copy with thoughtful analysis. You must be able to add value to breaking news with your own insight, numbers or links to other relevant articles.
• Ability to use Twitter and Tweetdeck.
• Multi-tasking is crucial.
• If you’re interested, email prohockeyrumorshelp@gmail.com and explain how you stand out and qualify in a couple of short paragraphs.  Please attach your resume to the email.  Unfortunately we may not be able to reply to every applicant.

This year’s MLB draft was limited to five rounds, down from the usual forty. Those not selected are capped at just $20K in bonus money upon signing, well shy of the (already restricted) amounts typically spent. And now, MLB is warning teams not to promise too much in educational benefits when wooing undrafted players.

Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, via Twitter, the league has sent out formal guidance to its teams regarding the negotiation of college scholarship plan and continuing education program funding. Those programs are regular parts of the draft signing process.

It’s not entirely clear what the league is trying to tamp down on here, but the memorandum is said to advise organizations not to offer “exorbitant” funding of players’ education. As Cooper explains, there’s no evident reason for concern that teams could back-door money to players’ personal accounts. Indeed, the programs already come with clear guidelines governing their administration to avoid any skirting of draft bonus rules.

Perhaps the memo was meant mostly as a reminder to teams not to get too creative in their recruitment efforts. But it seems hard to justify any additional squeeze on incoming professional players after so much has already been taken off the table — particularly if it means limiting what those players are able to negotiate in future educational benefits.

The independent league American Association has announced plans to launch a 2020 season. It’ll begin play on July 3rd and host contests in three cities.

While this plan won’t involve the kind of travel that Major League Baseball is contemplating, it’s notable that the indy ball outfit is preparing to tee up sixty contests per team. If local conditions allow, the league says it’ll expand to permit home games in all six of its usual home cities.

This is far from a typical American Association schedule. Beyond the obvious shortening and restrictions on travel, there won’t be as many participating clubs as usual. Last year a dozen organizations played in the league, twice as many as 2020. The players from teams sitting out will be made available to the other clubs through a draft process.

Most notable of all? There’ll be fans in attendance. As you might’ve guessed, television rights fees won’t support this particular ballplaying business — even in part. While you may have heard of the St. Paul Saints and even a few other American Association clubs, it’s the gate or nothing when it comes to staging a season.

Full details aren’t yet clear, but the league says it’ll employ measures to modify the in-game experience “to allow for safe social distancing while enjoying a live, professional baseball game.” The three hub cities — Fargo, North Dakota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota — were selected in large part because live attendance was permissible under local regulations.

The word on the street is that we’ll likely see designated hitters in the National League in 2020. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported over the weekend that it’d be in the restart proposal from Major League Baseball. And now Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets that the players are expected to approve.

Whether the universal DH stays beyond an unusual 2020 season remains to be seen. There has been plenty of talk of attempting some temporary rule changes and then re-assessing them as potential permanent fixtures. The league and players would still need to agree to a post-2020 DH after the fact.

If indeed we see a sudden introduction of the DH, National League teams will have quite a lot to think about. After all, they didn’t compile their rosters with that in mind. We’ll be examining each team in detail over the coming days.

In the long run, if the change sticks, it won’t be hard for NL teams to adapt to the new rule. It isn’t as if American League outfits haven’t had decades to play with different approaches. With thirty DH slots around the game, along with a 26th active roster spot, it’d also be quite a lot easier for veteran slugger types to hang on a while longer at the tail end of their careers.

For now, purists can hope it’s only temporary. But if we’re being honest, it’s a bit difficult to imagine this change being pulled back once it goes into effect. Players have long sought the universal DH, believing it creates added earning opportunities for veterans, and there’s an argument that it’s a favorable development for the game overall since it eliminates pitcher plate appearances. (There are countervailing arguments, of course.) At minimum, teams will likely be focused primarily on other bargaining points when it comes to conceiving of the game in 2021 and beyond.