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It seems that Major League Baseball would prefer to avoid a repeat of the Astros’ sign-stealing debacle, a scandal that only worsened when individual players escaped punishment due to a lack of a punitive framework and an exchange of immunity for information.

There’s a new structure for dealing with such matters, should they arise in the future, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic (subscription link). MLB and the MLB Players Association have agreed to a series of rules that are designed to foreclose the round of controversy we’ve seen recently from the Astros and other teams.

The key here is that the commissioner’s office now has authority to impose suspensions — without pay and service time — against players and personnel. Punishment can be assessed upon a violation of the broad prohibition of utilizing “Electronic Devices or Visual Enhancement Devices during the game to identify, communicate or relay the opposing club’s signs or pitch information.”

There are some added protections for players. They’ll get union representation while the league investigates. Much as in the context of the domestic violence policy, the league will start fresh in terms of precedent for suspension lengths (at least for players). It’ll all be subject to appeal and final determination  by a neutral arbitrator.

The league is also stepping up its monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. The video review rooms will be isolated and communications strictly limited; ultimately, cameras will watch over the proceedings. Trained security professionals from a third-party vendor will watch the door to the doors even to the clubhouse; notably, they’ll be given authority to document and even confront any players or personnel that violate rules such as the ban on in-game cellphone access.

For the time being, players will not be able to watch any kind of live or video feed during a game that features an angle of action that would reveal signs. That will ultimately change, but the league needs time to sort out a system for blotting out signs in the feeds its players will be allowed to access.

It’s all a game of whack-a-mole to some extent, but there’s a key backstop now — a clear threat of suspension — that was lacking previously. The new system is a reflection of the inadequacy of the old one. It would be an improvement if it could ferret out and adequately punish cheaters, but the league hopes for more. If this slate of initiatives really works, the likelihood of being exposed and fear of significant punishment will prevent would-be rule-breakers from even trying.

MLB’s pro scouts are itching to get back in the ballpark, but it sounds like they’ll have to wait. The 2020 campaign will begin without live scouts, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

This is a disappointment for those who’d hoped to see baseball’s birddogs occupying otherwise all-but-empty ballparks during the television-only season launch. They will just have to keep watching film for the time being.

There is a glimmer of hope here. Per Rosenthal, Major League Baseball will consider loosening the restrictions once the campaign is underway. Presumably, it wouldn’t be especially challenging to allow entry from a logistical standpoint. Doing so might even offer an opportunity for teams to shake down their protocols for potential reentry of live spectators.

The broader worry from some segments within the game is the long-term fate of in-person scouting. Baseball America’s Josh Norris recently examined the matter in full. Getting looks on video certainly trims costs, though most scouts believe live attendance is crucial to their job.

In what amounts to a statement of optimism, Major League Baseball has decided to announce the schedule for the 2021 season much earlier than is usual — and before the current campaign has even begun. Each team’s Twitter account has provided the relevant schedule, for those that want a closer look.

The plan is for Opening Day to take place on April 1st, with every team launching play on the same day. The regular season would run through October 3rd, assuming no interruptions.

As you’d expect, the 2020 season’s unusual scheduling provisions are going to be a one-time approach. The typical breakdown of games will be utilized in 2021. Interleague play will be geographic, with the respective East, Central, and West divisions playing one another.

There’s no indication as of yet as to what kind of attendance expectations the league has. Needless to say, that will depend upon quite a few as-yet-unknown developments in the interim.

In a typical MLB season, many former big leaguers are kicking around in the upper minors and independent leagues, ready to grab an opportunity when one arises. In a 2020 campaign that won’t feature any minor-league play, that won’t quite be the case. While many players will be participants in MLB 60-man player pools, not all potentially worthwhile candidates landed a spot.

Accordingly, there has been chatter about a small, unaffiliated, two-team “league” in which former big leaguers and upper-level minor-leaguers would play. The players would stay fresh and gain a showcases opportunity.

It turns out that the idea wasn’t driven by Major League Baseball, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic explains in an interesting report. The Nashville Sounds, presently the Triple-A affiliate of the Rangers, arrived upon the concept as a way to generate some revenue. It’s a whole different model from a typical affiliated minor-league club, more akin to an independent league effort.

The plan is for two teams of 22-man rosters to compete during the MLB season. In conjunction with the organization More Than Baseball, the Sounds are working on non-traditional means of bringing in revenue, including crowd-sourced payments and various media concepts. It seems there’s some possibility of R.A. Dickey and/or Ben Zobrist — long-time MLB regulars that live nearby — appearing in some form or fashion.

It’s both an appealing and complicated undertaking for a variety of reasons. It certainly could function as a service to out-of-work players. But there are risks, too. Traditional injury concerns are present along with pandemic-related health issues, all without the deep pockets of Major League Baseball. Ensuring fair player compensation and protection will be tricky. Dealing with mid-“season” roster changes could introduce new challenges.

You’ll want to read the entire article to understand the full scope of the effort. It certainly sounds as if those involved are pursuing this with good intentions and strong player engagement. But translating those positive vibes into a worthwhile campaign will certainly be tricky.

Even as it deals with early coronavirus testing stumbles, Major League Baseball has unveiled significant aspects of its 2020 schedule. You can find the full slate at MLB.com.

As is evident from a brief scan of the schedules, this won’t be a typical season. Even beyond the shortened format, there’s a notable realignment of the regular season. Opening Day is July 23rd.

Two-thirds of the contests will occur against division rivals, but each of those series will be unbalanced in terms of the home-park mix. The remainder of the contests are interleague affairs between teams of corresponding geographic divisions.

Teams are releasing information in a bit of an ad hoc manner, it appears, with MLB Network revealing the series matchups and clubs following up with specific dates and times. Obviously there could be quite a lot of modification as the season goes on, depending upon the course of the coronavirus pandemic in various localities.

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.