Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the MLB is working on a new plan where the league could restart by the end of June with teams playing in home stadiums. In this plan, players would not have to be isolated.
This plan is huge news. Players have previously expressed concern about being isolated and away from family for months down south. This plan solves that.
Once the plan is officially set, teams would give players and staff around a week to report to spring training sites before three weeks of training. It’s unclear if there will be games, or if there will just be practices and inter-squad scrimmages.
In an effort to reduce travel, there will most likely be three divisions of 10 teams rather than six divisions of 5 teams. Most rivals would be paired in the same divisions anyway, and a universal DH would almost certainly be implemented. The season would be at least 100 games long. Scheduled double-headers could still be on the table to get more games in, and rosters will likely be expanded past 26 men.
Now for the postseason, that may end up being played neutrally at warm-weather or indoor sites. It will be dependent on how late into October the season extends into. The postseason is also expected to be expanded for the season.
This news is also great news for minor-league baseball, who’s season was even more at risk. If major-league teams can play at their home stadiums, so can minor-league teams. They don’t travel nearly as far as major-league teams do anyway so it will be much safer for them.
This plan seems very realistic and optimistic for the MLB, players, coaches, and fans as well as minor-league counterparts.