The supposed spring training 2.0 would likely have been in Florida for the New York Yankees and the rest of Major League Baseball if coronavirus hadn’t returned in full force.
The virus is setting new highs in cases across the state, and players are continuously being added to a list of infected people down south. The Yankees, due to this unfortunate reality, could move spring training to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
The club is likely discussing the possibility of hosting it in New York, considering the decrease in cases and deaths across the board. The team has been confident they would return to Florida to finish spring training and prepare for a shortened regular season, but those goals are now becoming a bit more tumultuous.
There’s an issue for the New York Yankees if they host spring training in Yankee Stadium:
The primary issue is space, as Yankee Stadium can only host so many players. Steinbrenner field is spacious, and the club’s minor league complex is less than a mile away. With eight fields available, cutting it down to just one would be a tough change of events. Nonetheless, the Yankees have to protect our players if they want the regular season to start on time. A small group of players have been working out at Steinbrenner Field, while most have been waiting out the process at home and quarantining appropriately. According to Newsday, Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Taylor Wade, Gleyber Torres, and J.A. Happ are the players that have remained in the Sunshine State.
However, if the regular season does begin eventually, which is becoming difficult due to the financial negotiations between team owners and the Players Association, it will likely have to be hosted in a remote location with low per-capita cases of the virus.
Florida recorded 3,207 new cases on Wednesday, breaking the 2,783 new ones on Tuesday. New York has consistently seen a decrease in COVID-19 numbers, which promotes the idea of moving spring training over to the Bronx.