Major League Baseball may be getting a bit closer to their first pitch of 2020. According to CNN, the league is asking if the players could be ready to report for spring training camp by July 1 and if the player’s union will agree on health and safety protocols.
MLB said in a statement released on Monday (6/22), “In order to produce a schedule with a specific number of games, we are asking that the Players Association provide to us by 5:00 p.m. (ET) tomorrow with two pieces of information. The first is whether players will be able to report to camp within seven days (by July 1st). The second is whether the Players Association will agree on the Operating Manual which contains the health and safety protocols necessary to give us the best opportunity to conduct and complete our regular season and Postseason.”
The latest development comes after weeks of negotiations between the MLB and the union in which the two sides could not agree on terms for a 2020 season.
According to the March agreement, if a partial season is played, players would receive a prorated salary. The March agreement also said that both MLB and the MLBPA would make their best effort to schedule as many games as possible for the 2020 season.