Major League Baseball is set to return. The MLB Players Association (MLBPA) informed the league on Tuesday that players will comply with commissioner Rob Manfred's imposed outline for a 2020 season. Players are set report for another version of "spring" training on July 1, and the league's imposed 60-game season will start July 24, CBS Sports HQ's Jim Bowden reported Tuesday. The two sides have also finalized health and safety protocols on Tuesday night, the union said.
MLB owners voted unanimously Monday night to have Manfred mandate a season. In a statement, Manfred had requested that the players respond by 5 p.m. ET so that the league could proceed with scheduling that imposed season. The league and players failed to reach a modified agreement for a 2020 season after weeks of negotiations and Manfred had the right to impose a schedule thanks to a deal the two sides struck in March.
The negotiations about a return-to-play plan stalled when it came to the length of the season and the financial compensation players would receive. The union's ability to file a grievance against the league, which could result in a substantial cash windfall, also became a matter of importance later in the talks.
Originally, the league had submitted a 67-page proposal outlining all the safety and testing protocols that would be installed this season. Little else had been leaked about negotiations concerning those regulations, though the two sides were suggested to be closer than not, with the league bending to players' requests for greater access to medical and training equipment.
It's worth noting that 40 MLB players and staff members reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus in recent days. MLB has also reportedly ordered all spring training sites to be closed and sanitized, and personnel must test negative for COVID-19 before being allowed to return.
Here are five other things to know about the 2020 MLB season.
1. Teams to submit 60-player rosters
Predictably, things are going to move at a rapid pace. That includes teams submitting 60-player rosters for big-league spring training, with that list due to the league office by Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, according to The Athletic's Jayson Stark.
Stark added in a subsequent tweet that teams don't have to invite all 40 of their players on the 40-player roster to camp, but that those players must be paid regardless of their invite status.
2. Transaction freeze to end this week
On a related note, teams will be able to make transactions again beginning Friday at noon, per Stark. Between that and the subsequent 60-player submission deadline, it's possible that baseball sees its first trades in months before the end of the week.
3. Trade deadline will fall in August
Speaking of trades, MLB will have a trade deadline this year after all. Instead of falling on July 31, it'll come a month later, on August 31. Unlike in most years, that will represent the midway point of the season.
4. COVID-specific inactive list
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, MLB will have a COVID-19-specific inactive list that players will be placed on if and when they test positive or show symptoms. There will be no set amount of time for the player to sit out, unlike the injured list, which requires hitters to miss at least 10 days.
5. Unsigned players head to Nashville?
Here's perhaps the most surprising element of the details revealed so far. Per Stark, MLB has talked with the city of Nashville about hosting two teams of unsigned players who would be paid to remain in shape as potential replacement players, should the need arise during the season. Teams would then have to pay to add these players. It's unclear exactly who would be involved and how it would work, but it's worth knowing that it's a possibility being discussed.
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