Ladies and gentlemen, Major League Baseball could be back as early as next week.
The MLB Players Association on Tuesday informed the league that players have agreed to report to their respective training camps by July 1 ahead of a 60-game season, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.
The deal reportedly hasn’t been finalized, however, as there’s just one hurdle left for the two sides to overcome. The parties have yet to agree to the health and safety protocols that will be in place once the 2020 season begins, per Passan and Sherman. These guidelines have been a major sticking point for players, as they’ll be required to sign an “acknowledgment of risk” before playing.
That said, Sherman says the two sides are “working on it.”
The Major League Baseball Players Association has agreed to report to training camps by July 1 and play a 60-game season, sources tell ESPN, but deal is not finalized yet.
One last health-and-safety hurdle to get over and Major League Baseball will be back a week from tomorrow.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 23, 2020
Source: union has informed MLB plan is for players to be in spring training by 7/1 and play the 60-g season, both proposed by MLB. Sides have NOT finalized health/safety protocols, but working on it.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) June 23, 2020
The players gave MLB commissioner Rob Manfred control of the season Monday after rejecting the league’s latest proposal. MLB owners later voted in favor of honoring their March 26 deal with the players.
Training camps are expected to be held in each teams’ home city after a surge in COVID-19 cases in both Florida and Arizona, where teams typically train for an upcoming season.
