[ESPN] MLB suspends spring training, delays Opening Day at least two weeks

And we are actually going to disprove the theory once and for all that the playoffs are just a crapshoot. I have no doubt 60 games will result in nearly all the same teams making the playoffs that did it last year. Small sample, same result. Mark it down. Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, Rays, Nationals, Cardinals, and Braves. They will all beat down the dawgs in 60 games or less. It’s predictable and there won’t be a hypothetical anymore. This is it.

 

Don’t the media vote on MVP?

 

It's almost as if both sides are actively trying to piss their fans off.

He's an ******* but he's not an idiot.

 

Part of the earlier proposals was a "no grievance" clause...I'm guessing that's off the table?

 

This better be ****ing temporary, because that's total candyass froufrou bullsh!t.

 

Spoiler

https://theathletic.com/1889615/202...t-the-2020-mlb-season-and-other-new-wrinkles/

The schedule

In an effort to minimize travel as much as possible, teams will play all 60 games only against their own division and the corresponding interleague division. Those 60 games will be laid out this way:

• VERSUS OWN DIVISION: Every team will play 10 games apiece against each of the other four teams in its division, for a total of 40 games. Those games would largely be broken down into three-game and two-game series.

• VERSUS INTERLEAGUE DIVISION: Each club will play a total of 20 games against the corresponding interleague division (i.e., East versus East, Central versus Central, West versus West). Six of those games would be against a team’s interleague “rival” (Yankees-Mets, Cubs-White Sox, etc.). The breakdown of the other 14 games has yet to be finalized, but is expected to involve each team playing two interleague opponents three times apiece and the other two clubs four times apiece.

• EASIEST TRAVEL: The 10 NL East and AL East teams will never leave their time zone, so they will have by far the most manageable travel load. The Yankees and Mets, for instance, will play just four teams located more than 240 miles from New York (Rays, Blue Jays, Marlins, Braves).

• HARDEST TRAVEL: The 10 NL West and AL West clubs will be forced to cover three time zones (West, Mountain, Central). And while that’s nothing new in a normal year, it’s a major travel challenge in a season like this, at least compared with the other four divisions.

• EASIEST SCHEDULES: In such an aberrational year, this is tough to predict. But if we go off last season’s standings, the Twins and Indians will play just four teams that had a winning record last year.

• HARDEST SCHEDULES: See above. But again, going off last season’s standings, the Marlins, Orioles and Blue Jays will play seven teams that had records of .500 or better last year.

• LET’S NOT PLAY TWO: Three months ago, there was talk about playing doubleheaders as regularly as once a week, in an attempt to squeeze as many games as possible into a tight window. Now, with health-and-safety protocols dictating teams spend as little time at the park as possible, the tentative schedule will include no scheduled doubleheaders. But with only a handful of off days in a nine-week season, virtually every postponement — either for weather or virus-related reasons — would now have to be made up as part of a doubleheader. So because scheduled doubleheaders would actually limit the ability to reschedule postponed games, that’s one more reason the schedule was laid out with zero doubleheaders.

• INDIVIDUAL TEAM SCHEDULES: For the moment, this schedule is just in tentative form because the players’ union has the right to approve and propose changes to it. So until that process is complete, no further details will be released. As of Tuesday night, teams we surveyed hadn’t even seen drafts of their own schedule, let alone final versions.

Rule changes

• UNIVERSAL DH: For at least the 2020 season (and postseason), all teams will use a designated hitter, marking the first time in history that pitchers won’t hit at any point in a major-league season. As of now, that is for one year only, so the rules in 2021 would revert to their previous incarnation — meaning pitchers would bat in the National League next year (for now). But that’s subject to negotiation, and it’s viewed as unlikely that pitchers will ever hit again in North American professional baseball, except under unusual circumstances.

• EXTRA INNINGS: In an experiment fueled by health-and-safety concerns, all extra innings will now begin with a runner on second base until one team wins. Despite reports that some games could end in a tie, that would be for spring-training exhibitions only. This rule applies only to the regular season only and would be dropped during the postseason. According to Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper, after the minor leagues adapted this rule two years ago, the percentage of extra-inning games decided in the first extra inning rose from 45 percent in 2016-17 to 73 percent in 2018-19.

• POSITION PLAYERS PITCHING: MLB will reverse its new rule which would have allowed position players to pitch only in blowout games or in extra innings. The new rule for 2020 permits position players to pitch at any point of any game.

• SUSPENDED GAMES: You know those games that start and get rained out before the fifth inning (i.e., before they’re considered “official’)? You won’t be seeing any of those this year. Any games that start, but are then halted by weather, will now be considered suspended games — meaning they will be resumed at the point where they were stopped. The purpose of this rule is to avoid long weather delays in an era in which health officials advise having players together at the ballpark for as little time as possible.

Other new wrinkles

• SIGNINGS AND TRANSACTIONS: All 30 teams have been working under a transactions freeze since March, preventing them from adding major-league players. That freeze ends Friday at noon ET.

• THE 60-PLAYER POOL: With no minor-league season to serve as a reservoir for extra players, all teams will carry a pool of 60 players — about half of whom will be part of a taxi squad assigned to an alternate site not located at the team’s home park. Teams will need to submit the names of those 60 players by Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Clubs can invite as many as all 60 of those players to their major-league spring training camp, but players not on the 40-man roster also can be assigned to an alternate spring training site.

• ROSTER SIZE: Teams will be allowed to carry 30 players on their big-league roster for the first two weeks of the season, then get down to 28 on the 15th day of the season and then to 26 two weeks after that. The new rule that was supposed to limit the number of pitchers on a roster has been waived because of the unusual circumstances of the season.

• THE AGE OF PERSONALIZATION: All hitters will now have to bring their own pine-tar rags, bat donuts and other equipment to and from the on-deck circle — and will have to retrieve their own caps, gloves and sunglasses from the dugout if an inning ends with them on base or batting. All pitchers will now have to bring their own rosin bag to the mound and use only their own baseballs for bullpen sessions. And baseballs used in batting practice can be used only that day, then need to be cleaned and sanitized, and not be re-used for at least five days. So one thing is clear: Teams are going to have to have thousands of baseballs in the old storage closet.

 

I would rather they just allow ties and move on than this cr@p.

 

Spoiler

https://theathletic.com/1889996/2020/06/24/twelve-questions-about-the-return-of-baseball-in-2020/

Here we go. Players will report to Spring Training 2.0 by July 1. Major League Baseball has submitted a 60-game regular-season schedule for the Players Association to review. The league anticipates Opening Day will be July 23 or 24.

A normal season is full of questions. An abbreviated, unprecedented season taking place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic will produce even more. The league produced a 101-page operations manual, a copy of which was obtained by The Athletic, that covers health and safety protocols, modifications of playing rules and other items for 2020.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous and unprecedented impact on our daily lives, our families and our communities,” the introduction to the manual states. “This is a challenging time, but we will meet the challenge by continuing to work together. Adherence to the health and safety protocols described in this manual will increase our likelihood of being successful. We hope that resuming baseball will, in its own small way, return a sense of normalcy and aid in recovery.”

The manual almost certainly will evolve if additional issues arise from the pandemic. Even if the season proceeds without interruption, it will be unlike any we have seen before. Here are 12 of the questions that occurred to us, followed by answers that in some cases are subject to change.

What is the biggest fear among executives?

An outbreak of COVID-19 obviously ranks as No. 1. Otherwise, the answer is the same as it is in a normal season, but at a time of a greater risk: Injuries.

Players have been working out individually and in some cases groups, but the sport will have been shut down more than 3 1/2 months when Spring Training 2.0 starts on July 1, and camp will last about 3 1/2 weeks. Executives expect the rapid buildup after the long layoff might create trouble.

The larger rosters at the start of the season will help: Teams will carry 30 players for the first two weeks and 28 for the two weeks after that before reducing to 26, the new limit that was to take effect this season. But a greater number of soft-tissue injuries — hamstrings, groins, obliques, etc. — generally occur in the early months. And the rate of those injuries might be even higher once play resumes, as players return to game speed.

Pitchers, too, figure to be at even greater risk than usual as they seek to quickly regain arm strength. The proposed schedule — 60 games in 66 days — will be more condensed than a typical 162-game season, creating additional concerns about usage.

What happens if teams run out of players?

Such a problem seems unlikely to arise with each club drawing from a 60-man player pool, but it’s not out of the question a team could lose, say, all of its catchers to some combination of injuries and COVID-19.

So, with the minor leagues dormant, MLB plans to obtain scouting video and data from independent leagues that plan to operate around the country. The Triple A Nashville Sounds are talking about organizing a “league” for their ballpark. The league would sign players, stage games, sell tickets, the works. Plenty of minor-league free agents, some with major-league experience, are looking for work.

MLB expects other minor-league teams to do something similar to Nashville and allow major-league teams to sign their players for a fee, operating the same way independent leagues normally do.

What about that crazy extra-innings rule?

Let’s start with other changes first.

For the first time, the designated hitter will be used in both leagues. All pitchers may carry a small wet rag in their back pocket to be used for moisture in lieu of licking their fingers. And in spring training games, the retire-the-side rule will be relaxed, so that a defensive manager might end a pitcher’s inning prior to three outs following any completed plate appearance, provided the pitcher has thrown at least 25 pitches.

Extra innings, you ask? They will take on an entirely different look — a look that originated in the minor leagues.

Each half-inning following the ninth inning will begin with a runner on second base. The runner will be the player in the batting order immediately preceding that half-inning’s leadoff hitter. But if that player is to be the pitcher, the manager can opt for the player preceding the pitcher in the batting order instead.

For the purpose of calculating earned runs, the runner who begins the inning on second will be deemed to reached that spot because of a fielding error. No error, however, shall be charged to the opposing team or to any player. The pitcher would not be charged with an earned run.

Jayson Stark has more.

Will teams actually make trades?

Of course! Baseball executives are some of the most competitive people on the planet. Some skirt the rules and, ahem, occasionally break them. So, given a chance to improve their club before Aug. 31 — the trade deadline for this season only — expect those in contention to pursue upgrades in their usual frenzied manner.

Prior to last season, when MLB switched to a single deadline on July 31, teams completed waiver trades right up until Aug. 31, after which newly acquired players no longer were eligible for postseason rosters. Just as in the past, execs might not give up much for one-month rentals. But such players arguably will be more valuable in a 60-game regular season, when each game will carry 2.7 times the weight it does during a normal 162-game schedule. A trade acquisition who helps his club advance to the World Series would be a team member for nearly two of the four months of play.

The shorter season figures to make for tighter races and potentially fewer non-contenders, but teams that fade likely will be eager to dump as much salary as possible. A player traveling to change teams in the middle of a pandemic might be at greater risk, but players will be tested every other day regardless of the uniform they are wearing.

Get ready for the movement to begin: The sport’s transaction freeze will be lifted Friday at noon ET.

How will overseas players return to the United States?

On jets chartered by MLB in many cases, with the State Department providing an assist.

That’s right, MLB is working with the government to expedite visas and obtain clearance for players to return safely from foreign countries.

The exact details are not yet known, but the operations manual includes a section on visas, noting that U.S. consulates around the world have closed temporarily and are only accepting emergency cases.

Which countries will be involved? How many planes will be required? Will immediate family members be permitted on the jets? Details to come.

 

Spoiler

What about showers and sunflower seeds and hugs?

Spitting, smokeless tobacco and sunflower seeds are all prohibited, according to the health and safety protocols.

Players, coaches, managers and athletic trainers “must avoid” high fives, fist bumps and hugs, and if physical contact is unavoidable, a lot of hand washing is mandated.

Showering is “discouraged but not prohibited,” but only Tier 1 people — those in uniform and some of the support staff — can shower at the park. Teams can limit the number of people showering at a given time.

What happens to people at greater risk for COVID-19?

Every team’s doctor must identify people inside the organization who are considered high risk, which MLB and the union define as individuals “who, by virtue of their age and/or medical history, are at a materially higher risk of developing severe illness or complications from COVID-19 exposure.” Team doctors, too, must identify people who reside with or have close, regular contact with people at high risk. Medical histories will be reviewed.

Any team with high-risk individuals is afforded leeway to add special measures. Those could include providing separate entrances and separate or private spaces at a ball park, and ensuring the individuals spend only as much time at the stadium as is necessary, among other suggestions.

Anyone who is high risk can choose to sit out the 2020 season. For players, that would mean placement on a new list: the COVID-19 Related Injured List, which has no time limit. (A player who is not high risk does not have to test positive to be placed on the list. But a positive test, confirmed exposure to COVID-19 or symptoms that require self-isolation all can allow a team to place a player on the list.)

High-risk players who sit out the season will be paid and receive service time. There does not appear to be a league-wide policy regarding pay for high-risk employees who are not players and choose to sit out. One club source said that would be handled on a team-by-team basis.

What about players who live with high-risk individuals?

Players who live with or are regularly in close contact with individuals at high risk also could sit out, but would not automatically receive pay and service. The union attempted to carve out that requirement but ultimately the league balked, likely fearing potential loopholes.

Teams still can choose to be accommodating, however. Consider, for example, a player whose wife is pregnant, or who has a child who is high risk. If such a player opted out, he technically would not be in line to receive pay or service, according to the new protocols. But, alternatively, a player could go on the Paternity List for the maximum of three days and receive both pay and service time, as is normally the case. The player then could potentially extend time away by going on the Family Medical Emergency List for a maximum of seven days.

More time after that would likely demand placement on the restricted list. But teams can also give full service and pay to players in those situations if they choose, and perhaps in these conditions, they would do just that.

MLB and the union formed a four-person committee to oversee health matters: one doctor appointed by both sides, and one representative from both of the parties. That committee can settle any problems that arise, including disputes over who qualifies as high risk. An independent expert would break any tie if the four-person group were deadlocked.

How will testing work?

The MLBPA pushed hard to have testing done as frequently as possible. Testing will extend well beyond players, to a group the MLB operations manual simply calls “covered individuals.”

COVID-19 testing includes three phases for those without symptoms: prescreening, arrival screening and regular monitoring. Most diagnostic testing likely will be done via saliva.

Prescreening: Three or four days before arriving at spring training, covered individuals must submit a questionnaire about symptoms and exposure.
Intake: Roughly two or three days before reporting to camp, players (and all covered individuals) will have a temperature check, a saliva or nose-swab test for diagnosis and a blood test for antibodies.
Regular monitoring: Covered individuals will have their temperature and symptoms checked at least twice per day. All Tier 1 individuals, which includes everyone in uniform as well as trainers, physical therapists and strength coaches, will have saliva tests every other day. Everyone else is to undergo testing multiple times per week. The frequency can change if need be. Results are expected in about 24 hours. About once per month, everyone will also have antibody tests.
To handle MLB’s testing load, the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, is converting part of its anti-doping laboratory into a COVID-19 testing center.

The league wanted all players to sign an “acknowledgement of risk” form that was aimed at minimizing players’ rights to challenge negligent or otherwise harmful conduct. The union pushed back and MLB ultimately rescinded its proposal.

What if someone shows symptoms or tests positive?


Anyone with a temperature above 100.4 degrees can’t enter a ball park and must self-isolate. If symptoms develop once someone is already on site, they have to self-isolate immediately.

If someone seems like they may have COVID-19 they will be evaluated and be subject to an immediate, expedited saliva test somewhere near the club facility. Another test would be sent away to Salt Lake City as well as confirmation.

Teams have to identify anyone in the organization who had close contact with the person showing symptoms and closely monitor them, and those people may also be given expedited tests. Teams will also disinfect their facilities at that point as well.

If someone tests positive, they have to be in daily communication remotely with club staff, and would have regular follow-up testing at a frequency the team doctor would determine. They can’t travel or be around the team.

Anyone who is only showing symptoms has to continue to stay away until tests come back negative, they show no symptoms as documented by a doctor and a doctor also approves their return.

Anyone who ultimately tests positive has greater requirements to return. They have to test negative twice at least 24 hours apart, they cannot have had a fever in at least 72 hours and must have taken an antibody test. If the doctor thinks it’s necessary, they can call for a cardiac evaluation; and ultimately, the doctors caring for the person — as well as the Joint Committee between the league and union — all must say there is no longer any present risk of infection.

Every team is to have its own COVID-19 plan, detailing local housing options, contact information for health officials and a slew of other points.

What if a team has a larger outbreak?

It would depend on the scale, ultimately. But the ill players all would have to follow the above self-isolation and care procedures, and the players likely would be replaced by those in the organization who are healthy, a source said.

So, how long will the new labor peace last?

Who said there was peace?

The Players Association has given every indication it will file a grievance accusing the league of failing to make the best effort to play as long a season as possible.

The league likely would respond with a grievance of its own, also charging bad faith in the negotiations. Any legal maneuverings, however, would serve as a backdrop to the season (and possibly next) and not disrupt play.

From the union’s perspective, the grievance might create leverage for the upcoming collective-bargaining talks. A resolution would be unlikely to occur before the current agreement expired on Dec. 1, 2021.

But enough talk about labor, for at least a brief moment. It is time, at last, to play ball. COVID-19 permitting.

 

Showering is “discouraged but not prohibited”

Hell, I've been doing it right this whole time.

 

The Nationals were below .500 last year after 60 games...

 

What are the chances a fan/reporter knowingly has covid and attempts to infect an opposing team during the playoffs? The Astros better lock themselves in their rooms because a lot of people will be out for them.

 

And in 2018 we were in 2nd place to the Mariners almost 70 games into the season.

I'm sure most of the teams will be legit, but if there's not at least 2 or 3 WTF playoff teams I'll be shocked. If this season even plays to conclusion to begin with

 

Debate ends this year. No more cherry picking parts of the season for you or the seal clubber. That's lazy. We are testing your theory for real.

 

Alright, I’ve got some time on my hands, so here’s my breakdown of the schedule...

10 games against each divisional opponent.

Worst case: 4-6 vs A’s, 5-5 vs Angels, 5-5 vs Mariners, 5-5 vs Rangers.
Worst case divisional record: 19-21

Realistic case: 6-4 vs A’s, 6-4 vs Angels, 7-3 vs Mariners, 7-3 vs Rangers.
Realistic divisional record: 26-14 (could easily see this being closer to 30 wins against our division).

Against NL West: We don’t know exactly how the games will be divided, but I’m guessing they put us against either the Rockies or DBacks as our NL “rival” due to the fact those are the two closest NL West teams to Houston. So let’s say we get 6 games against the DBacks just for the sake of projecting this out.

In Stark’s article he says that the plan is then for teams to play two other inter league teams 4 times and the other two teams 3 times. For the sake of travel, I would assume we will play the Rockies 4 times. After the Rockies and DBacks, the rest of the NL West are Cali teams so all of them require further travel. Let’s assume the MLB wants greater entertainment value and puts us against the Dodgers for 4 games. That leaves 3 games against the Giants and 3 against the Padres.

So, a theoretical breakdown of our games against the NL West could look like this:

6 vs DBacks (assume TEX gets COL as “rival” since they’re closer to Denver).
Worst case: 3-3
Realistic: 4-2

4 vs Rockies (closer than Cali teams)
Worst case: 2-2
Realistic: 3-1 (coors effect creates unpredictable games)

4 vs Dodgers (entertainment value)
Worst case: 1-3
Realistic: 2-2 (they’re a great team)

3 vs Padres: (far travel/less entertainment value)
Worst case: 1-2
Realistic: 2-1

3 vs Giants: (Far travel/less entertainment value)
Worst case: 1-2
Realistic: 3-0

Worst case vs NL West: 8-12
Realistic case vs NL West: 14-6

Worst Case 2020 record: 27-33
I don’t see this happening unless there’s a crazy amount of injuries/Covid cases on the team.

Realistic 2020 record: 40-20
This would easily put us as one of the top few teams in baseball and would have us in contention for the top seed in the AL. I could easily see us finishing even a few games better than this as long as we escape major injuries/star players coming down with Covid.

 

I think it'll be the exact opposite. Smaller sample makes a hot streak or cold streak mean so much more. The other poster already mentioned the Nationals. If a team falls behind it'll be very difficult to catch back up, and vice versa.

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-obscenely-late-obscenely-early-zips-projected-standings/

Code:

Team                W     L     GB    PCT     Div%      WC%   Playoff%    WS Win%
New York Yankees    37    23    —     .617    46.5%    20.0%    66.5%       8.8%
Tampa Bay Rays      35    25    2     .583    34.1%    22.3%    56.4%       6.6%
Boston Red Sox      30    30    7     .500    13.9%    17.9%    31.8%       2.7%
Toronto Blue Jays   27    33    10    .450     5.1%    10.0%    15.1%       1.0%
Baltimore Orioles   19    41    18    .317     0.4%     0.9%     1.3%       0.1%

Team                 W     L    GB    PCT     Div%      WC%    Playoff%    WS Win%
Minnesota Twins      35    25    —    .583    40.6%    17.5%    58.1%        7.0%
Cleveland Indians    34    26    1    .567    31.9%    18.3%    50.2%        5.5%
Chicago White Sox    31    29    4    .517    19.5%    16.8%    36.2%        3.4%
Kansas City Royals   26    34    9    .433     5.8%     8.3%    14.2%        0.9%
Detroit Tigers       23    37    12   .383     2.2%     3.5%     5.7%        0.3%

Team                 W     L    GB    PCT     Div%      WC%    Playoff%    WS Win%
Houston Astros       36    24    —    .600    44.0%    16.8%    60.9%        7.6%
Oakland A’s          33    27    3    .550    30.0%    18.7%    48.8%        5.2%
Los Angeles Angels   30    30    6    .500    16.6%    15.8%    32.4%        2.9%
Texas Rangers        27    33    9    .450     8.0%    10.7%    18.7%        1.3%
Seattle Mariners     22    38    14    .367    1.4%     2.6%     4.0%        0.2%

Team                 W     L    GB    PCT     Div%      WC%    Playoff%    WS Win%
Atlanta Braves       34    26    —    .567    31.3%    17.6%    48.8%        4.9%
Washington Nationals 34    26    —    .567    32.4%    17.5%    49.9%        5.0%
New York Mets        31    29    3    .517    17.3%    15.4%    32.7%        2.7%
Philadelphia Phillies30    30    4    .500    15.6%    14.8%    30.4%        2.4%
Miami Marlins        24    36    10   .400     3.4%     5.0%     8.4%        0.5%

Team                 W     L    GB    PCT     Div%      WC%    Playoff%    WS Win%
Chicago Cubs         32    28    —    .533    27.6%    14.5%    42.1%        3.9%
Milwaukee Brewers    31    29    1    .517    23.4%    13.7%    37.1%        3.3%
St. Louis Cardinals  31    29    1    .517    21.9%    13.7%    35.6%        3.1%
Cincinnati Reds      31    29    1    .517    20.4%    13.3%    33.7%        2.9%
Pittsburgh Pirates   26    34    6    .433     6.7%     7.1%    13.8%        0.9%

Team                 W     L    GB    PCT     Div%      WC%    Playoff%    WS Win%
Los Angeles Dodgers  38    22    —    .633    57.7%    15.2%    73.0%        9.7%
San Diego Padres     32    28    6    .533    21.4%    20.6%    42.0%        3.7%
Arizona Diamondbacks 30    30    8    .500    13.4%    17.1%    30.5%        2.3%
Colorado Rockies     26    34    12    .433    4.5%     8.5%    12.9%        0.8%
San Francisco Giants 25    35    13    .417    3.0%     6.0%     9.0%        0.5%

 

Spoiler

At long last, the public bickering is over and a baseball season will be attempted. MLB has asked players to report to their respective home cities by July 1 for the start of a three-week spring training. A 60-game regular season — by far the shortest in MLB history — is scheduled to begin on July 23 or July 24.

The exact schedule hasn’t been released yet, but it will call for the Astros to play 40 games against their usual AL West opponents (the Rangers, Angels, A’s and Mariners) and 20 games against the NL West teams (the Dodgers, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Giants).

Rosters will grow from 26 to 30, at least for the first part of the season. They will dip to 28 two weeks into the season and back to 26 after two additional weeks. Another 30 players will make up a taxi squad. Teams will have to finalize their 60-player pool by Sunday.

Now, the big unknown: will the sport be able to function safely without having to shut down again because of the spread of the coronavirus? For the Astros, the resumption of spring training will come against the backdrop of a rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Houston and in Texas as a whole. MLB and the players’ association agreed Tuesday to a slew of health and safety protocols that will be implemented. But will anything short of a bubble concept be enough?

Getting through spring training will be the first test. If teams can do it successfully, it will make for at least some modicum of normalcy in the sports world. Next week, Astros players will filter back into Minute Maid Park and resume training as a group for the first time since March, when they were in West Palm Beach, Fla. Once they take the field again, these five questions will be the front burner ahead of Opening Day.

Is everyone healthy?

Players and coaches will be tested for the coronavirus when they report. The Astros already had one undisclosed player test positive for COVID-19 last week at their spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla.; they didn’t specify if it was a major leaguer or a minor leaguer.

Then there are the previous injuries to consider. More than three months have passed since the Astros players were together in the first iteration of spring training with the team’s training and medical staffers and performing organized baseball activities. We know that Justin Verlander has progressed to throwing off a mound in his rehab from groin and lat injuries, but what about Yordan Alvarez’s knee issues?

Who makes up the rotation?

Given the relative lack of time players will be afforded during the second iteration of “spring training” after such a long layoff, starters won’t be able to pitch as deep into games as usual early in the season. Teams will have to lean on pitchers who would’ve ordinarily acted as rotation depth to help fill innings in middle relief.

So we’ll have to temporarily adjust what we consider to be a traditional rotation. But presuming health, Verlander, Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers Jr. are the Astros’ indisputable top three.

The Astros will have to weigh the pitchers’ performance in the more substantial spring training part 1 versus the more recent spring training part 2 to determine the other two (or more) rotation spots. But based on how things stood in mid-March, José Urquidy and Josh James are the frontrunners to be the Nos. 4 and 5 starters.

Austin Pruitt, Framber Valdez and Bryan Abreu could also factor into the starting pitching conversation, either in the event of injury, poor performance or if the Astros deploy a rotation that consists of more than the traditional five pitchers. The short schedule opens the door to tandem starts and at the very least increases the value of good multi-inning relievers.

Who fills out the 30-man roster?

The increase in roster size by four will benefit pitchers more than hitters. The Astros pitchers on the fringes of the competition for an Opening Day roster spot in spring training, the likes of Abreu and Valdez, now have much stronger odds of making the team.

Cy Sneed, who would’ve started the season in Triple A, also has a chance because he can be another option to fill multiple innings on top of Brad Peacock, Chris Devenski and Joe Biagini.

Their options are limited on the position player side. They have Garrett Stubbs as a possible third catcher or Abraham Toro, Taylor Jones or Jack Mayfield as an extra infielder. That the Astros have so much positional versatility on their major leaguer roster will make it easier for them to spend most of their extra roster spots on additional pitching.

Which prospects could play roles?

Urquidy, Abreu and Toro are the three best prospects who figure to play roles in the Astros’ 2020 season. (Yes, despite debuting in 2019, all three are still considered prospects because they haven’t exhausted their rookie status.)

Urquidy was poised to be in the rotation since the start of spring training, but Abreu and Toro are among the players who could benefit from the expanded roster. Abreu, in particular, could be a really interesting weapon in a short season, for many of the same reasons I wrote about him in March.

Cristian Javier was poised for a 2020 debut in a 162-game season but faces much more uncertainty now that the season will be so short. Ditto for Forrest Whitley, who still has a lot to prove in Triple A after he struggled in 2019. Expect both to be among the 60-player pool but not on the 30-man roster to begin the season.

Who will be on the taxi squad?

The taxi squad could look a lot like the Round Rock Express, with an emphasis on pitchers rather than position players. The best 40-man roster players who don’t make the major league roster would presumably be locks to make it, but the Astros will also need some non-roster players to be included as insurance.

Whitley and Brandon Bielak fit that billing on the pitching side. Non-roster candidates among the position players include catcher Jamie Ritchie, infielder Nick Tanielu and outfielder Chas McCormick.

The Astros will have to find a site for their taxi squad players to work out. The team sent a contingent last week to survey Constellation Field, home to the Atlantic League’s Sugar Land Skeeters, which is a 30-to-40 minute drive from Minute Maid Park. The University of Houston’s baseball field might be another possibility.

 

Gotta love that Crane says they can be aggressive. Man I want to win this thing...again.