After ongoing discussions with the Players Association, MLB has ordered home non-roster players from spring-training camps and will eliminate team workouts, though players on the 40-man roster will be allowed to work out at camp.
Many teams have already allowed players to leave camp, leaving the choice of staying or going up to individual players. Members of the New York Yankees voted to stay in camp and continue workouts, for example, but under the new rules set forth by MLB they won’t be allowed to work out together. The rationale: prevent players from congregating and instead enforce the social distancing recommended by health officials, in an attempt to lessen the spread of the coronavirus. Here’s the memo sent to all teams, as posted by Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
This is the memo that went out to all teams from MLB: pic.twitter.com/VZ7y3d6BiK
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) March 15, 2020
There are some exceptions, as you can see here: non-roster players can remain in camp for medical treatment, and teams do not need to offer the same services they do for regular training camp. The goal here is pretty clear: to lessen the chances that the coronavirus can be spread in training camps while at the same time give players options. As shown in the memo, MLB and the Players Association haven’t settled on final expectations for players between now and the potential start of the season, which may not be until May. And, there’s always the significant chance things can change tomorrow.
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