Major League Baseball plans to start the '19 and '20 seasons in Asia and "play regular-season games in England in June of both years," according to the AP. The collective bargaining agreement reached in November was finalized and sent to the clubs on Friday, and it contains a schedule for int'l play through '21 "along with how much extra money each player will receive for making the trips." MLB Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem said, "Playing major league games abroad is critically important to growing the game internationally, and we are very pleased that the parties were able to agree on a very comprehensive international play plan in bargaining." The agreement calls for the season opener to be played in Asia in '18 and '20 and specifies Japan for '19. However, plans have not progressed for an '18 Asian opener and "those games are now unlikely." A two-game series between the Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has already been announced for April next year, "and the agreement calls for an additional series in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic" in May '20. Series in Mexico are planned for each April from '18-21 and for May '19 and '21. London's Olympic Stadium has been "looked at as a possible venue for the games in Great Britain," and the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the "most likely teams" for '19 (AP, 7/29).
