MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the season "will not begin on April 9 and players are being urged to leave spring training sites and get to a place where they can spend 'an extended period of time' and to get there 'as soon as possible.'" Manfred said, "Obviously with the CDC announcement we’re not going to be playing April 9." Manfred's comments, which reference the CDC's recommendation of avoiding gatherings of 50 or more people for 8 weeks, "push opening day back to at least mid-May, and if there are two weeks of workouts between the return and opening day a late May or June start is likely." Manfred today also "updated owners on the ongoing negotiations with the players' union for how players will be compensated" and what a shortened schedule looks like. A topic of discussion is a "roster freeze during this stoppage of all baseball activities" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/16).
Meanwhile, MLB and the MLBPA today announced a joint donation of $1M to help fight hunger as a result of school closures and quarantines stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The donation will be split evenly between Feeding America and Meals on Wheels America (MLB).
