When MLB and the MLBPA reach agreement on a big-league season, the Fall League might not be far behindGETTY IMAGES
The MLB-operated Arizona Fall League -- which typically runs from mid September until late October -- "could fill the void with a new, expanded format," according to sources cited by Norris & Cooper of BASEBALL AMERICA. In normal years, the Fall League features six teams each with prospects from five organizations. But under a plan being developed, each of the 30 MLB clubs "would send a roster of their own prospects to play at spring training sites in both Arizona and Florida." If there is no MiLB season, there are "going to be a whole lot of prospects who need to play games." Sending six or seven players to a traditional Fall League "wouldn’t cut it, but an expanded format would allow a team to get as many of its highest-priority guys on the field for a long period." If and when MLB and the MLBPA reach an agreement on a big league season, the Fall League (and a Florida equivalent) "might not be far behind." The Fall League is "in constant contact with the potential host stadiums" to inquire about "how quickly they could be available, and some version of the Fall League could start within weeks of Opening Day in the big leagues" (BASEBALLAMERICA.com, 6/1).
MATTER OF COST: NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico said there exists a “vast and sometimes bloated minor league system, but there is a real reckoning coming in minor league baseball.” Tirico: "The entirety of minor league baseball is going to look vastly different when we get back to a full season of baseball.” NBC Sports’ Ahmed Fareed said, “I've heard a lot of people say with businesses that coronavirus hasn't changed the landscape; it's just accelerated it. And so I think baseball was already moving in a direction where minor leagues were going to be cut; some teams were going to be cut; some entire leagues were going to be cut. Teams were looking at the number of players they had in the minor leagues and saying, ‘This is probably not necessary. We can cut down a couple of teams (and) save some costs'" (“Lunch Talk Live,” NBCSN, 6/2).
