Expanded 16-team Major League Baseball playoff field still possible for 2020 season
We know how long the 2020 MLB regular season will be, but the playoffs could still be changed.
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Yes, there officially will be a 2020 Major League Baseball season after the players' union signed off on the owners' health and safety protocols earlier this week. The 60-game slate will begin July 23 for four teams – the Yankees seem likely to be one of them with Gerrit Cole's New York debut nationally televised on a Thursday night – and the other 26 clubs opening July 24, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale. The postseason format and 10-team field will be the same as every recent season with 10 teams … or will it?
While the owners and players have agreed on the basics of starting the season – players must report to spring training in their home cities by next Wednesday – the sides can still negotiate ancillary issues. One of those is expanding the playoff field to 16 teams. The owners badly want that because they make the vast majority of their money in the postseason, and more games means more money. The players aren't against it but weren't going to simply agree to that concession without something in return from owners.
On Thursday, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark didn't rule out the sides agreeing on a postseason change: "I would simply say that if there's interest to discuss something, I'll be available to discuss it," he told the Associated Press. In theory, the sides have until July 23 to agree on it.
In addition, there's still hope the players will agree to wear microphones during games like they did in spring training – and it was fantastic – as long as the owners concede something in return.
Some MLB players certainly are going to opt-out of playing this year at all – for example, Jessica Trout, the wife of three-time AL MVP Mike Trout, is pregnant and due in August. Could Trout opt to sit out and avoid risking spreading the virus to his wife and child? New Angels manager Joe Maddon said he hadn't been told anything about Trout potentially opting out.
Eireann Dolan, married to Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle, has asthma, so it's possible that Sean could opt-out to avoid infecting his wife. If he plays, he'd likely have to be separated from his wife the entire season. Doolittle would not be paid he if he did opt-out, but would be if he was the one with asthma (or some other relevant medical condition). Only those players who are considered "high-risk'' can elect to opt out of the season and still receive their full pro-rated pay.
The regular-season schedule should be released within 7-14 days. There has been a slight change on the William Hill moneyline futures odds to win the World Series. On Tuesday, the Yankees and Dodgers were both +400, but New York is now a slight +380 favorite as it has taken tons of betting action.
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