It’s been a long time coming, but baseball returns to Miller Park this week.
After originally referring to it as “Spring Training 2.0,” MLB teams have switched to calling the next few weeks of preparation “Summer Camp.” They’ll come together this week for the first time in over three months to begin preparations for a scheduled 60-game season under a completely new set of rules, and in the weeks ahead fans should learn more about phrases like “player pool,” “taxi squad” and “alternate training site.”
In the meantime, however, the Brewers and most other teams will need to learn the answers to these questions:
Who’s ready?
For the most part, the purpose of spring training has shifted a bit over the years. Spring camps used to be a place for players to get back in shape after an offseason of rest, but today players are mostly expected to stay on top of their conditioning on their own and come to camp ready to go.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out for summer camp. Players have been away from their team facilities and organized activities for over 100 days now, and spent much of that time with an unclear timetable for baseball’s return and/or limited access to training equipment. Most teams’ strength and conditioning staff have been in touch with players regularly, but it’s been up to the individual to make sure they’re staying ready during uncertain times.
As such, when players report to camp this week teams will likely need to respond to a wide array of preparedness. Some players with access to high quality training equipment may come to camp at the peak of their physical conditioning. Some may have been building up for a season on their own, even without knowing when or where it would happen. Josh Lindblom, for example, appeared on a KBO broadcast last week and told ESPN he’s already thrown multiple four-inning simulated games.
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It’s possible others, however, will have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time to get back in game shape in about three weeks and be ready for a new Opening Day.
Who’s included?
In addition to 2020 being the first season with a permanent 26th roster spot, teams are going to have to determine how to use four additional roster spots for the season’s first two weeks and two additional for two more weeks after that. Even if there weren’t extra spots to play with, NL teams would likely see their roster construction change a bit from their original plans because of the addition of the designated hitter for this season.
In addition, teams will have to start to determine how they’re going to use their taxi squad, the group of players training and staying ready at an alternate site. The taxi squad provides an opportunity to plan for the future and continue to develop top prospects who would otherwise likely sit out the 2020 season, but spots are limited and teams also need to ensure they have players there that might be needed in the event of injury or illness at the MLB level.
Can this work?
People around baseball have been speculating about how an abbreviated MLB season could work for months now, but nearly all of their assumptions included the same thing: Widespread containment of new COVID-19 cases to create a safe environment to get back to playing baseball. For the most part, that hasn’t happened.
In states like Wisconsin where new cases are climbing again, it’s going to be increasingly difficult to keep players, coaches and everyone else involved in an MLB season safe and healthy. At this point it’s unclear what the alternatives are if things start to get out of control: There hasn’t been a stated threshold for suspending the season, shutting down a team or cancelling games in the event of an outbreak of positive tests.
Once the Brewers get back on the field, they’ll have an opportunity to be involved in a very tight pennant race. FanGraphs’ projections have the Brewers, Cubs, Reds and Cardinals all winning either 31 or 32 games in the abbreviated season, creating what could be one of the most exciting stretch runs of all time. A lot of questions have to be answered in the next few weeks, however, en route to Opening Day.
