(yahoosports) Major League Baseball is exploring various options that could allow the season to start if the medical situation allows, including a plan in which the 30 teams might be split into three regional divisions.
MLB has looked at configurations for all-Arizona, Arizona-and-Florida and Arizona-plus-Texas-plus-Florida locations.
The Arizona, Texas and Florida option would have teams playing in empty ballparks, and then if the health situation allows, switch later to their regular-season sites. They possibly could start playing before fans with only a percentage of seats sold.
Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore says they will follow Major League Baseballs lead.
Royals outfielder/second baseman Whit Merrifield says he is doing what he can to stay ready.
Any plan would be contingent on baseball gaining access to test about 3,000 people on a regular basis: about 1,200 players plus staff and broadcast personnel. Players most likely would need three to four weeks of workouts before opening day.
According to a story from “The Athletic”,
“The most realistic time range for Opening Day — somewhere between mid-June and July 4, in the view of most officials — would allow for an 80- to 100-game regular season, with the schedule running through October. An expanded postseason at neutral sites might follow, with the World Series ending in late November or early December.”
