The Yankees are ready to “embrace the craziness” of this shortened MLB season. Today, Yankees GM Brian Cashman announced that his previously injured players in James Paxton, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, and Giancarlo Stanton are expected to ready to go once Opening Day hits on July 23rd, and the Yankees kick off their 60 campaign against the defending World Series Champion Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in DC.
Cashman also said he doesn’t expect any Yankees to opt out of playing in 2020, which has happened across the league with Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross of the Nats, Charles Blackmon and Ian Desmond of the Colorado Rockies, and Mike Leake of the Arizona Diamondbacks, all declining to play this season due to precautionary and safety reasons with the pandemic ongoing.
Players opting out of restart plans has also been seen in the NBA, with guys like Avrey Bradley of the Lakers, and Wilson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Dinwiddie of the Nets, all opting out due to health or “high-risk reasons”, though Dinwidee hasn’t been officially ruled out yet by himself or Brooklyn.
As for “substitute players”, the NBA has allowed teams to take guys off the open market like JR Smith heading to the Lakers to replace Bradley, while MLB teams will be dipping into their prospect pools hoping the young talent will help them move onward in this 60 game slate.
2020 MILB SEASON CANCELED:
Just like that, 42 Minor League franchsies have officially seen their last game. With the formal announcement of the 2020 MILB season being canceled due to the pandemic today, the total number of minor league teams will dwindle from 162 to 120, with the official start of MLB’s plan to likely eliminate a minor league level in “Rookie Ball”, the lowest of the 4 levels (Single A, AA and AAA) before the big leagues. What may follow is the MLB lowering standard drafts from 40 rounds to 20. Although this would dash many players “pro-ball dreams ”, the extra money saved from this (especially this year with the draft having only went 5 rounds due to the pandemic) process by baseball is likely to go to star prospects in the minors and budding stars in baseball.
It will be interesting to see how minor league free agency shapes out with many players having been cut from teams with no season this year and the members of the “deleted” 42 teams.
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