While baseball does not yet have a definitive plan in place for the resumption of the 2020 season, the hope remains that a second spring training will begin in June, with Opening Day potentially happening by early-July.
SNY's Andy Martino reported last week that MLB and the players could come to an agreement before the end of May regarding what the plan to restart looks like, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the league remains "confident" there will be a season in 2020.
According to Rosenthal, the Indians recently gave their players a target date of July 1 for Opening Day in order to prepare them should it happen.
However, Rosenthal reports that "a number of team executives were fretting" on Tuesday regarding the possibility that new coronavirus outbreaks could emerge in states that are beginning to ease restrictions and open back up. New outbreaks could result in more shutdowns, which would in turn make it "difficult for baseball to resume."
Among the states that are starting to ease restrictions while still keeping some social distancing guidelines in place are Georgia, Florida, and Colorado, with the mayor of Atlanta reacting to the sight of packed streets on May 5, calling it "disappointing."
The league and players have been discussing many scenarios when it comes to the potential resumption of the season, including having teams play (at least at the outset) out of one, two, or three main "hubs" in ballparks without fans in attendance.
One scenario had teams playing in Arizona, another had them in Arizona in Florida, and a third had teams in Arizona, Florida, and Texas.
However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on April 28 that the latest scenario was one that would have teams playing in their home ballparks without fans in attendance. And Rosenthal reported Wednedsay that the league's "goal" is to open in as many home cities as possible.
While New York and New Jersey have flattened the coronavirus curve with hospitilizations, new cases, and deaths trending down, new hot spots are emerging in other parts of the United States.
Speaking on Tuesday while noting that the players want to play, MLBA chief Tony Clark discussed the difficulty of the current situation and all the moving parts.
"We'll continue to work internally against the backdrop of all the information and experience we can gather, and then hope to be able to work alongside the league to find that right spot in time to get us back on the field," he said. "And we do hope it is sooner rather than later."