There is "definite optimism among clubs and agents and other officials" that Major League Baseball is on track to play the 2020 season, SNY's Andy Martino reported Wednesday.
Martino added that those involved are still working hard behind the scenes on details, noting that any concern over the players and teams not agreeing on compensation is "much ado about nothing" since both sides already understand that players will have to accept different compensation for a modified season.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed optimism earlier this week regarding the 2020 season, but did not give a timeline regarding a potential start date.
Paused due to the coronavirus pandemic along with all other major sports in the United States, MLB has been discussing different scenarios that could be implemented if/when the season begins.
The three scenarios that have come to light so far are the "Arizona plan" (all 30 teams play in and around Phoenix), the "Cactus and Grapefruit League plan" (teams play in Florida and Arizona, based at their spring training facilities), and the "Arizona, Texas, and Florida plan" (teams split up between hubs in those three states).
Under any of the above plans or any other initial plan, the expectation is that the season will begin with teams playing in ballparks without fans in attendance, with MLB having the flexibility to potentially shift to a plan that involves more areas (including home ballparks) and potentially includes fans in attendance.
Speaking Wednesday morning, Yankees president Randy Levine said it was "not practical" to play without fans for the entire 2020 season.
As conversations have continued regarding the potential of MLB beginning its season amid the coronavirus pandemic, two prominent names -- Dr. Anthony Fauci and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- have come out in support of playing without fans.
"I said why can't we talk about a baseball season with nobody in the stands? Why can't you play the game with the players? I think it would be good for the country," Cuomo said last week, recounting a discussion he had with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. "I think it would be good for people to have something to watch and do. To fight cabin fever. I think it's something I'm going to pursue."
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who is currently part of a group advising President Donald Trump amid the pandemic, said during an interview last Wednesday that he believes sports can return in 2020 without fans.
"There's a way of doing that" Fauci told Peter Hamby on Good Luck America. "Nobody comes to the stadium. Put them in big hotels wherever you want to play. Keep them very well surveilled ... have them tested like every week and make sure they don't wind up infecting each other or their family and just let them play the season out.
"People say, 'you can't play without spectators.' Well, I think you probably can get enough buy-in from people who are dying to see a baseball game -- particularly me, living in Washington, we have the world champion Washington Nationals. I want to see them play again."
What Fauci, who has served under six United States presidents, described sounds very similar to the Arizona plan that MLB has continued to investigate.
Officially, baseball will start no earlier than May 10, with the sport shut down until at least that point as they follow social-distancing recommendations from the CDC.
Video: The Cookie Club: Breaking down the many faces of J.D.
