2020 MLB Season IN MY OPINION- UPDATED 3/27

UPDATE 3/27
In the last couple of days, the MLB and the MLBPA have come to some agreements on such things as roster freezing, the 2020 MLB draft, service time, salaries. I want to touch on each of those and give my take on them.
We could see a season that starts in June goes through October and has more doubleheaders. a larger roster and playoffs that could bleed into November. Those games could be played a neutral site(probably in dome stadiums or warm-weather cities.
Right now nothing is off the table as far as ideas and changes to the game.

Roster Freezin/ Resumption of Play-
Basically what this means for teams and that no roster movement can be made until a new Opening day can be set. Both the league and the union do not want to play without fans. So a lift on the ban of large gatherings is needed to set an official date. It could happen to where we see stadiums pushing the limits of the size of crowds they can have. Next, we would need to see how the MLB proceeds with player and fan safety in the stadiums this would, of course, require the MLB to have health consultants. Also, travel would also be another issue to do some modifications around. So as this who situation we are in with COVID-19 will certainly set the stage.

What this all means to me, is I am happy there are talks going on between the MLB and MLBPA  on how this is going to shake out for the MLB and its fans. But I really can see early on in the makeshift 2020 season some games without crowds. I mean, baseball is tricky because of how many people it includes to even start a game and carry on a game. But if and when tests can be given to the organizations to test all players and all are clear of the virus, then we will start to see dates getting set.

2020 Draft
Some of the facts we know right now: only up to 100K of the bonus money will be paid upfront. the rest will be paid in 2021/2022. 10% of their slot upfront and then 45% over those next two years.
selections in the draft and international slots may not be traded.
Suspensions will apply as usual for the upcoming season as normal and will not carry beyond that if the 2020 season is canceled.
The draft is also expected to go down to 5 rounds. Yes, just 5 rounds of players will be drafted. But the MLB can increase that number and I sure hope it does. The draft did get pushed back but it won't be later than July.
Undrafted free agents will be able to sign for up to 20K.
Also, the international signing period which usually runs from July 2 2020-June 15 2021 this start of this could be pushed back to Jan 2021.

This one is interesting as I see it because it sets up for the future of how many players and rounds the draft goes. I really do see a drastic change to the draft and its format. Like it's so long and there are so many players moving that it's almost to the point of overkill in my option. But for example, we see the NBA- two rounds of top-level talent, NFL is 7 rounds and of all top-level talent. MLB wise we can see guys in the 20+ rounds having exceptional careers. But I would really love to see the better talent and more focus around the draft and draft picks being traded. I really think that less is more for the MLB and the future of the draft. I would like to see between 10-15 rounds of the best talent of all prospects.

Service time: 
This part is really basic for all to understand. no matter the length of the season 100 days for example. if the player is active for 25 of those days. Then he will only get a quarter of a year of service time. So it will be prorated. If there is no season then it's based on how much time they have at the end of 2019 or now.

Player Salaries
The MLBPA agreed to advance 170MIL to players in the MLB and it will be given out in 4 classes of players. Exactly how this works out is yet to be seen. But expect those with large, guaranteed contracts to get the most. It will be distributed for over 2 months. Also, player salaries will be prorated for the 2020 season and players WILL NOT be able to sue for their entire amounts.



What does the 2020 MLB look like?

Oh, hey thanks for asking. I have a few thoughts on what the MLB will look like this year. I think that we could see a 162 game season with just a lot of doubleheaders and that being a logistical nightmare for teams, this is because doubleheaders do get an extra roster spot. We could also just see a longer season in October.  If we do get a 162 season here is what I think it means for players. I think we will see teams with more pitching. They will be using what could look like a 5-10 man rotation. This is a real possibility because we don't know when the MLB will resume activities and how much time guys will have to get back into shape and up to game speed, before games start. This I feel will cause IL's to be a little more full than usual and we see the IL being used to rest guys and get AAA guy up to fill in for 10 days and go back down. I mean if you're not a contending team, then eh it won't really matter and you'll be shuffling guys up and down as much as possible to try and find the right mix. But if you're the Yankees for example, you have guys who are coming off injuries to start the season and you may need to rest those guys to make a deep run into the postseason. I feel load management, in this case, is a real thing and is something to look out for

Now, we are expected to lose at least 45 days of the season. I really think that this puts us at a season looking at maybe 102-124 game season. This is the best case for me as a fan. This gives us just a shorter schedule with more divisional games, games we want to see and a better season to follow. I then think it looks more like the NBA as every game will count that much more because there are no throwaway games. I can also see more injuries as guys will push through some pain or tiredness to compete for their spot in the playoffs. I also think for an MLB team this is better because it will increase supply/demand for games, which can equal more sold-out games and more media coverage. This is also great for the on the field staff and the front office to see how their guys, who may be younger perform in the situation of having to win or lose a position in the standings. We will see less unproven guys get the chance to come up unless you're a Mariners, Marlins, Orioles, Pirates, Royals, Tigers fan then you will still see your favorite prospects still get a shot.  In this world, I still do see load management for guys and using the IL to rest guys and get a solid performer in contributing and go back down.

Now, if we get no season or a less than 82 game season: this would suck. I think if we get a super-condensed season. I would expect we would see a 4 game series in 2 days with 2 doubleheaders and possibly a 28 man roster all season. Then we would see 1 travel day, no interleague games and the MLB smushing together as many games as possible into a short span. This one is all just my thoughts and what makes sense to me.

I honestly know we are likely to get a 102-124 game season and we will have enough baseball to satisfy us all. I know the MLB will give us a season and chance to see our sport played and loved and I do expect regardless of the length of the season to see very few non-sellouts even in small markets or even for bad teams.

I still do have questions about this: how will the playoffs look? How will the All-Star game look? Will this count as a full-service year or will it not because of games played?

What questions do you guys have about this and what are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments and let's talk about it.