FAQ: How coronavirus impacts Indians, MLB

March 14th, 2020

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the remainder of Spring Training games have been canceled and the start of the regular season will be delayed due to the national emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We don’t have a playbook for this,” Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said on Friday morning. “This is a new one, so we’re learning on the fly. I think we’ve taken the approach that we’ll continue to prioritize the health and wellness of our players, our staff, their families, everyone at the complex, everyone throughout the organization and try to take actions that are consistent with that. But, admittedly, that’s evolving day to day and we continue to take guidance from the health care professionals as well as Major League Baseball on what we should be doing.”

As the club works together to figure out exactly how it’ll move forward, let’s take a look at everything we know now:

When will the season start?
There is no official start date for the season at this time. What we do know is that the start of the season will be delayed. Opening Day had been scheduled for Thursday, March 26.

MLB will continue to evaluate ongoing events leading up to the start of the season. Guidance related to daily operations and workouts will be relayed to all 30 clubs in the coming days.

How will the schedule change to accommodate the late start?
According to the release sent by MLB, the league and teams have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular-season schedule. MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.

What’s going to happen with the rest of Spring Training?
Forthcoming Spring Training games were canceled as of 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, and 2020 World Baseball Classic qualifying games scheduled in Tucson, Ariz., were postponed indefinitely.

What about Minor League Baseball?
Minor League Baseball announced Thursday that the start of its regular season, originally scheduled for April 9, will be delayed indefinitely.

What should I do if I have tickets to canceled Spring Training games?
Anyone who purchased tickets at the ticket office, online or owned season tickets can find out how they can be refunded on Goodyear Ballpark’s website.

How might this affect the Indians once play resumes?
The Indians are prioritizing health during this time, as the game has taken a backseat to the safety of their players and staff. But the minimum of a two-week delay to start the regular season may make a few impacts on the Tribe’s potential roster.

(partial meniscus tear) and (right elbow inflammation) were questionable for the first week of the season, but were projected to return shortly after. Both right-handers should be able to return to full strength and could be able to rejoin the rotation once play is able to resume.

Outfielder (left wrist sprain) had already projected that he’d be ready to play by March 26 and should be cleared in plenty of time to be able to settle back in as the Tribe’s starting center fielder.

The Tribe also has concerns about pitchers who have built themselves up throughout the first four weeks of camp, who will now have to try to maintain their progression in preparation for the start of the season.

“I worry about all of those things,” Antonetti said. “Again, I think we need to balance a lot of different factors, but make sure we’re prioritizing all the right things.”

What series fall in the first two weeks of the season?
As previously stated, the league and teams have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular-season schedule. As of now, Opening Day has been pushed back two weeks and the games during that time frame have not been canceled.

It’s still uncertain how the schedule will unfold, but the Indians were expected to open the season at home with three games against the Tigers and three games against the White Sox. In the second week, the team was then slated to hit the road for a four-game series in Detroit before stopping in Minnesota for a three-game set.

MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time.

What are they saying?
“This is when society gets together and helps each other out,” Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “Out of this, we can get something positive and that will be all being in a much better spot when it comes to taking care of each other. Because, at times, we’re not at peace with each other. I think now, we’ve got a really good chance of helping each other out, being there for each other and being good Samaritans, helping others and looking out for each other.”