FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Spring baseball is proceeding as usual, but it appears that the global outbreak of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus will impact the Twins' travel plans to Oakland and Seattle on their first road trip of the regular season.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued an announcement on Wednesday in which he banned large group events and gatherings of more than 250 people in three counties in the greater Seattle area, including King County, home to T-Mobile Park. The cities of San Francisco and Oakland, and their counties, followed suit later in the day with similar restrictions, putting the Twins’ entire first road trip in jeopardy.
All of the affected clubs -- the Mariners, Athletics, Twins and Rangers, who were to open in Seattle -- are working with the Office of the Commissioner on alternative plans for their scheduled season-opening homestand.
The Twins were to open the season with four games in Oakland, followed by a three-game set in Seattle -- two of the areas most affected by the coronavirus. Neither series will proceed as planned, though neither club has issued details regarding possible changes in locations or times.
“With today’s announcement by Washington Governor Jay Inslee that will necessitate the relocation of the Seattle Mariners series with the Twins from March 30-April 1, we will be working with Major League Baseball and the Mariners on alternate plans for the scheduling of these games," the Twins' statement read. "We will provide more information about the plans for this series as it becomes available."
Twins president Dave St. Peter said Wednesday that the Twins have communicated with the league office, the Mariners and the A's about "multiple scenarios" regarding where the scheduled road games against Oakland and Seattle could be played, including the Twins' home ballpark of Target Field, but no decisions have yet been made.
"The A’s and Mariners certainly have thoughts on it, as do the Twins," St. Peter said. "But these are uncharted waters, and I don’t really have a lot of experience to compare it to as far as what this process will look like. I can tell you there are multiple options on the table at this point, and none of them, to my knowledge, have been eliminated."
"We're going to again take recommendations from the right people and really follow Major League Baseball’s lead," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Our guys are of the mindset that we are playing [on Opening Day]. I’m of the mindset that we are playing. That’s our organization's stance and approach to this right now. ... Wherever they tell us we’re going to play games, we will be there to play the games."
St. Peter also said that the Twins are currently proceeding with the idea that they will play their April 2 home opener at Target Field as scheduled, though the plans for the near future will continue to evolve with the situation.