BRADENTON, Fla. -- Joe Musgrove took the mound at LECOM Park on Thursday afternoon and pitched for the Pirates against the Blue Jays. When he returned to the clubhouse after his start, he learned the news: Major League Baseball cancelled the remainder of its Spring Training games and announced that the start of the 2020 regular season will be delayed at least two weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Ultimately all of this is to make sure that everyone’s healthy and everyone’s safe and we’re not providing a breeding ground for [the coronavirus] to spread,” Musgrove said.

Pirates chairman Bob Nutting released a statement saying the club fully agrees with and supports the Commissioner’s decision.

“As this situation evolves, so too will our response. What will not change, however, is how much we care about our fans, players and employees and the wellbeing of our community,” Nutting said. “Our front office team will continue to meet on a daily basis and will remain in constant communication with our medical expert partners at AHN and Highmark, as well as with Major League Baseball and government officials. We will provide information on any new developments and impacts as they become available.

“Together we will work through this unprecedented situation as we look forward to the return of baseball as soon as possible.”

Pirates players and coaches echoed those sentiments -- particularly the concern for the health and safety of everyone from teammates and families to fans and media -- before and after the news broke on Thursday afternoon.

“As bad as everybody wants to see baseball -- and we’d love to be out there and perform -- overall, it’s about your health and the life you’re impacting with your health,” veteran center fielder Jarrod Dyson said. “We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to be on the safe side.”

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 the regular season, originally scheduled for April 9, will be delayed indefinitely.

Where will players go?
Approximately 40 Pirates players and members of the coaching staff will remain at camp in Bradenton, Fla., after Spring Training operations were suspended Friday around Major League Baseball. Players were given the option of remaining at camp or returning to Pittsburgh or their hometowns.

For rehabbing players like Taillon, it makes the most sense to stay in Bradenton with access to the club’s medical and training staff. For established players with guaranteed roster spots and housing up north, going to Pittsburgh could be best. For those with families, going home might be the preference.

Manager Derek Shelton and several players agreed they will need some form of competition, even intrasquad games, before beginning the regular season.

“If we’re facing real pitching, I would assume it would still be beneficial,” left fielder Bryan Reynolds said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, so we’ll just see.”

Musgrove offered an optimistic look at the effects of the delayed start to the season, noting that players will be free to spend more time working with coaches.

“You take advantage of the time. It’s the reality of what’s happening. You’ve just got to face it head-on and try to make the most of it,” Musgrove said. “A couple extra weeks of workouts, a couple extra weeks to work with the new staff, with [pitching coach Oscar Marin] more and dive into some things that we might not have had time to do this spring. That’s what we’re going to do: try to take advantage of the time that we have and stay sharp.”

What about fans who already bought tickets?
The Pirates haven’t yet announced how fans who purchased regular-season tickets will be affected by this decision. On Friday, the club introduced three refund procedures for fans who held tickets to their six remaining Spring Training games at LECOM Park.

Spring season ticket holders can receive a refund or credit on their account toward next year’s Spring Training season. Group tickets will be refunded to the account holder of record. Those with single-game tickets do not need to return their tickets; a refund will be issued to the account holder of record.

How might this affect the team once play resumes?
This isn’t exactly top of mind right now, but it’s conceivable that right-hander Clay Holmes (fractured fibula) and left-hander Steven Brault (strained left shoulder) could now be healthy -- or close to it -- by the time Opening Day rolls around. Neither was expected to be on the Opening Day roster due to the injuries they sustained during Spring Training.

There’s also even less of a question about the availability of Chris Archer, who was slightly set back this spring by neck tightness. Archer returned to the mound for a two-inning start last week, then pitched in a simulated game on Wednesday.

Which part of the schedule might this affect?
That’s still up in the air. The only thing that is clear for now: The Pirates will not play their first four series as initially scheduled, against the Rays (March 26-29 at Tropicana Field), Cubs (March 30-April 1 at Wrigley Field), Reds (April 2-5 at PNC Park) and Cubs (April 6-9 at PNC Park).

It remains possible that those games could be made up at a later date, depending on the length of the delay to start the season. As MLB stated in its announcement, the league will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and clubs will remain flexible.

What are they saying?
“Whatever they deem is safest for everybody -- not just the baseball players, but everyone else that’s involved. There’s a lot of other people involved in this sport and this event and the entertainment than just the players. We’re a small piece of it, so whatever we can do to preserve the safety and health for everybody. We know that [the coronavirus] doesn’t affect younger people as much, but we all have parents. We all have people who are our elders that we come in contact with every day. The last thing we want to do is be a carrier and cause something fatal.” -- Archer

“A lot of teams shutting down, it’s showing you that it’s bigger than what we play. It’s bigger than our careers. It’s involving people, and when you’re involving people, you’re talking about not just the professional people on the field but the people who come to the games and make it worth being around. You’re talking about the fans who give their support, and I think they play just as big of a role as we do.” -- Dyson

“It was already really real. My girlfriend isn’t going to school until April now because they shut down campus and everything, so she’s doing online courses. My parents aren’t flying anywhere. It’s very real for all of us. We’ve all had different people not affected by the virus itself, but by the rippling effects of the virus. We’re all living that right now. Obviously, we want to be as safe as possible at this level.” -- Josh Bell