Major League Baseball expects to offer a return-to-play proposal to the MLB Players Association within a week, this would be good news for Adam Hall and his Delmarva Shorebirds teammates, who are the Baltimore Orioles Minor League team.
Teams have begun to encourage players to prepare for a "spring" training that could begin in mid-June and a season that could start in early July, sources familiar with the discussions told ESPN.
Although a significant number of hurdles remain and some industry leaders believe June and July return dates are overly optimistic, ownership's approval of a plan and dialogue about specifics with the union would mark two vital steps toward baseball's return from a season so far delayed six weeks by the coronavirus pandemic.
General managers and managers from at least a dozen teams have reached out to players to suggest that they ramp up baseball activities, those familiar with the conversations -- including executives, players and agents -- told ESPN. Some teams have suggested that players prepare for a spring training that could begin as early as June 10th and a season that could begin July 1st, dates first suggested publicly by former player Trevor Plouffe. Other teams, sources said, are being more general in their timetables, understanding the complications that hard dates can cause and wanting instead to nudge players toward being in game shape.
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