Depending on your time zone and ability to account for such a thing, you already know that 5pm ET has long come and gone. That was the time by which the owners had requested that the players respond to health and safety protocols, and whether they are prepared to head to Spring Training Part Two by July 1.
If you are at all like me, you are constantly telling yourself that it’s totally fine that the deadline passed without action, and it’s just a matter of buttoning up some final buttons or some such thing … and under the hood, you are a messy pile of anxiety and terror.
Anyway, a couple reports indicate that it’s not a big concern that the deadline passed:
MLB and the players union are in talks now with no major holdups known. Going to be hard to make that 5 pm deadline though.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 23, 2020
#MLB and the #MLBPA continue to exchange ideas with the health and safety protocols. There are no major snags. The union already informed MLB that it plans to play, and be in spring training camps by July 1 with a 60-game season starting July 24-26 weekend.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 23, 2020
I will still not really start talking about anything firm until it’s totally done, and the players themselves announce it. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Pete Alonso, official newsbreaker? Maybe:
Baseball is back baby!!!! And I only have one thing to say. pic.twitter.com/OgexHjxlSK
— Pete Alonso (@Pete_Alonso20) June 23, 2020