The White Sox finally spent money on good free agents and were primed to smash open their competitive window, but then the biggest health crisis of our lifetime happened.
The season hasn’t been canceled yet and it really does seem like MLB is trying to do everything it can to get some sort of season in. This is at least the third reported plan we’ve seen in the past couple weeks, but the newest one could really end up screwing the White Sox.
We’ve seen the proposed plan of having all 30 MLB teams play in Arizona, but on Friday Bob Nightengale wrote about the league possibly having an actual Cactus and Grapefruit league, with teams split up in Arizona AND Florida. This new plan would include completely new divisions.
Via USA Today.
Major League Baseball, assessing myriad proposals, has discussed a radical plan that would eliminate the traditional American and National Leagues for 2020, a high-ranking official told USA TODAY Sports, and realign all six divisions for an abbreviated season.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the proposal is one of several being discussed.
The plan would have all 30 teams returning to their spring training sites in Florida and Arizona, playing regular-season games only in those two states and without fans in an effort to reduce travel and minimize risks in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The divisions would be realigned based on the geography of their spring training homes.
So, teams go back to their spring training sites and that means a completely new set of divisions.
And here’s just one possible realignment that would end up pinning the White Sox in the same division with the Dodgers.
Yeah, you’d much rather have the Twins in your division than the damn Dodgers. You’d play your new division opponents 12 times and everyone else six times.
This plan has its pros, as teams get to at least be in facilities they are used to and it makes the scheduling easier compared to jamming in all the games in Arizona. Yet, the all Arizona plan at least had the possibility of going back to your cities and playing your normal schedule without having to completely change divisions.
Whatever the plan MLB does go with, it sure does seem like the league is aiming for about 100 games for a 2020 season.
But there’s no need to rush things. Just get it right.
