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Mark P
6:36
Welcome to the last chat of May! Let's hope we're not too far away (big if) from some positive news about a potential start to a 2020 season
Braves baseball
6:38
Can teams keep top minor leaguers ready in a separate camp in case of injuries should a season come to fruition?
Mark P
6:39
The "taxi squad" plan will involve some of those top minor leaguers, but for younger prospects that aren't as close to Major League readiness, I would suspect teams would set up some kind of training camp for remaining minor leaguers.  Maybe at Spring Training facilities, that would seem to make sense.
Roger
6:40
We’ll know by the end of the week if there will be baseball this year, right? Where is the sense of urgency?
Mark P
6:42
In general, you're correct, the clock is definitely ticking to get any kind of reasonably-long 2020 season and postseason underway.
#1 Angels fan
6:42
Is there any chance the Angels revisit the Stripling/Pederson deal with the Dodgers?
Mark P
6:43
Details are so murky about that trade that I can't rule out the possibility, but the fact that the Angels walked away from it so abruptly and firmly makes me think they've lost interest.
Nicholas
6:44
Who you got the White Sox drafting first round next month? I think baseball need to play or risking damaging the sport.
Mark P
6:45
It's hard to project things even at the top of the draft, let alone deeper into the first round by the time the White Sox will pick 11th overall.

For what it's worth, the recent mock drafts from Baseball America, MLB.com, and Keith Law all have Chicago taking Patrick Bailey, a catcher from NC State.  Anything can happen, of course, if Bailey is taken before the #11 pick or if someone unexpected falls to Chicago's spot, but right now it seems like Bailey might be the favorite
Mike
6:46
If there is no MLB 2020 season, do you think Realmuto walks from the Phillies?
Mark P
6:47
It'll ultimately depend on what other teams offer in free agency, but Philly was already preparing to make JTR a big extension offer and Realmuto already expressed an interest in remaining with the team.  It's possible he might prefer to stay in a familiar environment rather than go to a new team, given all of the unknowns facing baseball as whole in the future months
Bill
6:48
Will baseball become an afterthought sport if they don't play this year?
Mark P
6:49
"Afterthought" may be too strong a term, but yes, there's no doubt baseball would take a gigantic hit by not getting some kind of season off the ground.
Andrew
6:51
Do you think Emerson Hancock will fall to the #7 spot in the draft and if not who do you feel the Pirates will draft?
Mark P
6:52
As per Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline in his latest mock draft: "There's talk that Hancock, MLB Pipeline's preseason No. 1 prospect, might be sliding a little because analytically minded teams don't love his pitch metrics."
6:53
As with all reports around draft time, of course, take that with a grain of salt --- teams often throw up smokescreens to try and hide which players they like or don't like.
Matt
6:54
If you had the power, would you make draft picks tradeable?
Mark P
6:54
Absolutely.
Michael M
6:55
Considering live event revenue accounts for ~50% of revenue - probably 30% of profit, what is the fair solution?
Mark P
6:56
Since we don't know what teams' revenues actually are, it's impossible to make any "fair" assessment.  This is the MLBPA's major point --- why should they believe the owners' claims of enormous financial losses when the owners refuse to open their books
Skeptical
6:57
What level of competition do you expect with no fans and 3 months of the season lost?
Mark P
6:58
It'll be a level playing field, at least, though we can certainly expect some rust.  The biggest issue might be whether or not the long layoff will result in more injuries than usual, especially if players are trying to fit in as many games as possible within a relatively short window of time.
Chris
7:00
If you had to put a % on it what do you think it would be to see baseball in 2020?
Mark P
7:01
This week, my percentage is a flat 50-50.  I think I creeped up to 55-45 in favor of a season last week, but I'm less optimistic after the events of the last few days
Timing is Everything
7:02
If this were August, would football be in the same scenario or is their revenue % much more tightly tied to TV?    How much would football owners be asking for in salary concessions with no fans.  I think baseball is a casualty of the calendar as much as anything—-they have no time to prepare and negotiate compared to others.
Mark P
7:02
The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players' union is much different, and (if I recall correctly) more directly related to overall league revenues, since that is now the salary cap is determined.
7:04
Plus, there's also the fact that the MLBPA is a much stronger entity with more bargaining power than the NFLPA, who are widely seen as the weakest union among the four major pro sports.

It doesn't help that baseball had to rework its entirely season on the fly just a couple of weeks before what would have been Opening Day.  The NBA and NHL had the bulk of their seasons completed, so their only real focus in figuring out their playoff structures.  And the NFL had plenty of time to figure out how they'll launch their season.
Nick
7:05
IF there's no baseball in 2020 due to owners & MLBPA not coming to terms on payments & health concerns .... that would have to affect off-season transactions and future CBA talks, right? Especially if there's still talk of fan-less gatherings come next spring
Mark P
7:06
Absolutely.  If there's no baseball in 2020, the best-case scenario would be that the players and owners use it as a wakeup call, and spend the winter hammering out a new CBA early so that baseball can return in 2021 with all the ugliness behind it.

The worst-case scenario, unfortunately, would be if this season is scrapped, and then the 2021 season is also held up by a lockout or strike since CBA talks are going nowhere.
Oscar Charleston fan
7:07
What are the chances that Major League Baseball adds two expansion teams to infuse some much needed cash flow with franchise fees?
Mark P
7:09
It depends if investors could be found given the uncertainty around the world, but I think it's possible.  Owning a baseball team is still going to be seen as a sound investment
Dwigt
7:10
Long term, doesn't it damage the players more if every sport returns EXCEPT baseball simply because of "Economics"? I can't imagine the public opinion would be "well they were offered a terrible deal! I don't blame them!".
Mark P
7:11
Players always get the brunt of public displeasure, since they're the ones the general public are most familiar with, they're the ones whose salaries are widely known, and the "they're playing a kids' game, they should be grateful!" argument, as if world-class athletes aren't deserving to be justly paid for being world-class athletes in a billion-dollar sport.
Brooklyn
7:12
Got screwed 60+ years ago.  Ready to host another team.
Mark P
7:12
It'd be cool to see a new team in Brooklyn, but the Mets and Yankees would use their territorial rights to block it
Bogs
7:13
How come the upcoming MLB draft coverage has been so poor? No TV schedule released, no competition for sports ratings right now, etc. With it down to 5 rounds, fans could actually get informed about the prospects. Yet another instance of how baseball fails to market themselves to a wider consumer base. They should learn from the popularity of the NBA and NFL.
Mark P
7:13
The TV schedule was actually released the other day: https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-mlb-draft-schedule
7:16
As to your other concerns, the NFL and NBA have several built-in advantages over MLB when it comes to the draft.  College baseball isn't nearly as widely viewed as college football or basketball, so fans don't have those years of built-in familiarity with the prospects.  Plus, a top NFL or NBA pick can help a team improve (sometimes greatly improve) in the very next season, whereas even the top picks in a baseball draft need at least a couple of minor league seasons.  It's like "hey, get excited for the first overall pick!....who you'll see in 2023!"
GregMadduxWasGreat
7:17
Let’s say there’s a season and, for whatever reason, a few small market clubs can’t/don’t make payroll. What happens then?
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