All hands are due on deck Wednesday
Shelton says he will respect decision if any player thinks health risk too high
As negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association came down to the wire and ended with a mandated 60-game season from commissioner Rob Manfred, there was a slight concern from people looking toward the end of the tunnel.
When MLB got there, if it got there, would players actually be willing to play 60 games, even if they received all their prorated salaries?
The question was about money and health at the same time. Would players, with the COVID-19 pandemic alive and dangerous, be willing to risk their health for what amounts to about 37% of their usual annual salary? For some, the risk likely would be too great for any reward, depending on their health histories or the medical history of a loved one or spouse.
How that actually plays out will be more clear in the coming weeks. For now, though, Pirates manager Derek Shelton doesn’t foresee any of his players sitting out.
“I’m planning on everybody being in camp and definitely respect the wishes of anybody that is high risk or has a spouse that’s high risk and definitely support people in the decisions that they make, because it’s life decisions,” Shelton said Wednesday. “We have had no indication from anybody as of now. We think everybody is going to be attending.”
As for the particulars of the Pirates’ restart, they will open spring training 2.0 Wednesday at PNC Park. Other clubs around the league, like the Cincinnati Reds, have said that they will try to use secondary facilities in their home city, too, in order to spread out the team and get as much work in as possible before the season begins July 23 or 24.
Shelton said the Pirates are not planning on doing that now, but he did not rule out the possibility.
Still, the Pirates are well prepared to take full advantage of the facilities they will use to get ready for a shortened season.
Shelton said he, bench coach Don Kelly and pitching coach Oscar Marin have discussed what spring training will look like at length and have a good plan for it.
“It’s basically just using all parts of the facility very wisely and efficiently, and I think with the initial plan that we have, it functions like that,” Shelton said. “The one thing for the staff portion of it, it’s going to be a longer day because we are dealing with one field and you’re talking about live BPs and getting guys ready.
“We’re going to have to be very efficient. I think the big thing for everyone involved — and all of this seems extremely obvious — is that it’s going to be a big adjustment, for me as the manager, for our coaches, for our players, in terms of how the day comes and how they move in and out the building and the guidelines we have to abide by.
“By doing that, the big thing is making sure we’re efficient with our time and that we get the work in that we need to get in. That’s no different than regular spring training. We talked about making sure we’re on the field for work to be done, not just on the field to be on the field. I thought we did a really good job of that this spring, and I thought Donnie did a really good job, so I’m pretty happy with where it’s at right now.”
Shelton feels good about the workout and throwing programs he and his staff had the players working on during the layoff. He said his pitchers have worked up to four or five innings, and that can be stretched out as spring training gets going.
The position players, Shelton said, might be a bit further behind, needing live batting practice reps to get up to speed.
All in all, Shelton seems to feel that the Pirates have a good idea of where they will stand come Wednesday.
Teams will be required to submit a list of 60 players who will be eligible to play this season, and Shelton said the Pirates are close to knowing who those 60 players are.
From there, it will simply be about getting as ready as possible in July and playing actual, competitive baseball games after that.
For that, Shelton and his players are thankful.
“I think there’s definitely a lot of excitement,” Shelton said.
“It’s what these guys do for a living, and they’ve been sitting on the sidelines for a while waiting for the day for everyone to say, ‘OK, here we go.’ ”