MLB restricting facility access before training

Major League Baseball issued a memo Wednesday advising all 30 teams to restrict access to their facilities prior to spring training, according to a USA Today.

Several teams had been preparing to open their spring training sites so players and staffers could partake in voluntary workouts. MLB, however, is concerned about COVID-19 protocols and negotiations over those protocols with the MLB Players Association.

USA Today obtained a memo that says:

“We have been informed that some clubs intend to increase the number of players at their spring training facilities in January and February prior to the commencement of spring training. As you are all aware, COVID-19 is surging in the United States, and conditions may worsen after the holiday season. We have not yet received firm guidance from our medical experts on whether it is safe to conduct organized workouts in club facilities under current conditions, and the protocols that would be required to conduct such workouts safely.

“We also have not yet negotiated with the players association over the health and safety protocols that will be applicable to 2021 spring training and the 2021 season. Finally, the intensive COVID-19 testing protocol that we utilized in 2020, which is necessary when the risk of community transmission is high, will not be available to clubs from central baseball until the start of spring training.

“As a result, until the commencement of spring training ... clubs may not direct, encourage, or request (even on a voluntary basis) that players travel from their present locations to the club's spring training site for the purpose of utilizing club facilities.”