Players agree to wear electronic tracing bands

Violations could lead to salary forfeitures

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball players, on-field staff and non-playing personnel who require access to them at ballparks must wear electronic tracing wristbands from the start of spring training and face discipline for violations.

Players will be encouraged but are not required to get vaccines.

That was part of upgraded health protocols agreed to by Major League Baseball and the players’ association to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The 108-page operations manual, agreed to Monday night, expands on the 101-page version used during the shortened 2020 season.

“Every covered Individual must wear a Kinexon contact tracing device at all times while in club facilities and during club directed travel and while engaged in team activities, including group workouts and practices,” the manual says. “Repeated failure to wear the devices or repeated failure to return the devices to the Kinexon device docking station may be a basis for discipline,” the manual says.

The manual states violations of the MLB or club codes of conduct or of spring training home quarantine “are subject to potential discipline, including but not limited to suspension or forfeiture of salary for days spent away from the club while in mandatory selfisolation or quarantine resulting from the violation.”

Player discipline would be subject to the just-cause provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.

The manual adds “the parties, in consultation with their respective medical experts, will consider in good faith relaxing these protocols on a league-wide, team-wide and/or individual basis … (to) the extent it is safe and appropriate to do so” when sufficient players are immunized.

As part of the agreement, the sides extended last year’s experimental use of seven-inning doubleheaders and runners on second base at the start of extra innings.

Active rosters will return to 26 from opening day through Aug. 31 and 28 for the rest of the regular season, as originally intended for 2020, down from the 28 used throughout last season. Each team can travel with up to five taxi-squad players for road games, and if all five are used one must be a player designated before the season as a catcher.