Opening Day delayed by at least eight weeks

It sure doesn’t seem like baseball will be played for a long time.

Major League Baseball issued a statement Monday afternoon saying that with guidance from the recent recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to restrict events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the start of the regular season will be pushed back accordingly.

The decision was made after MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred conducted a conference call with all 30 teams on Monday.

“MLB will keep fans updated on decisions regarding plans for the 2020 schedule in the days and weeks ahead,” the statement said. “The Clubs remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins. We will continue to monitor ongoing events and undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts, and urge all baseball fans to follow suit. MLB extends its best wishes to all the individuals and communities who have been impacted by the coronavirus.”

Last Thursday, MLB announced that the start of the regular season would be delayed at least two weeks, which would have made April 9 as Opening Day the best-case scenario. But in light of the CDC’s recommendation, the delay will be until mid-May at the earliest, and likely beyond that.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported Monday that some GMs are bracing for a delay as late as July.

It’s unclear how the league would make up the games lost by the delay, or how the schedule would change. Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said Friday that the thinking last week was that MLB adds games on at the end of the schedule, but admitted that’s subject to change as the situation develops.