Cactus League requests a delay

In a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred co-signed by mayors of six Arizona towns, the Cactus League asked for a delay to spring training “to allow for the COVID-19 situation to improve” in Maricopa County, Ariz., which is home to one of the nation’s highest infection rates.

Neither the Cactus League nor Grapefruit League in Florida has the authority to impose a delay on spring training. Major League Baseball has stayed committed to an ontime start for spring training and the 2021 regular season.

Fifteen teams make their spring training homes in Arizona, which has reported 48,456 new cases of COVID-19 — 95.1 per 100,000 — across the last seven days.

The Astros are one of 15 clubs in the Florida-based Grapefruit League, which issued no such letter or request to delay spring training.

The Astros are scheduled to open their Grapefruit League game schedule against the Nationals on Feb. 27 at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla.