What to know about league’s proposal of safety protocols

If Major League Baseball and its players can agree to a return during the global health crisis, the way teams play and prepare will be completely transformed by the pandemic.

The league delivered its first full safety and health proposal to players, detailing many of the protocols the league wants in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The Athletic obtained a copy of the MLB’s proposal and summarized the new guidelines and prohibitions, which include socialdistancing rules in the dugout and locker room, a coronavirus testing plan that calls for multiple (though, notably - not daily) COVID-19 tests a week for on-field personnel, and travel, transit and lifestyle precautions when teams are outside the ballpark and on the road.

The MLBPA will have the opportunity to negotiate and counter on the specifics, which the Daily News has highlighted below:

Players will be tested “regularly” for coronavirus - the News has reported three times a week - along with managers, coaches, umpires, and a handful of essential staff that come in contact with players. Most exams will be saliva-based and can deliver results in 24 hours — MLB is outfitting its usual PED testing lab in Salt Lake City to handle the influx of coronavirus tests — meaning that anything less than a daily test could theoretically allow people to slip through the cracks.

According to The Athletic’s summary, the league will pursue the least invasive and fastest methods commercially available without harming public health needs — a difficult assurance given the dearth of testing throughout the United States. MLB also promised free diagnostic and antibody testing for people who live with ballplayers, as well as healthcare workers and first responders in every club’s home city.

People who don’t show symptoms will receive twice-a-day screening for COVID-19-related issues, including temperature checks. Anyone found with either “100 degrees Fahrenheit

(fever), other symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or close contact with a confirmed case” will receive a rapid diagnostic test.

The league instructs its clubs to maintain dedicated testing-isolation areas at every participating ballpark, and players that show symptoms or test positive will have a place to begin quarantine.

One last exam: MLB is developing a COVID-19 education program that team employees, players and umpires will need to complete before returning to work.

Due to the highly contagious and deadly coronavirus, social distancing is an entrenched part of our vocabulary as a necessary preventive measure. It’s impossible in many facets of an MLB facility, but the league wants teams and players to try their best.

“Lockers should be six feet apart,” The Athletic reports — a tricky fit in most home clubhouses and impossible in a visiting locker room. With player rosters likely to approach double the former 25-man standard during a 2020 season, teams will have to adapt with the league suggesting outdoor spaces or unused stadium areas.

Everyone in the dugout must sit six feet apart, and will only include “necessary players,” with auxiliary seating areas designated for inactive players and some coaches, likely in the ballpark seats.

In those frequent situations where people cannot maintain physical distance, MLB’s near-future will rely on everyone keeping their mask on, save for players on the field.

Keeping physical contact to a minimum means eating and drinking will also look different. Buffets and communal Gatorade jugs are prohibited, and players are encouraged to avoid eating in groups.

Besides players, facilities will be limited to essential personnel who need close proximity to on-field personnel, including owners, front office staff, public relations and translators. Notably, media was not included in The Athletic’s summary.

Usually, reporters from independent publications, including the Daily News, receive controlled but CBAguaranteed access to players before and after games. However, the Newark StarLedger reported YES Network’s plan to station the Yankees play-by-play team remotely, instead of their usual broadcast booth. This may indicate journalists won’t be included in that number.

Whenever baseball happens — the league is shooting for June for spring training — teams can bring 50 players per club, with workouts staggered throughout the day. Pitchers and catchers will report first, and be allowed to work out in groups of five or less before the rest of the team joins them.

Though teams have permission from the league to host spring games in their home ballpark, their home state’s government might make the choice for them — as California has done for the Dodgers, Angels, Athletics and Giants with its extended stay-at-home order. But, governors Doug Ducey of Arizona and Ron DeSantis of Florida have already publicly welcomed baseball to resume play as they reopen their states. Spring facilities in their respective states could be used right now and may have to be used during the season.

To mitigate the heat issues, all spring games in Arizona and Florida will start at night.

When players suit up for real ball games, the league is encouraging fielders to stay several steps away from baserunners while the ball is out of play. Lineup cards would be phased, removing one more point of contact from the typical pre-game exchange. And don’t expect to see the familiar sight of sunflower seeds, bubble gum or tobacco — spitting is off-limits.

Life on the outside will also be radically altered. Players are discouraged from taking public transit or rideshares to and from their home or hotel. Teams are allowed to fly, but asked to use smaller airports. Players are allowed to socialize with friends and family — a huge sticking point for many players, including Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw — but the league is nonetheless discouraging contact with the outside.