Major League Baseball has yet to announce definitive plans for starting the 2020 season, but a pair of former Minnesota Twins are reporting that July 1 could be the launch point.
Trevor Plouffe, who played third base for the Twins for seven seasons (2010-16), tweeted Monday that he’s “heard from multiple sources” that a second iteration of spring training will start June 10 followed by Opening Day on July 1, with all teams “playing at their home ballparks.”
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I just heard from multiple sources that on June 10th, Spring Training 2 will start. July 1st will be Opening Day and all teams will be playing at their home ballparks.
We’ll be discussing it in full on the next @TalkinBaseball_
— Coach Trev (@trevorplouffe) May 4, 2020
Plouffe’s report was seconded by Phil Hughes, who pitched for the Twins for four seasons (2014-17). The right-hander, however, referred to the July 1 Opening Day being a “proposal,” not something that is set in stone.
Ok, I’ve talked with multiple sources and can confirm a June 10th spring training 2 with a July 1 opening day proposal is expected to be on the table soon. Trevor Plouffe had it first. I had it 2nd. Someone else will have it 3rd
— Phil Hughes (@PJHughes45) May 4, 2020
Plouffe and Hughes aren’t known as MLB reporters by any means, but Plouffe has been involved in media since his playing days ended, and his report is very similar to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal’s educated guess for when the season will begin.
“That is a multi-billion-dollar question. I’m not sure even the highest powers at MLB know that. Everything hinges on the virus. But if I had to guess, based upon what I’m hearing of late, I’d say spring training 2.0 sometime in June, with the season opening sometime around July 4,” Rosenthal wrote Monday.
However, Rosenthal said the league can’t formalize any plans until there are very clear health and safety measures in place considering the coronavirus pandemic isn’t going anywhere.
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz has said that fans returning en masse to sporting events will be among the last things allowed to happen without a vaccine for COVID-19. That means that any baseball games played at Target Field would likely have to happen without fans.
