The Boys Are Back in Town!
The boys will soon be back in town, and the sound of baseballs hitting gloves will pierce any silence surrounding 35th and Shields. The MLB season will start on July 23, and the 60-game Darwinian sprint is scheduled to be completed on September 27. Chicago White Sox baseball will be on our televisions this summer and fall, and the club itself is ready to show the world how they factor into the American League landscape.
While not seen as a definite contender for a division championship in 2020, the abbreviated calendar gives the young squad a more realistic opportunity to punch their ticket a year early. General manager Rick Hahn spoke to the local media on Thursday and reflected on the atmosphere in Glendale from March of this year.
"The way that team was coming together in spring training, we were in a really good place," Hahn said. "Obviously, real life got in the way, but as we ramp back up here in the coming days, we are very excited to try to pick up where we left off and continue to build on that momentum."
When asked about the legitimacy of a 60-game campaign, Hahn answered in a manner that's been common for his tenure while emphatically proclaiming two-fold goals. The veteran baseball executive clarified that the season would be "absolutely legitimate." but he also reaffirmed his stance that the process should be viewed as a multi-year transition from "rebuild to multiple championship contending years."
Some may have forgotten (and while it can be argued that enough wasn't accomplished), but the organization attempted to put their money where its mouth was during this previous offseason. Catcher Yasmani Grandal, designated hitter Edwin Encarnación and outfielder Nomar Mazara were added as reinforcements.
And on the pitching side, the White Sox signed southpaws Dallas Keuchel and Gio González to insulate a starting rotation teeming with youth, velocity and upside. Veteran reliever Steve Cishek enters the fold as well. In addition to serious help from the outside, the club agreed to contract extensions with Aaron Bummer, Luis Robert and Yoán Moncada.
Rules for 2020
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has a detailed description of the important changes for 2020, but its core tenant is a 60-game abbreviated season that ends in late September. The current agreement calls for a traditional playoff setup in which 10 teams would advance to the postseason, five from each league. There's some chatter that an expanded playoff could be still be possible for this jaunt, but it appears to be unlikely.
While it's not a foregone conclusion for the 2021 season, it appears the days of pitchers swinging the bat are over. The players have agreed to a universal designated hitter to be used in both leagues in 2020 as one of the protocols in the health and safety pamphlet agreed on by all parties. The implementation of a DH in National League parks helps all 30 clubs immediately. but American League clubs likely have the advantage in the short term.
With the purpose of playing as little baseball as possible, the format for extra-innings contests will look quite different this year. In the event of a tie following regulation, each half-inning will start with a runner on second base. The runner will be the hitter who made the final out in the previous inning — unless the club decides to deploy a pinch runner instead.
There will still be a trade deadline in 2020 as well. The date is moving to August 31, and teams are expected to be quite active after the lost revenues that will be engulfing the sport. As far as injured players are concerned, there are multiple iterations of the disabled list as well.
There will be a 10-day disabled list for pitchers and hitters, along with a separate list for players who have tested positive for COVID-19. The 60-day disabled list will change to a span of 45 days for the upcoming campaign. Players will earn a full pro-rated portion of their 2020 salaries based on games played, and service time will seemingly be granted on a pro-rata basis as well.
Rosters and scheduling
MLB hasn't officially released a schedule for the 2020 season, but it will be regionally-based with a heavy focus on divisional opponents. The White Sox will face their AL Central counterparts in 40 games: 10 games each against the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins.
The regional schedule also calls for 20 additional contests against the teams comprising the NL Central. The league had indicated that six of those games will be played against the Chicago Cubs (as "traditional rivals"). That leaves the 14 games to be split amongst the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.
Spring training 2.0 will take place in the home cities of the parent clubs, and teams will begin reporting to camp for an expected arrival on July 1. The White Sox will hold their first workout on Friday, July 3. Per the Sox, there will be 44 players participating in Chicago, with an additional 14-16 players participating at another nearby location as a health precaution.
Hahn said that a specific location for the "taxi-squad" would be made official over the next 48 hours, as major league teams need to submit by Sunday a list of 60 players who will encompass their functional roster for the 2020 season. Those 60 names will be the only players eligible to suit up for clubs during this brief season.
The entire 40-man roster will be in play for clubs, in addition to 20 more participants. It will be interesting to observe how teams put together their extra rosters for the upcoming season. It will be necessary to employ players who provide legitimate depth for the big league club, but using spots on prospects not expected to play in 2020 could be a beneficial deployment of resources as well. (Players on the 40-man roster will not be required to play in 2020, but they must be paid by clubs.)
In addition to some of the non-roster invites previously signed by the White Sox, prospects such as Nick Madrigal, Andrew Vaughn, Luis González, Gavin Sheets, Jonathan Stiever, Codi Heuer, Tyler Johnson and Garrett Crochet could be options for a further look from the coaching staff.
When the season begins on July 23-24, teams will have a 30-man roster. After two weeks, rosters will decrease to 28 players. After four weeks, clubs will need to cut their game-day rosters to 26 players to finish out the remainder of the regular season. To be eligible for the postseason, players must be added to their respective teams by September 15. Clubs can bring three additional taxi squad players on road trips, with the restriction that if all three players are used, one must be an additional catcher.
If it actually gets off the ground, as is the full intention of Major League Baseball, the 2020 baseball season will be unlike any that have preceded it. As long as fans and advocates of the sport expect the unexpected and find a way to get comfortable being uncomfortable, it could be a rewarding experience.
Regardless of whether or not the 2020 Chicago White Sox end their 12-year playoff drought or live up to more modest expectations, the experience should be viewed through a lens congruent to our current environment.
As Hahn told the media on Thursday, "It's simply important to get these young players on the field in 2020."