Report: MLB hopes to finish season in home cities after Arizona start
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Beginning the Major League Baseball season in Arizona is apparently just part of the league's plan to stage games in 2020.
"The hope is that (Arizona) starts as a biosphere ... (and) that they can move beyond this biosphere and go back to their cities," ESPN's Jeff Passan said Monday on "Get Up."
"And, even though they will probably be playing in empty stadiums for the rest of the year, the idea is that this would be a two- or maybe three-month thing as opposed to a four- or five- or six-month thing that encapsulates the entire season."
The plan to begin the season in Arizona would reportedly see Opening Day take place as early as May.
"It seems like it's going to be Arizona or bust for Major League Baseball."@JeffPassan on the MLB happening this season. pic.twitter.com/LbBR3KcNo6
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 13, 2020
Passan acknowledged Monday that MLB could still wind up playing the entire campaign in Cactus League facilities but that, "Idealistically, they want to spend as little time as they can in Arizona."
He added that even with other options on the table, it will likely be "Arizona or bust" for the season to start up in 2020.
Other reported plans include splitting MLB's teams between Arizona and Florida and using both Cactus League and Grapefruit League facilities. However, that proposal would be complicated by the need for divisional realignment.