Report: MLB plans to use universal DH for 2020

Major League Baseball is going to look different in 2020. However, one new element will make the Senior Circuit look particularly different.

MLB has formed a plan for the upcoming campaign, which the coronavirus pandemic has postponed, that it's going to discuss with the players' union on Tuesday. Implementing the designated hitter in the National League is included in the plan, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

The extra wear on pitchers, who will be asked to ramp up activities on relatively short notice and with an abbreviated second spring training, is in part prompting the league's proposal. The hope, Sherman notes, is that exhibition games will begin sometime in June, with regular-season contests getting underway on July 1.

The plan also includes a proposed season duration of 78 or 82 games with an extra round of playoffs, expanded rosters, and reduced player salaries.

In January, before the pandemic caused the sports world to halt, there was reportedly a growing belief that owners are in favor of adopting the DH in the NL as early as the 2021 campaign. There was some concern the move would need to wait until 2022 after the current collective bargaining agreement expires.