Manfred outlines health plan for return, says lost season could cost owners $4B
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred spoke publicly about the health and safety plan the league is creating to submit to the players' union for the first time during an appearance on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 on Thursday.
The league is expected to present an 80-page proposal over the next few days, and Manfred is hopeful the plan will be acceptable to the players.
"We hope that we will be able to convince the vast, vast majority of our players that it's safe to return to work," Manfred said.
Before sending the proposal to players, Manfred shared some details on CNN, which included:
- Testing players multiple times a week
- Less frequent testing for antibodies
- Detailed protocols on team travel
- Strict limits on amount of people allowed to enter the ballpark
- Immediate testing for players showing symptoms of coronavirus
- Testing done by league-funded lab in Utah with 24-hour turnaround
- Daily temperature checks
- Players who test positive will be quarantined until they show no symptoms for 24 consecutive hours
- Immediate testing for players who had contact with another player who tested positive
In addition to the guidelines, Manfred said the league "would never force (players with health conditions or other doubts) to try to come back to work."
While Manfred shared that he "has great confidence" an agreement will be reached between the league and union, the commissioner also explained that the loss of a season would hurt owners.
"The economic effects are devastating," Manfred said, adding "if we don't play a season, the losses for the owners could approach $4 billion."