Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A day prior, the Giants were rallying together, a few players saying they would be staying at the facilities and Evan Longoria going public with, “We’re not leaving!!”
The only certainty thus far with the coronavirus, though, is rapid change.
The Giants and each team received a memo from MLB on Sunday to stress the seriousness of the situation and the importance of social distancing. Previously, the league told players they could 1) go home, 2) go to the team’s home city or 3) stay with the club without formal workouts. As so many players were choosing the third option, there is now a stricter tone being adopted.
The memo urges clubs to “avoid all activities in which players congregate in significant numbers or are otherwise unable to practice the ‘social distancing’ protocols recommended by the CDC.” Group workouts, both formal and informal, are banned.
Non-roster players — which means everyone from minor leaguers to fliers such as Yolmer Sanchez, Billy Hamilton and Trevor Cahill — are being told to go home, provided it’s safe to do so. If the player lives in a high-risk area or outside the country, he should work with the club to find accommodations.
After MLB suspended Opening Day by at least two weeks and canceled spring training, players on the Giants’ 40-man roster showed a desire to remain in Scottsdale, but the memo states: “[W]e anticipate that may change in the coming days as events continue to unfold and players become better educated about current conditions.”
Sunday morning, two Giants players did not immediately return messages about their plans, and the team was not expected to make an executive or Gabe Kapler available to media that day. The memo states spring facilities “must be open” to major league players who want to use them. Organized workouts are banned, and the league is working on protocols for future workouts — time periods may be staggered so groups of players aren’t in the same area, and the number of coaches and staff who can work with a player at one time may be limited.
Monday the Giants are expected to meet at a newly scrubbed and cleaned Scottsdale Stadium, and it’s expected the team will then have a firmer idea of how to proceed in the wake of the infectious disease that has wreaked havoc through just about all sports leagues.