Spring training departure options offered
Astros players can either head home or stay put, but MLB move likely hinders April 9 season start
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — While their sport remains stopped by the coronavirus pandemic, Astros players were allowed to leave Florida and return home Friday as Major League
Baseball suspended all spring training operations.
Players were afforded three options: returning to their home city, returning Houston or remaining near the spring training facility. The actions came three hours after Astros general manager James Click said the team would remain in Florida “for the foreseeable future.”
“I do not know individual players’ plans at the moment,” Click said Friday night. “I believe that they are talking to each other and (their) families to determine what’s best for them.”
In a conference call with reporters early Friday afternoon, Click said keeping the team in Florida was in adherence to MLB guidelines that asked “all the players to remain near the spring training facility.” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA head Tony Clark met throughout the day and reportedly devised a memo that changed course.
Allowing players to return home for any prolonged period of time all but ensures the regular season will not start on April 9 — the earliest date it could begin in the wake of Major League Baseball’s announcement on Thursday.
To Click’s knowledge, no Astros player, coach or staff member has exhibited symptoms that warranted a test for COVD-19. No major league player has publicly tested
positive for the virus.
On Thursday, Major League Baseball canceled its remaining spring training games and delayed opening day “by at least two weeks.” The Astros had one of their two scheduled off days, complicating any team-wide communication in the wake of the announcement.
Players, coaches and club personnel all attended a Friday morning meeting at the team’s spring training facility. Click said players were notably “anxious” and asked some questions that won’t be fully answered for a few days.
“There was obviously a lot of questions (and) concern about not even just baseball but about what the country and the world is dealing with right now,” Click said. “That’s where the focus was. Obviously the guys are anxious — we’re all anxious, players and staff, myself — to try to get this behind
us and figure out the best thing to do.
“There are a lot of questions we don’t have answers to right now.”
Click said the team is still listening to players and staff members to adequately assess how it can best offer assistance. Players — major or minor league — are not paid during spring training. Some bring their families to Florida to spend the scheduled six weeks alongside them.
“We’re obviously going to listen to them and find out what they need to take care of the players, their families, and beyond that also the staff and staff families that are here,” Click said. “We have a lot of people we’re trying to look out for and make sure they have everything they need in this situation.”
Though their spring training facility is closed to both the public and press through the weekend, the Astros will welcome players who require medical attention from team trainers or want to work out.
More concrete details about
continuing organized workouts are expected by the end of the weekend.
“By and large, we’re following the league guidelines and the medical guidelines to avoid gathering in large groups,” Click said. “We anticipate knowing a lot more by Sunday or at the latest.”
Manager Dusty Baker said he and his coaching staff will report to the facility “for a few hours” each day. On Friday night, Click said he was unsure how adequately the facilities would be staffed.
Players are not required to report and no organized workouts will be conducted. The league advised players who do report to stagger workout times and avoid any large groups congregating at the facility.
“We’re simply here to help monitor and do what the players want to do,” Baker said. “They’re not required to come in, but if they want to come in, we’re here and available for them.”