MLB trade rumors and news: Major League Baseball is officially going to have a 2020 season

The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we’re running here at MLBDD that rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be the shared? Hit us up at @mlbdailydish on Twitter or @MLBDailyDish on Instagram.

• Until there’s an effective treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, virtually every fun thing in life is going to be accompanied by an asterisk, uncertain to actually happen until the day it occurs due to the unpredictable nature of the virus. But it looks likelier than ever before that there will be some form of a 2020 MLB season, as the league and the players’ union worked out all their disagreements on Tuesday and announced plans to play a 60-game schedule with numerous rule changes and protocols to keep players safe and curtail spread of the virus. Now we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that the league is able to keep COVID-19 spread under control for the next four months or so.
• We weren’t even able to bask in the announcement of baseball’s return for more than an hour or so before it was reported that three Rockies players — Charlie Blackmon, Phillip Diehl and Ryan Castellani — tested positive for COVID-19 after working out at Coors Field. It feels like this type of news is going to pop up pretty frequently over the next few months as the league navigates through the pandemic.

Amid multiple clubs such as the Phillies and Blue Jays reporting several cases of coronavirus, MLB shut down spring training sites for deep cleaning and will tighten testing protocols moving forward.

• Let’s take a break from all the baseball we don’t have to focus on some baseball we did have, once upon a time. How much better is the pitching in the postseason?
• Still reeling from the draft? We are too. Stay in the know with profiles and analysis of every pick from the first round and beyond here.
• The baseball industry “isn’t very profitable,” according to Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr.
• Chris Archer recently went under the knife last week to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. The timing of the procedure means that he will not play during the 2020 season regardless of when it starts or how many games it ends up being. Given that TOS can be a really scary thing to have, we wish Chris a speedy and successful recovery.
• More scandal? Sure, I’ll take a sprinkling. A New York District judge has ordered Major League Baseball and the Yankees to unseal a letter from 2017 sent from Rob Manfred to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. First reported by Evan Drellich of The Athletic, The letter allegedly details the extend of rule violations that occurred in the 2015-16 season. If this isn’t brand new information, it’s like the other charge from 2017 that found the Yankees in violation of using a cellphone in the dugout during games. However, if it’s another full scale sign cheating scandal, the Yankees are heading back to court. They are expected to appeal the ruling.
• In tragic, unsettling news, MLB teams have released hundreds of minor league players, with more players likely to be released in the coming weeks. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds across the country, billionaires are making the choices to cut menial, insignificant costs in the form of the people who make them money. If you’re looking to help during this difficult times, tweet us at @mlbdailydish while we work with Adopt A Minor Leaguer to help find sponsors for MiLB players struggling.
• While being a part of a global historical event that no one asked for has changed our daily lives in various ways, Matt Harvey has turned this tremendous negative into a positive. The Dark Knight has been throwing bullpen sessions one or two times a week in the hopes of earning a contract once the season starts up, reports Dan Martin of the New York Post. After playing for the Angels last season on a one year, $11M contract, Harvey lacked the spark he’d shown with the Reds the season before and threw for a 7.09 ERA and 6.35 FIP. But everyone loves a comeback story, and nothing says “perfect set up for a movie starring Matt Damon” than the former Mets ace revitalizing his career after a fall from grace and months spent in isolation, meditation and looking back at his life. I want a royalty fee, btw. Let’s not forget, Harvey isn’t just battling back from bad outings — he also previously underwent Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgery.
• One subject that had kind of gotten overshadowed given the state of the world was whether or not the Hall of Fame inductions of Derek Jeter and Larry Walker (plus Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller) were going to happen as scheduled or in a different form. Well, the Hall made their decision and their inductions will be postponed until 2021 with this year’s elected members being enshrined alongside next year’s class. Just a dagger in the side of those New York voters who tried to make Jeter be in a HOF class by himself.
• MLB and Minor League Baseball are reportedly close to an agreement that would cause 42 minor-league teams to lose their big-league affiliations. While there are perhaps a few positives to be taken from this deal — every club will have the same number of minor-league affiliates, travel will be more efficient, and minor-leaguers will get paid more — it’s extremely rough news for employees and fans in the affected markets and the players whose dreams will be crushed as more than 1,000 jobs are eliminated.
• After undergoing Tommy John surgery last September, Adam Warren’s baseball suitors weren’t exactly beating down his door for a contract. However, he was able to snag a deal with a team he’s already very familiar with: the Yankees. The reliever has worked out a two-year minor league contract with the club, reports George A. King III of the New York Post. He would already be spending 2020 recovering from surgery, so the added time given the current situation only strengthens his case for a good comeback in 2021.
• Need some additional drama to add to this pandemic situation? According to a report from Zach Buchanan of The Athletic, three minority owners of the Diamondbacks have joined forces to sue Ken Kendrick, the team’s managing general partner. The suit stems from a letter Kendrick sent owners that instructed anyone with less than one percent of the team either increase their shares of the franchise or sell them back to the team at a price that will be determined by an appraiser. While Kendrick feels this ultimatum was fair and square, this trio of owners are saying this act of backing them into the corner was illegal. Cue soap opera music.
• There is a lot of potential weirdness surrounding the current COVID-19 situation and what the loss of regular season games or even the whole season could mean for various players and team employees. However, one such area of weirdness has already been ironed out as it has been reported that even if the 2020 season doesn’t happen, the punishments handed down to the Astros’ Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch will be considered served. This was likely to be a necessary move given how the league is planning on handling MLB service time, even though it doesn’t necessarily feel great.