Today is the day in which players are set to report to their respective cities around Major League Baseball. That includes the Cincinnati Reds players, some of whom are already in Cincinnati and others who are on their way. General Manager Nick Krall noted to the local media last week that there were no players expected to have issues arriving.
Players are being asked to fill out a questionnaire prior to reporting. Chris Cotillo covers the Red Sox for MassLive.com shared that questionnaire on Tuesday night. I cleaned it up a little bit for a bit better presentation that whatever happened of with the image shared by Cotillo. You can see the cleaned up version below.
It’s July 1st. Opening Day will either be July 23rd or July 24th for the Cincinnati Reds. Not every team will open up on the 23rd, but there are going to be several games that day, with everyone else beginning their season on the 24th. That’s going to give every team about three weeks to get ready for the season.
Former Reds start picking up deals around MLB
With bigger rosters, and teams looking to fill spots, two Reds from 2019 landed deals on Tuesday. Reliever Jared Hughes signed with the New York Mets. Hughes had signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training with Houston prior to the year, but was released in March.
Matt Kemp, who didn’t spend much time in Cincinnati last season, getting just 62 plate appearances before being released in early May (and then signing with the Mets in late May before being released by the Mets in mid-July). He signed a deal with the Marlins in December, but after not being placed on the Miami 60-man roster, he became a free agent and signed with the Colorado Rockies.
COVID-19 Injured List will not be public
Multiple reports on Tuesday afternoon had statements from Yankees GM Brian Cashman reference rules about the COVID-19 injured list. Cashman noted that teams will not be allowed to disclose whether or not players are on that list and that it would simply be left to everyone in the media (or fans) to guess as to why the player is not available to play.
According to Cashman, teams will not be able to disclose if players are placed on the COVID-19 IL. It would be left to the media and fans to guess why the player is not available.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) June 30, 2020
Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains why this is.
In negotiations with MLB, the union has historically accentuated players’ right to privacy. Thus, it is possible that players who are on the COVID List will just be announced as being on the Injured List and it will be up to individual players whether to disclose the reason.
As part of the Basic Agreement, clubs are allowed for public relations purposes to disclose about employment-related injuries: 1) the nature of the injury, 2) a prognosis and projected absence, 3) the type of treatment/surgery undertaken. So that is why you traditionally hear something from the team such as John Doe suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain, is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, rehab with no surgery was recommended.
What in the world are “COVID toes”??
Apparently your toes look like they are frostbitten and is related to COVID.
It is an unusual discoloration of the skin on the toes that has been linked to COVID.
Baby steps. But this is the best baseball news in several months.
Presuming that all reporting players will receive saliva, nasal and-or blood tests, it is going to be very, very, very interesting what the results of that will be — both for the Reds and for MLB as a whole. Not sure exactly how they will handle the dissemination of that information, if at all. I don’t think reporters will be allowed to attend workouts, so they won’t be reporting who was and was not working out.
Pretty sure no workouts are today. Just showing up, being tested, then being sent home/to the hotel until the test comes back that you’re negative.
Happy Bobby Bonilla day to the RLN community. Wishing all of you and yours happy thoughts this holiday.
https://apple.news/Ab_Wz-EmZSDql0uqkP5Y4TA
It’s Bruce Sutter Day, and I will not stand for the overlooking of his far better deal than Bonilla.
This is a Reds site for Reds fans so I gotta give credit to Griffey’s contract:
“Ken Griffey, Jr deferred $12 million of his salary until after his nine-year deal ended. As a result, Griffey is still making just over $3 million every year through 2024 (payments started in 2009).”
The penultimate year for Mr. Sutter, right?
the players that do show up should be considered heroes in my opinion. They truly are “ESSENTIAL” workers in my opinion. we need a distraction in these trying times
I am glad to have the distraction, but calling them heroes may be going a tad too far. Most are extremely well compensated to take a risk of which there are extraordinary safety measures being taken. Your local grocery store worker is taking more risks for less money to provide food for everyone. I find those workers to be more heroic in these uncertain times. They don’t have the financial means to opt out and still provide for their family. But hey, I’m glad to have the potential of even a short season
Well said, TR. Good perspective.
Well said Doofus. The heroes in these times are the “little” people who do their jobs without thanks. Thank you Doug for what you do. You do an incredible job. I worry the shift in media coverage to the incredibly important BLM message made too many forget about our current pandemic. Cheers to a world that is virus free, racist free, and days spent worrying about if Joey should swing more/walk less.
Wow! I would think there would be more love for these courageous players on this site. This virus has a 10 percent mortality rate, we have to remember that. Many of these players have enough money to retire and live comfortably without setting foot outside ever again. But they realize the importance that the game has on peoples lives. They realize this is a chance to lift the country’s spirit.
If they decided to opt out they would be called whimps and cowards so the fact that they showed up means so much to me. They are heroes in my book. Just hope we have the opportunity this year to give them a long standing o! Even the dumb cubs!
I appreciate and are thankful for the players. However, a 10% mortality rate is very inaccurate unless you are looking at older senior citizens. The current projection in Ohio for June was 0.1% for those 0-39. Athletes that are testing positive right now are due to required testing versus those with severe symptoms. I do respect and admire the players who are putting themselves out there but I haven’t seen anything but understanding for these who choose to sit out.
Will the Reds open at home?
No schedule yet.
Tucker Barnhart tweeted that he tested negative. 🙂
Any issues with getting Joey Votto from Canada to the US given the border is closed? Figure even if he lives full time in the US he still has folks to visit up there.
Still wonder what the Blue Jays are going to do, sneak back and forth across the border in the dead of night?
Believe I read several years back that Votto has long held a US Green Card, so except for the pandemic, he was free to come and go as he pleased. As I recall there was a grace period between the announcement the borders would close and the actual shutdown; so, he should have had no issues getting back into the US.
The NHL announced today that the 2 hub cities for their playoff tournament will be Toronto and Edmonton, It will be interesting to see how things work getting players from the US into Canada.
Unlike the US citizens, I did not see Canadians included on the European Union travel exclusion list a couple of days back. I’m guessing the high number of Europeans, not to mention Canadians in the NHL, had a lot to do with both NHL hubs going to Canada; but, now how will they get the US players there?
I got an IQ test but it was negative
The thing that scares me the most about, speaking solely about baseball, is the Reds’ penchant for slow starts.
2019: 1-8
2018: 3-18
Yikes!
Going 2-8 or even 3-7 over the first 10 games could really sink the whole 2020 season. Bell needs to find a way to have these guys ready to compete on opening day.
Hopeful that all games being in warm weather will help. The ball will be ready to jump out of GABP. Edgar Renteria would be ready to go by late July, as Dusty would have it.
The real question will be what kind of rust they can knock off just playing against themselves.