Minor League Baseball season likely delayed until May, per report

There was hope that the Minor League season at the Triple-A level would have their season begin on time in early April, but that no longer appears to be the case, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Passan reports that “Major League Baseball teams will operate alternate sites similar to those used during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, delaying the beginning of the AAA season by at least a month, sources familiar with the plan told ESPN.

While AAA, the highest level of minor league baseball, was scheduled to begin April 6, games will be pushed back, sources said, to around the same time as AA, High-A and Low-A are expected to start - the first week of May.”

The primary reason for the delay is the hope all players could be vaccinated by the time the games begin. While Major League clubs are able to fly on private jets and go from stadium to hotel with little trouble, the same cannot be said for teams in the lower levels of the minors, often relying on lengthy bus rides to travel from city to city.

In a bit of encouraging news, Passan notes the current plan is to extend the minor league season into September to help make up for lost games in April. There is a lot of good information in Passan’s report and it is certainly worth a read.