The 2020 minor-league season will be canceled, according to a report from Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper and Josh Norris. While widely expected, the news comes as a major blow to the minor-league teams and many young players who were hopeful of continuing to chase after a coveted MLB roster spot.
This was already shaping up to be a rough campaign for the minors long before the coronavirus was on anyone’s radar. As 2019 came to a close, a tense and rather high-profile battle was already underway regarding MLB’s plans for cutting down on the number of minor-league affiliates.
Minor League Baseball’s effort to defend its member teams was greatly imperiled by the global pandemic. Public attention, for good reason, has been elsewhere. And minor-league teams have experienced a more-or-less complete halt to revenue.
Multiple sources have confirmed to Baseball America that an official announcement that the 2020 MiLB season has been shelved will come later this afternoon.https://t.co/PGZJ8F01Lx
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) June 30, 2020
The 2020 minor league baseball season has been officially canceled, per league sources and official release. pic.twitter.com/a98x5aNCjZ
— emilycwaldon (@EmilyCWaldon) June 30, 2020