As sports continue to be on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, some are looking ahead on the calendar to scheduled events that may or may not take place when they’re expected to.
One of them is the MLB Amateur Draft, which is currently scheduled for June 10-12. According to Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic, the league has asked the Major League Baseball Players Association for permission to cancel or modify the draft. That has been met with resistance from the union, with one person calling that a “colossal error.”
Some associated with the players believe that with other sports shut down, holding the draft would be a good opportunity to give baseball a national spotlight. An abbreviated draft is cited as a possibility that would not overextend clubs financially while the league is shut down, but the preference of the MLBPA is to keep things as they are scheduled and seize the spotlight.
The cancellation of the draft is not regarded as likely. While the situations are very different, the NFL plans on holding its draft, which will likely lead some within MLB to question why they can’t do the same. Ultimately, it may end up being the next big event on MLB’s calendar at this rate.
