As Major League Baseball and the Players Association attempt to finalize a plan for the 2020 season, two topics that have been extensively discussed relate to health/safety protocols and economics.
Both sides continue to hold negotiations, and while they remain far apart in talks, MLB team owners are no longer asking players to accept a 50-50 revenue split.
This development comes one week after the league submitted a 67-page document to the union that addresses safety, travel, coronavirus testing and other concerns.
For Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Scott Alexander, these guidelines are especially of interest to him. With Type 1 diabetes, the left-hander is at higher risk for severe illness should he contract coronavirus (COVID-19) during a potential 2020 season.
Alexander, however, has been told by his doctors that he can safely play this year as long as he pays close attention to his glucose numbers, via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times:
“From what I’ve been told by our doctors, as long as I keep my glucose numbers in good range and keep myself healthy, then I’m not really at any higher risk,” said Alexander, a left-handed reliever who went 3-2 with a 3.63 ERA in 28 games of a 2019 season marred by a nerve problem in his forearm.
“I’m continuing to stay in contact with our medical staff and to stay on top of it. If the doctors were to tell me at some point that I was definitively at a high risk and it could be fatal if I were to contract the coronavirus because I have Type 1 diabetes, then I would have to seriously consider not playing.”
That doctors were able to assure Alexander he won’t necessarily be considered higher risk should his glucose numbers be managed is certainly positive news.
However, Alexander and other MLB players and coaches with underlying conditions face big decisions should a 2020 season come to fruition.
If he decides to play, Alexander will look to bounce back from an injury-shortened 2019 campaign that saw him go 3-2 with a 3.63 ERA, 5.06 FIP and 1.39 WHIP in 17.1 innings pitched (28 appearances).
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