With the 2020 Major League Baseball season slated to be unlike any other that’s been played in the sport’s history, there are accompanying rule and roster changes to aid teams in adjusting.
MLB already planned to have 26-man rosters this year, but that will be expanded to 30 at the start of the season and pared down as weeks pass. Rosters ultimately will settle to the previously-planned 26 players, and they will not be expanded in September.
Furthermore, all teams will carry a pool of 60 players, with roughly half part of a taxi squad. The group of players will keep active and be available should teams have a need based on injury or illness.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, the Dodgers are considering utilizing Dedeaux Field at USC for their surplus of players:
The #Dodgers and #Angels are in discussions about using college fields, and not minor-league complexes, for their alternate training sites this year. The Dodgers would use the baseball field at USC for their extra players; the #Angels would use Long Beach State. Nothing finalized
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 25, 2020
MLB recently informed teams to begin exploring options within 100 miles of home stadiums for their respective taxi squads. For the Dodgers, their High-A Rancho Cucamonga facility fit the description.
However, USC of course is much closer to Dodger Stadium, which makes it more convenient for both the team and players. The Dodgers won’t have much competition at Dedeaux Field, as the Trojans’ 2020 season was cut short due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
And while USC has begun allowing student-athletes to return to campus for voluntary workouts, the baseball team is not one of the six sports welcomed back at present time.
With MLB teams needing to submit their pool of 60 players by 1 p.m. PT on Sunday and Spring Training 2.0 beginning in less than a week, the Dodgers presumably will decide on a location in the near future.
Wherever the Dodgers decide on, their taxi squad of players is likely to include some combination of prospects who contributed last season — such as Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May — and those on the doorstep of reaching the Majors.
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