Report: MLB Plans to Start 2020 Season on Time amid Coronavirus Concerns

As concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread, Major League Baseball is reportedly planning on starting the 2020 season on time.

According to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will speak with team owners during a Monday conference call about how the league plans to move forward regarding the topic.

Rosenthal and Drellich cited five sources who said the league does not plan on delaying the season or playing games without fans, although it can change course if deemed necessary as the situation develops.

In addition to the planned conference call, representatives from the league and the MLB Players Association have been in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding how to best handle the coronavirus as the season approaches.

This comes after Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Tuesday the league distributed a memo to hundreds of baseball officials saying there were no plans to cancel games in either spring training or the regular season.

The memo also had a number of steps for how to handle the proliferation of the virus, including a suggestion players do not take balls or pens from fans looking for autographs.

According to the latest updates from CNN, the coronavirus has infected more than 105,000 people and led to the deaths of more than 3,500 people. There are also more than 500 known cases in the United States.

Opening Day for the 2020 MLB season is March 26. Every team in the league is scheduled to play.