Trevor Bauer Says MLB Players Would Need 3-4 Weeks to Get Ready for Season

When baseball returns after its current delay, it will still take time for players to get ready for regular-season action. 

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer explained that a "three-to-four week range would be absolute minimum in my mind" to get into playing shape, per Chris Bumbaca of USA Today.

"It's tough to say because no one's ever gone through this before. None of the current players, for sure," Bauer said. "Again, I can speak for myself personally. I generally feel that I need three to four weeks to ramp up."

MLB canceled the rest of spring training and delayed the regular season at least two weeks amid concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Per CNN, there are 1,678 confirmed cases in the United States as of Monday, with 41 deaths. Over 6,000 people have been killed by the disease worldwide.

While the league is currently scheduled to return on April 9, COVID-19 has continued to spread and may cause further delays.

Multiple executives expect the 2020 MLB season to be delayed until at least Memorial Day in late May, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Considering the need for players to prepare physically, the season could be pushed back even further in order to replicate another spring training.

This would likely make it impossible to play a full 162-game season in 2020, which could then affect future contracts for players who didn't have the same numbers as usual. Bauer noted how the business of baseball will be impacted:

"There's a lot of questions. I don't know how they're going to shake out. They have to be discussed because they're large parts of our industry, and there's a lot of people, not only this year and current players, but people in the next five to 10 years in the arbitration system and the free agency system when we're talking about comparable players and whatnot that are going to be affected."

It's all part of what the league must consider before adjusting its plans.