Report: MLB Finalizing Spring Training Schedule; Teams to Be in Separate 'Pods'

Major League Baseball is planning to revise its spring training schedule for Grapefruit League teams, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The changes will create separate "pods" for teams on the east coast of Florida compared to those on the west coast, seemingly with the intention of reducing travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring training games are scheduled to begin Feb. 27.

Per Rosenthal, the new schedule will be unbalanced, with west coast teams playing 28 games and teams in the east only playing 24 and making up the rest with intrasquad games.

There are only five teams located on the east coast of Florida: the New York Mets, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. The west coast has 10 teams.

Though this could lead to some repetitiveness in the schedule, it should still prepare teams for Opening Day on April 1.

MLB proposed a one-month delay to the 2021 campaign with a 154-game schedule, but the offer was rejected by the MLB Players Association.