The Cycle, Issue 123: It's All Happening
Breaking down the last week's flurry of transactions, plus several notable players to miss Opening Day, a look at this year's Spring Training caps, the Baseball Prospectus annuals, news & more . . .
In this issue of The Cycle . . .
What You Need to Know: Exhibition schedules, vaccine requirements, the zombie runner, more rules from the CBA and for the minor leagues
Aches and Pains: Tatis, Sale, McCullers, and Rutschman are among those who will open the season on the injured list
Transaction Reactions: A team-by-team look at the onslaught of moves from the last six days, including Kris Bryant, Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and many, many more
Rooting for Laundry: This year’s Spring Training caps are a mesh
Shameless Self-Promotion: 2022’s Baseball Prospectus annuals
Feedback
Closing Credits
Attention Cyclists
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What You Need to Know
Exhibition Games Start Thursday
The last week has been a whirlwind. A week ago at this time, we were still in the lockout and wondering if we’d have major-league baseball before May. As I write this, teams are making their first cuts of spring training, and the start of the exhibition schedule is upon us. The games start with a St. Patrick’s Day double-header on Thursday, with the Twins taking on the Red Sox at 1:05 pm in Florida followed by the Rockies hosting the Diamondbacks at 4:10 pm ET in Arizona. Simultaneous to the latter, the Cubs and White Sox are playing a pair of home-and-home split-squad games. The Twins-Red Sox and Cubs-hosted split-squad games will be free on MLB.TV.
All but one of the remaining 24 teams kick things off on Friday, with the White Sox getting a breather on Friday and the Mets starting their exhibition schedule against the Nationals on Saturday. Ten of the 14 games on Friday will be free on MLB.TV along with half of the schedule on both Saturday and Sunday. Remember, with 15 teams in each state, only 28 teams can be in action on any given day without the assistance of split-squad games.
New York City’s Vaccine Mandates Could Be a Headache for Yankees, Mets
Last week I discussed the fact that the Canadian government is now allowing unvaccinated people into the country, meaning unvaccinated players cannot play in Blue Jays home games in Toronto. On Tuesday, we learned that New York City’s private-employer vaccine mandate, which has been preventing Brooklyn Nets point guard and seven-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving from playing in the Nets home games, will also prevent the Mets and Yankees unvaccinated players from playing at home.
The mandate, put in place by former mayor Bill de Blasio in December, reads as such on the city’s website:
Workers in New York City who perform in-person work or interact with the public in the course of business must show proof that they have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Businesses may not allow any unvaccinated workers to work at their workplace. A workplace is considered any location—including a vehicle—where you work in the presence of at least one other person.
The rule does have a couple of exceptions that the teams could try to exploit. Specifically these:
•Non-NYC resident performing artists, college or professional athletes, and anyone who accompanies them.
•People who have requested reasonable accommodations for medical or religious reasons.
The non-resident exception means that unvaccinated visiting players are allowed to play. However, it does not apply to home-town players who live outside of the city, as we’ve seen in the Irving situation. Irving lives in New Jersey, but, as reported by the Daily News, which has been at the forefront of this story:
According to the city, that line means the exemption is applicable to those who do not have an employer connection to the city. . . . Thus Irving’s home address does not matter. For all intents and purposes, his home address is Barclays Center.
And Aaron Judge’s is Yankee Stadium.