As teams are in full swing of team workouts during Summer Camp, Major League Baseball highlighted some key dates for the 2020 regular season.
The trade deadline will fall on Aug. 31 this year, and the postseason eligibility deadline is set for Sept. 15.
Under normal circumstances, the trade deadline would have taken place on July 31. But the shortened 60-game schedule has made such a date impractical this year, leading MLB to push it back a month.
Teams will have roughly five weeks from Opening Day to make potential tweaks to their roster. The Dodgers completed two minor trades prior to the deadline last year, bolstering their depth with the additions of Jedd Gyorko and Adam Kolarek.
The club also held extensive discussions with the Pittsburgh Pirates for left-handed reliever Felipe Vazquez, but the exorbitant asking price ultimately prevented a deal from coming to fruition.
In recent years, the Dodgers have also had the opportunity to make trades in August. However, MLB did away with the waiver trade deadline last year. Despite this, teams still were permitted to place and claim players on waivers past the deadline.
The only difference was that trades were prohibited. As a result, there were fewer transactions in August last season. A few teams still put in claims by Aug. 31 for those players to be postseason eligible.
With Aug. 31 representing the trade deadline this year, clubs will have until Sept. 15 to make potential additions and have them be eligible for the postseason.
Among the other topics MLB touched on include the active roster size changes that will be in place for the 2020 season. Teams can field a 30-man roster on Opening Day, but that number will decrease as the year progresses.
Moreover, MLB warned of punishments for players and managers that break social distancing protocols to argue.
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