Feb 14

Spring training begins very soon

Barring a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases, as of January 28

Dodgers pitchers and catchers will report to spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona on Wednesday, Feb. 17, with their first workout one day later. Position players are set to report a few days later, with the first full-squad workout on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

The Dodgers’ first Cactus League game is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27 against the Cubs in Mesa, with LA’s first home game the next day against the Rangers at Camelback Ranch.

There will be a lot of virus-related protocols:

Major League Baseball players won’t be required to take a COVID-19 vaccination, though it will be strongly encouraged by the players’ union and the league when the time comes.

The voluntary program won’t proceed until health officials deem it appropriate, but players who are otherwise eligible for a vaccine, before league implementation, will be allowed to receive one

[snip]

Before arriving at spring training, players will be required to self-quarantine for five days and fill out a health questionnaire. They’ll undergo intake testing once in Arizona or Florida and, similar to last season, testing will continue at least every other day throughout spring training and the regular season.

It looks like there will be no DH in the National League, partly because MLB, as usual, created a false equivalence. It said “We’ll give you, players, a DH, which we know you want to keep your older players in work. In return, you’ll give us extended playoffs. Most of the revenue from the postseason goes to us, but hey, that one extra guy on the payroll for each team is just the same, right?” The players and their union balked.