Are the Bucs on their way back?

Is it too good to be true?

Yesterday afternoon, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted that a plan was in the works that could bring Major League Baseball back as soon as the end of May. Reportedly, both the MLB and the Players’ Association agree on the proposed plan, despite it being in the early stages of development. The Center for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health have also embraced the theoretical plan, giving the league momentum to move forward in further developing a course of action.

Passan outlined the complete coherent plan as it stands right now in an interview with ESPN yesterday, the article which I have linked here.

Basically, under this plan, the Pirates would be headed to Cactus League territory along with the 29 other ball clubs to play in relative isolation for the next 3-4 months. They would be cut off from the outside world aside from games being broadcast on TV; empty stadiums, spread out dugouts, robotic umpires, and personal team hotels.

Phoenix, Arizona would be the location of this oddly dystopian version of baseball that seems more reminiscent of a George Orwell novel than anything else. But it would bring baseball back sooner rather than later, give us our Bucs back, and adhere to the social distancing requirements that the government continues advocating for the foreseeable future.

What could all of this mean for the Pirates’ organization specifically? I wonder how things like Super 2 and service time for prospects would be affected by a shortened schedule or shortened games. Under this plan, we would most likely see a lot more rest days for starters than many of us would like, and a lot more playing time for those players we were getting sick of seeing. That being said however, this could mean more opportunities for younger players to make their mark in stints spelling veterans; think Cole Tucker, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jared Oliva, and countless others.

Do you approve of this plan in theory? Is it too rushed? Is it a pipe dream? Give us your take in the comments!