Spring training may not be delayed, but the schedule is about to be rearranged.
Per multiple national reports, which was later confirmed to DK Pittsburgh Sports, Major League Baseball is finalizing a revised Grapefruit League schedule that will place teams in separate pods, based on if they are located on the east or west coast of Florida.
as @Ken_Rosenthal and @MattGelb reported MLB is planning to rejigger the Fla spring sked in which the 5 Eastern teams exclusively play each other while other 10 have skeds emphasizing regionality to limit travel.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 8, 2021
The new schedule should come out this week.
There are 15 teams in the Grapefruit League. Five are based on the East coast: The Mets are based out of Port St. Lucie, the Marlins and Cardinals share Jupiter, and the Nationals and Astros are both in West Palm Beach.
The Pirates' spring training is based out of Bradenton, Fla., which is on the west coast of the state. In their current spring schedule, the Pirates would not have made any trips to the east coast or played host to any east coast teams.
As for who the Pirates could potentially play, Bradenton is next-door to Sarasota, the home of the Orioles. The Braves moved to North Port in 2020, which is approximately 40 miles south of the Pirates’ facilities. Three teams -- the Blue Jays, Phillies and Yankees -- are based within 50 miles of the north to the Pirates. The only three teams that fall outside of a fairly small bubble are the Tigers in Lakeland, about 70 miles away in the center of the state, and the Twins and Red Sox in Fort Myers, which is about 90 miles south.
According to a source, it looks like the west coast would be divided into a north and south pod, with the Pirates playing teams from both.
Right now, the Pirates are currently scheduled to play the Red Sox in Fort Myers for their first spring training game on Feb. 27. According to reports, West coast teams would play 28 games, while the original had them scheduled for 33 games, three of which were split-squad.
Last week the Pirates announced that they would be welcoming fans into LECOM Park for spring training games, with seating being limited to approximately 25% capacity. They just completed the first wave of sales Sunday for season ticket holders, with individual tickets scheduled to go on sale Feb. 15. The club is offering ticket assurance, which will allow people who already purchased tickets to either receive a full refund or have the ticket roll over to the revised schedule.
Per Bob Nightengale, the league and players association are hoping to finalize health and safety protocols for this season by Tuesday.