Major League Baseball is changing the Grapefruit League schedule to place teams in “pods” to limit travel and possible exposure to coronavirus. The Pirates would be in the west coast pod with the Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Twins, Tigers, Braves, and Orioles. Teams on the east coast include the Marlins, Astros, Cardinals, Mets, and Nationals. It’s unclear yet whether MLB will move some of the west teams into the east for balance, since there are ten in the west and only five on Florida’s east coast.
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Bradenton on Monday, the Pirates still do not have a clearly defined exhibition schedule. They know they’ll open with a visit to the Red Sox on February 27th and host the Braves on the 28th.
Pirates minor league shortstop Stephen Alemais has had another shoulder surgery. He last played at Altoona in 2019 but had his season cut short by surgery for a torn labrum. Alemais was the team’s third round draft choice in 2016.
Major League Baseball is making changes to its baseballs in an effort to reduce the soaring home run totals. The Athletic obtained a memo sent to front offices last week outlining the changes which are intended to “deaden” the ball. The report also says five more teams will begin using a humidor to store balls at their home parks. It does not identify which five teams they are, but the league already has five teams using humidors at their ballparks: the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Mets, and Red Sox.
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