The New York Mets’ Marcus Stroman, who was set to join his team’s rotation this seek after recovering from a calf injury, instead elected to sit out the 2020 season due to concerns about COVID-19.

Stroman said, “With all the unknowns and uncertainty due to the pandemic, this is the best decision for me and my family.” He went on to thank the Mets organization for their support and understanding in the matter, which has been a theme throughout the league this season after players have elected to take the season off.

This is the second key Mets’ player to have decided mid-season that he would take off 2020, as Yoenis Cespedes made the same decision last week.

The 29-year-old right-hander, who was acquired in a midseason trade from the Toronto Blue Jays last summer, will end his Mets career after opting out of 2020, as he is set to hit the free agent market this winter.

Stroman, a 2019 AL All-Star and the owner of a career 51-47 record with a 3.76 ERA, was expected to be a major contributor for a Mets rotation which has struggled in his absence.

The New York native will instead focus on getting prepared for free agency this offseason as he looks to keep both he and his family safe from the COVID-19 virus.

The post Mets SP Marcus Stroman Opts Out of 2020 MLB Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Just a few days into the late start of the 2020 MLB season, the Miami Marlins revealed that their team had multiple players test positive for the COVID-19 virus.

On Monday, after those figures ballooned to over 15 players and staff members, the team’s Monday game against the Baltimore Orioles was postponed.

Just a day later, Major League Baseball made the decision to postpone all of the team’s games through Sunday in order to prevent the spread of the disease and allow players and coaches to recover.

The Marlins, who opened their season with a weekend series in Philadelphia, got word of the first positive tests on Saturday and then learned later that the virus had spread throughout their team.

The league had no option but to suspend the team’s travel, activity, and games in order to protect other teams and players, despite the vast majority of players being asymptomatic.

The league has yet to announce how it plans to make up the Marlins’ games in the future, but this development is certain to cause a logistical nightmare for the league, which opted not to go with a “bubble” approach.

Expect the league to provide another update on the situation later this week.

The post MLB Suspends Marlins’ Season Until Sunday Due to COVID-19 Outbreak appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Toronto Blue Jays have found a new home for the 2020 season just in the nick of time, agreeing to share PNC Park with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the upcoming MLB season.

The Jays, who were denied permission last week by the Canadian government to play their home games at their home stadium in Toronto, were forced to look for an alternative solution for this year as their home opener approaches on July 29th.

It turned out to be Pittsburgh where they found a temporary home.

As the Jays and Pirates only had six home games that coincided with the schedule and due to the close relationship between their front offices, PNC Park turned out to be the perfect solution.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was formerly the vice-president of baseball operations for the Blue Jays, meaning that he did not hesitate to offer up his team’s home park to the AL East club.

The only small stumbling block which came up in the plan were two series in which both Toronto and Pittsburgh were set to play as home teams. According to sources, the Jays will simply play in their opponent’s home park as the “home” team in those two instances to solve the problem.

The Jays’ debut at the park will come next Wednesday against the Washington Nationals.

The post Toronto Blue Jays to Play 2020 Home Games in Pittsburgh appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Toronto Blue Jays received word on Saturday that the Canadian government had denied their request to play the 2020 MLB season at home at the Rogers Centre, meaning that they will need to find another place to play their games this year.

The Jays’ players and staff had been granted an exception to reunite in Toronto in early July to train after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of this year’s baseball season until late July.

A Canadian government ban on Americans entering the country due to the high level of infections in their southern neighbors meant that they would have to give the league’s teams special permission to cross the border and play home games against the Jays.

The Canadian government, however, decided that this exception would not be in the best interest of the safety of their country’s people, meaning that the Jays have no other option but to play elsewhere at a location in the United States.

There are two main possibilities, the Jays’ triple-A ballpark in Buffalo, New York and their Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Florida.

While no decision has yet been made, the Jays will have to scramble to decide where they will play this season before their scheduled home opener on July 29th against the Washington Nationals.

The post Blue Jays Denied Permission to Play Home Games in Canada in 2020 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

MLB will try to recreate the feeling of packed stadiums for the 2020 MLB season, despite the fact that fans won’t be able to attend games this year.

The league announced on Thursday that each ballpark will play crowd noises during games in order to replicate the in-game experience. The noise will be taken from official game MLB The Show and sound engineers will have 75 different sound bites to chose from.

The crowd audio for MLB The Show has been captured over the years from real-life games.

“There was some reticence when you first talk about crowd noise in an empty ballpark because you don’t want to do something that is distracting,” said MLB’s executive vice president for strategy, technology, and innovation. “It is heard in a way that is natural with the play of the game and on-field. The sounds do match what is happening.”

The league already tested the feature during training camp scrimmage games and will also use it in the upcoming exhibition games ahead of the 2020 season start.

Soccer competitions previously used the same trick in order to provide more authentic feel to games in front of empty stands. England’s Premier League and Spain’s La Liga turned to EA Games for samples and played crowd noise from FIFA video games.

Reportedly, the NBA is planning to do the same during the games in Orlando.

The post MLB to Play Crowd Noise from Video Games on Stadiums appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Star left-handed relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman has become the third New York Yankees player to test positive for COVID-19, dealing Aaron Boone’s club some news which could alter its roster plans for the beginning of the season.

Chapman, the Cuban flamethrower, will be sidelined until he tests negative for coronavirus twice. He will not be able to rejoin the team until that point, at which he will be released from quarantine.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the veteran pitcher “has mild symptoms, but (is) doing well.”

Chapman has become one of the best relievers in Major League Baseball since defecting from Cuba and signing with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010. In the past ten seasons, he has accumulated six All-Star appearances and one AL Reliever of the Year Award.

His recognition as the American League’s best relief pitcher came last season, in which he posted a 2.21 ERA in 60 appearances along with 85 strikeouts.

Chapman, who is penciled in to be the Yankees’ closer once again in 2020, will leave his team’s bullpen with a significant hole in it if he isn’t ready for Opening Day.

No matter what the final result, however, New York should get Chapman back if his symptoms don’t get worse sooner rather than later.

The post Yankees Star P Aroldis Chapman Tests Positive for COVID-19 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Travis Shaw is currently with his team at the Rogers Centre complex preparing for the 2020 baseball season, but he seems to have his doubts about the summer plans which could see him and teammates confined at the park and an adjacent hotel all year long.

The Canadian government, which granted special permission for Blue Jays staff and players to congregate at the park to practice in preparation for the 2020 season’s kickoff in late July, has apparently said that there will be stiff penalties for players who are seen out and about in the community.

According to TSN reporter Scott Mitchell, the penalties could reach up to $750,000 and include jail time.

Shaw said that being confined at the park and its adjacent hotel all summer long “isn’t going to happen” and that it is “not an option.” According to reports from players, they had originally been told that their confinement at the park complex would only last for two weeks, not all summer long.

Canada has seen falling numbers of falling COVID-19 hospitalizations and positive tests, whereas the United States, where the other 29 franchises are located and where the Blue Jays will have to extensively travel to, has seen its pandemic grow worse in recent weeks.

Shaw and his Blue Jays teammates must now wait to see if they will be allowed to leave the park complex or if they will forced to say there all summer long if they do indeed elect to play.

The post Jays 1B Travis Shaw Raises Issues About Team “Bubble” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts isn’t afraid to admit that he is still unsure whether or not the 2020 MLB season will actually take place in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Betts, who was traded to the Dodgers as part of a mega-deal with the Boston Red Sox last offseason, stated in a press conference with team reporters via a video call that he isn’t completely convinced that the 2020 season will actually take place.

The past few days have seen baseball stars such as Braves 1B Freddie Freeman and Rangers OF Joey Gallo test positive for the virus as well as players like the Braves’ Nick Markakis and the Dodgers’ David Price say that they will skip the season due to health concerns.

Betts said in the press conference that he is not completely convinced that the league’s safety protocol will be successful and that all players will be able to attain to it.

The Dodgers outfielder, the 2018 AL MVP, and a four-time All-Star is set to play one season in Los Angeles before hitting the free-agent market next offseason.

It seems as if he still has significant doubts, however, as to whether or not he will actually suit up in Dodger blue.

The post Dodgers OF Mookie Betts “Has Doubts” About MLB Season Taking Place appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis announced on Monday that he would be choosing not to play the 2020 MLB season due to concerns about the COVID-19 virus.

Markakis, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal over the offseason to return to the Braves, will abandon the Braves’ training sessions in Atlanta and instead head home, looking to keep both himself and his family as healthy and safe as possible.

Markakis, who is now 36 years old and has put together an impressive career that includes over 2,000 hits, 3 Gold Glove awards, and a 2018 All-Star appearance, told the media that various factors went into his decision.

Markakis mentioned having his eyes opened to the seriousness of the virus after speaking to teammate Freddie Freeman over the phone, who is currently in quarantine and suffering from a high fever and other symptoms after testing positive.

Markakis also mentioned wanting to keep his family safe and the realization that playing without fans in the stadium would be a strange feeling as factors in his decision.

Braves manager Brian Snitker expressed support for the veteran’s decision but also concern about how it would affect his team, stating, “When you lose a guy of that stature and what he brings and the player he is, it doesn’t help you, that’s for sure.”

Markakis stated that he is currently unsure if he will pursue a contract to return to the league next season.

The post Braves OF Nick Markakis to Sit Out 2020 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond announced in an Instagram post on Monday that he will opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns about the safety of his family in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Desmond, an 11-year Big League veteran, signed a five-year, $70 million contract with Colorado prior to the 2017 season and has generally disappointed with slow production since joining the club.

While 2020 could have been an opportunity for the veteran to have a bounceback season, he announced in his Instagram post that he simply did not feel comfortable with returning to work. This means that Colorado will not be forced to pay the contract money which he is owed this season.

“With a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what’s going on in the world, home is where I need to be right now,” Desmond stated in the post. “Home for my wife, Chelsey. Home to help. Home to guide. Home to answer my older three boys’ questions about Coronavirus and Civil Rights and life. Home to be their Dad.”

The Florida native, who hit .255 with 20 home runs for the Rockies in 2019, will instead look to the 2021 season to rejoin his team.

The post Rockies OF Ian Desmond to Sit Out 2020 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Mets’ Marcus Stroman, who was set to join his team’s rotation this seek after recovering from a calf injury, instead elected to sit out the 2020 season due to concerns about COVID-19.

Stroman said, “With all the unknowns and uncertainty due to the pandemic, this is the best decision for me and my family.” He went on to thank the Mets organization for their support and understanding in the matter, which has been a theme throughout the league this season after players have elected to take the season off.

This is the second key Mets’ player to have decided mid-season that he would take off 2020, as Yoenis Cespedes made the same decision last week.

The 29-year-old right-hander, who was acquired in a midseason trade from the Toronto Blue Jays last summer, will end his Mets career after opting out of 2020, as he is set to hit the free agent market this winter.

Stroman, a 2019 AL All-Star and the owner of a career 51-47 record with a 3.76 ERA, was expected to be a major contributor for a Mets rotation which has struggled in his absence.

The New York native will instead focus on getting prepared for free agency this offseason as he looks to keep both he and his family safe from the COVID-19 virus.

The post Mets SP Marcus Stroman Opts Out of 2020 MLB Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Just a few days into the late start of the 2020 MLB season, the Miami Marlins revealed that their team had multiple players test positive for the COVID-19 virus.

On Monday, after those figures ballooned to over 15 players and staff members, the team’s Monday game against the Baltimore Orioles was postponed.

Just a day later, Major League Baseball made the decision to postpone all of the team’s games through Sunday in order to prevent the spread of the disease and allow players and coaches to recover.

The Marlins, who opened their season with a weekend series in Philadelphia, got word of the first positive tests on Saturday and then learned later that the virus had spread throughout their team.

The league had no option but to suspend the team’s travel, activity, and games in order to protect other teams and players, despite the vast majority of players being asymptomatic.

The league has yet to announce how it plans to make up the Marlins’ games in the future, but this development is certain to cause a logistical nightmare for the league, which opted not to go with a “bubble” approach.

Expect the league to provide another update on the situation later this week.

The post MLB Suspends Marlins’ Season Until Sunday Due to COVID-19 Outbreak appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Toronto Blue Jays have found a new home for the 2020 season just in the nick of time, agreeing to share PNC Park with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the upcoming MLB season.

The Jays, who were denied permission last week by the Canadian government to play their home games at their home stadium in Toronto, were forced to look for an alternative solution for this year as their home opener approaches on July 29th.

It turned out to be Pittsburgh where they found a temporary home.

As the Jays and Pirates only had six home games that coincided with the schedule and due to the close relationship between their front offices, PNC Park turned out to be the perfect solution.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was formerly the vice-president of baseball operations for the Blue Jays, meaning that he did not hesitate to offer up his team’s home park to the AL East club.

The only small stumbling block which came up in the plan were two series in which both Toronto and Pittsburgh were set to play as home teams. According to sources, the Jays will simply play in their opponent’s home park as the “home” team in those two instances to solve the problem.

The Jays’ debut at the park will come next Wednesday against the Washington Nationals.

The post Toronto Blue Jays to Play 2020 Home Games in Pittsburgh appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Toronto Blue Jays received word on Saturday that the Canadian government had denied their request to play the 2020 MLB season at home at the Rogers Centre, meaning that they will need to find another place to play their games this year.

The Jays’ players and staff had been granted an exception to reunite in Toronto in early July to train after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of this year’s baseball season until late July.

A Canadian government ban on Americans entering the country due to the high level of infections in their southern neighbors meant that they would have to give the league’s teams special permission to cross the border and play home games against the Jays.

The Canadian government, however, decided that this exception would not be in the best interest of the safety of their country’s people, meaning that the Jays have no other option but to play elsewhere at a location in the United States.

There are two main possibilities, the Jays’ triple-A ballpark in Buffalo, New York and their Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Florida.

While no decision has yet been made, the Jays will have to scramble to decide where they will play this season before their scheduled home opener on July 29th against the Washington Nationals.

The post Blue Jays Denied Permission to Play Home Games in Canada in 2020 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

MLB will try to recreate the feeling of packed stadiums for the 2020 MLB season, despite the fact that fans won’t be able to attend games this year.

The league announced on Thursday that each ballpark will play crowd noises during games in order to replicate the in-game experience. The noise will be taken from official game MLB The Show and sound engineers will have 75 different sound bites to chose from.

The crowd audio for MLB The Show has been captured over the years from real-life games.

“There was some reticence when you first talk about crowd noise in an empty ballpark because you don’t want to do something that is distracting,” said MLB’s executive vice president for strategy, technology, and innovation. “It is heard in a way that is natural with the play of the game and on-field. The sounds do match what is happening.”

The league already tested the feature during training camp scrimmage games and will also use it in the upcoming exhibition games ahead of the 2020 season start.

Soccer competitions previously used the same trick in order to provide more authentic feel to games in front of empty stands. England’s Premier League and Spain’s La Liga turned to EA Games for samples and played crowd noise from FIFA video games.

Reportedly, the NBA is planning to do the same during the games in Orlando.

The post MLB to Play Crowd Noise from Video Games on Stadiums appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Star left-handed relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman has become the third New York Yankees player to test positive for COVID-19, dealing Aaron Boone’s club some news which could alter its roster plans for the beginning of the season.

Chapman, the Cuban flamethrower, will be sidelined until he tests negative for coronavirus twice. He will not be able to rejoin the team until that point, at which he will be released from quarantine.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the veteran pitcher “has mild symptoms, but (is) doing well.”

Chapman has become one of the best relievers in Major League Baseball since defecting from Cuba and signing with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010. In the past ten seasons, he has accumulated six All-Star appearances and one AL Reliever of the Year Award.

His recognition as the American League’s best relief pitcher came last season, in which he posted a 2.21 ERA in 60 appearances along with 85 strikeouts.

Chapman, who is penciled in to be the Yankees’ closer once again in 2020, will leave his team’s bullpen with a significant hole in it if he isn’t ready for Opening Day.

No matter what the final result, however, New York should get Chapman back if his symptoms don’t get worse sooner rather than later.

The post Yankees Star P Aroldis Chapman Tests Positive for COVID-19 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Travis Shaw is currently with his team at the Rogers Centre complex preparing for the 2020 baseball season, but he seems to have his doubts about the summer plans which could see him and teammates confined at the park and an adjacent hotel all year long.

The Canadian government, which granted special permission for Blue Jays staff and players to congregate at the park to practice in preparation for the 2020 season’s kickoff in late July, has apparently said that there will be stiff penalties for players who are seen out and about in the community.

According to TSN reporter Scott Mitchell, the penalties could reach up to $750,000 and include jail time.

Shaw said that being confined at the park and its adjacent hotel all summer long “isn’t going to happen” and that it is “not an option.” According to reports from players, they had originally been told that their confinement at the park complex would only last for two weeks, not all summer long.

Canada has seen falling numbers of falling COVID-19 hospitalizations and positive tests, whereas the United States, where the other 29 franchises are located and where the Blue Jays will have to extensively travel to, has seen its pandemic grow worse in recent weeks.

Shaw and his Blue Jays teammates must now wait to see if they will be allowed to leave the park complex or if they will forced to say there all summer long if they do indeed elect to play.

The post Jays 1B Travis Shaw Raises Issues About Team “Bubble” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts isn’t afraid to admit that he is still unsure whether or not the 2020 MLB season will actually take place in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Betts, who was traded to the Dodgers as part of a mega-deal with the Boston Red Sox last offseason, stated in a press conference with team reporters via a video call that he isn’t completely convinced that the 2020 season will actually take place.

The past few days have seen baseball stars such as Braves 1B Freddie Freeman and Rangers OF Joey Gallo test positive for the virus as well as players like the Braves’ Nick Markakis and the Dodgers’ David Price say that they will skip the season due to health concerns.

Betts said in the press conference that he is not completely convinced that the league’s safety protocol will be successful and that all players will be able to attain to it.

The Dodgers outfielder, the 2018 AL MVP, and a four-time All-Star is set to play one season in Los Angeles before hitting the free-agent market next offseason.

It seems as if he still has significant doubts, however, as to whether or not he will actually suit up in Dodger blue.

The post Dodgers OF Mookie Betts “Has Doubts” About MLB Season Taking Place appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis announced on Monday that he would be choosing not to play the 2020 MLB season due to concerns about the COVID-19 virus.

Markakis, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal over the offseason to return to the Braves, will abandon the Braves’ training sessions in Atlanta and instead head home, looking to keep both himself and his family as healthy and safe as possible.

Markakis, who is now 36 years old and has put together an impressive career that includes over 2,000 hits, 3 Gold Glove awards, and a 2018 All-Star appearance, told the media that various factors went into his decision.

Markakis mentioned having his eyes opened to the seriousness of the virus after speaking to teammate Freddie Freeman over the phone, who is currently in quarantine and suffering from a high fever and other symptoms after testing positive.

Markakis also mentioned wanting to keep his family safe and the realization that playing without fans in the stadium would be a strange feeling as factors in his decision.

Braves manager Brian Snitker expressed support for the veteran’s decision but also concern about how it would affect his team, stating, “When you lose a guy of that stature and what he brings and the player he is, it doesn’t help you, that’s for sure.”

Markakis stated that he is currently unsure if he will pursue a contract to return to the league next season.

The post Braves OF Nick Markakis to Sit Out 2020 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond announced in an Instagram post on Monday that he will opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns about the safety of his family in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Desmond, an 11-year Big League veteran, signed a five-year, $70 million contract with Colorado prior to the 2017 season and has generally disappointed with slow production since joining the club.

While 2020 could have been an opportunity for the veteran to have a bounceback season, he announced in his Instagram post that he simply did not feel comfortable with returning to work. This means that Colorado will not be forced to pay the contract money which he is owed this season.

“With a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what’s going on in the world, home is where I need to be right now,” Desmond stated in the post. “Home for my wife, Chelsey. Home to help. Home to guide. Home to answer my older three boys’ questions about Coronavirus and Civil Rights and life. Home to be their Dad.”

The Florida native, who hit .255 with 20 home runs for the Rockies in 2019, will instead look to the 2021 season to rejoin his team.

The post Rockies OF Ian Desmond to Sit Out 2020 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.