We are (potentially, nearly, possibly) prepared to play ball.

The months-long odyssey of the MLB and the Players Association feuding over cash, prorated salaries, length of season and more concerned an end in June, with the season set for the very first pitch in a couple of weeks.

There are storylines that stay: the Astros, the NL Central and Mookie Betts’ impact chief amongst them– which must make for some juicy late-summer drama.

That said, if you think anybody who declares they understand with 100 percent certainty how the 2020 MLB season is going to go, please send me a DM: I have a beautiful, slightly used bridge in New Jersey to offer you I’ll even toss in an oil refinery for you, free of charge, because I like your face.

MORE: Here’s a complete list of MLB gamers who have actually opted out for 2020

Baseball is weird, man. And a 60- video game season will be, in two words, very odd. It puts an enormous emphasis on every game and every series. However, unfortunately, many of the concerns with the 2020 season will have to do with stories off the field. With the coronavirus pandemic still raving throughout the states, this year is unconventional not only in the length of the season and the schedule, however that franchises and players will be facing the looming danger of COVID-19 all season long.

So with pitchers and catchers heating up in the middle of July, here are 9 early concerns we have for the upcoming MLB season:

1. Will pitching or offense be preferred?

The early goings of a routine MLB season generally show pitchers having a hard time to discover their things or continuing to stretch out after spring training. Even with “summer season camp” there are going to be questions of how the pitchers will handle a shortened season and prep duration.

Normally speaking, it’s much easier to get your timing back on a swing than it is for a pitcher to determine every mechanic of his movement, or discover his stuff, or get extended appropriately. Reasoning would dictate that groups with good lineups that can mash will have an early benefit, and that early benefit could be the difference between a department crown or a third-place surface.

2. The number of video games will it take?

Any team can be great or bad over a short stretch. This year, however, a 15 -5 stretch is literally a third of the season and could strongly put you in the chauffeur’s seat of a division race.

So the number of games will it take to win a division? Maybe 38? Maybe 40? Both noise about. Departments like the NL Central, which features 4 good to good groups, might be in for a slugfest all season. The AL East, traditionally a powerhouse division, has 2 teams on top with three typical to bad groups below it.

Every team will head into the season believing it has a possibility to win a title this year, but the games are all that matter in the end. So how many video games will it take to win a division?

3. Do the underdogs have a chance?

In a routine MLB season, Memorial Day is generally an excellent benchmark to find out who’s genuine and who isn’t. In a 60- video game season, a 10 -2 stretch could put you in a legitimate spot, while a bad 2 weeks could tank your season.

It would almost be fitting that, in an unorthodox season, the non-traditional groups find methods to win. Teams like the Rays– who won 96 video games last year, if you need a pointer– or the A’s might have a possibility to record that ever-elusive World Series ring. In fact, here are some records through 60 video games last season:

Nationals: 27-33, won World Series

Padres: 31-29, finished 70-92

Rays: 37-23, finished 96-66(lost ALDS vs. Houston)

Sports: 30-30, completed 97-65(lost wild-card game vs. Rays)

Sure, winning a department is still tougher than a two-dollar steak, and the on-paper-good teams could still have a big advantage over the thin-roster groups. But 60 games implies anything goes, which suggests teams like the Reds, Rays, White Sox, A’s and others have as great a shot as anyone else.

4. What will the trade deadline appear like?

With the trade deadline at the end of August, groups will have to understand very, extremely rapidly whether they’re in or out. There are a few methods teams will take a look at this season: There’s no point to make knee-jerk roster moves in a shortened season. They might likewise view it in the reverse: A shortened season implies you’ve got as good an opportunity as anyone to win a champion, so trade those potential customers, take on some money and get this affair began.

There could be gamers on the relocation, however there might not be. Who understands? It’s a baseball approach question fit for a college course, really. All 30 groups are most likely taking a look at it 30 different methods.

There’s likewise the included impact of gamers needing to move themselves and their families in the middle of a pandemic, which is very short-sighted, selfish and very much gross. (As an aside, simply bear in mind that gamers are risking their health to play for our entertainment this year. Hesitate prior to you send those nasty tweets, OK?)

5. How huge of an impact will novices have?

With a shortened season, groups will be depending on depth especially. That suggests novice ball, baby.

Without any small league season, 60- guy player swimming pools and taxi squads, a few of the, uh, less-good companies will turn to some of their higher-ranked potential customers to get them adjusted to the majors and offer fans watching a little bit of a taste for the upcoming year, suggesting rookies and Triple-A guys will have extended opportunities to make an impression at the significant league level.

You figure most groups will massage their rosters to include skilled gamers outside their 40- guy roster, but younger people might be thrust into division races, too. In a routine year, rookies can make enormous impacts on their team (see: Alonso, Pete), however how patient these significant league squads might be with novice players is up in the air.

6. How will players returning from COVID-19 be affected?

Dislike to be pessimistic, but it’s basically inescapable that some players will contract COVID-19 at some time throughout the season. Thinking about that we’ve already seen D.J. LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon, Joey Gallo, Freddie Freeman and other MLB players test favorable, it would be reckless to believe others won’t capture it at some time throughout the course of a 60- game travel season. It’s going to be an unfortunate byproduct and truth for all sports wanting to return in 2020, not just baseball.

So how will gamers coming back from coronavirus take to playing once again? We understand there can be some long lasting adverse effects from COVID-19, and provided the testing procedures of MLB, there may be some mistakes amongst results. However those coming back from coronavirus will be worth watching.

7. How will groups assess managers?

For first-year guys like Luis Rojas, Ron Roenicke and David Ross, a 60- game season is really tough to browse. Not having a real spring training and anticipating to keep your gamers psychologically in it in the middle of a pandemic is a plot line fit for a “Mission: Impossible” movie.

So how will front workplaces grade the jobs of their supervisors? You don’t want to call this year “squandered” or without value, due to the fact that gamers are still betting something, whether it’s passion or money. So how will teams with new supervisors, or supervisors on the hot seat, look at the 2020 season?

It seems unjust to want to can a guy for handling these scenarios, however some groups might look at the 2020 season as a soft reset or a simple out for managers they might not feel completely confident in moving forward.

8. How will players take to health and wellness protocols?

MLB’s coronavirus health and safety protocols have actually been under intense analysis because their beginning, but regrettably they were kind of forgotten in the middle of the nasty public fights in between MLB and the MLBPA.

Asking players not to spit is like asking Ric Style not to knife-edge slice a person and shout “Woooo!” It’s just not going to occur. What complicates matters is that gamers will be on the road, most likely doing what players do: eating in restaurants after video games, seeing the sights and normally living a regular life (depending on what limitations are positioned where). You ‘d hope they’ll do all those things while complying with specific CDC guidelines: social distancing, wearing masks, normally not being a knucklehead.

Even if it’s a weighty presumption, it’s only a matter of time prior to numerous gamers on a team come down with the coronavirus. Whether it’s by a twist of unfortunate luck or by willful ignorance of guidelines, it deserves viewing how gamers across the league require to those rules.

9. Will the season really complete?

This is maybe the most painful thought of a prospective MLB restart: Does the season actually have an opportunity to end up?

Coronavirus cases are climbing up around the country, and with MLB players taking a trip from city to city– even with local schedules– the concept that active gamers won’t get the virus during the season is difficult to fathom.

It’s going to take a massive outbreak amongst MLB players in order for the season to banged, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility– specifically if a couple of players, workers folks or others don’t follow the guidelines completely. It’s going to take a miracle covered in luck, but, hey, complete stranger things have taken place in baseball?