Morning Mound Visit: A shortened season could hasten expansion

Maury Brown | Forbes: If any good is to come of COVID-19 suspending the season, it might be that it will hasten expansion. MLB hasn’t expanded since the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays joined the league in 1998, and expansion isn’t supposed to come until the A’s and the Rays find new long-term homes. However, the pandemic has cut into the league’s profits, and expansion could be a way to recoup some of those losses.

Ken Rosenthal and Even Drellich | The Athletic $: Another way the league could offset lost revenue is by asking players to take a pay cut. On CNN, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the idea of reducing player salaries came up in a discussion with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. The MLBPA and MLB made a “good faith agreement” that players would be paid a prorated sum, but a league spokesperson said that agreement was made under the assumption there would be fans in the seats.

J.J. Cooper | Baseball America: A 2020 minor league season feels like a long shot at this point. MiLB doesn’t have the option of localizing all its games in Arizona and Florida, and restrictions on sporting events will vary from state to state.