Angels links: MLB scouting prohibited, tales from spring training

Major League Baseball sent a memo to all 30 teams on Monday that all domestic and international scouting would be prohibited, at least temporarily.

Baseball America obtained a copy of the memo, which included these restrictions:

During this time, Clubs may not hold tryouts (public or private) or attend non-Club amateur baseball events (e.g. games, showcases, workouts). Clubs also may not conduct in-home or other in-person visits or administer any tests or assessments of amateur players that are done as part of the pre-draft or pre-signing process. In addition, Clubs may not encourage players to conduct tryouts, workouts or games that Clubs would be able to watch remotely.

There is no timetable for when scouting might return, but any sort of delays in scouting could mean a postponement of the 2020 MLB Draft, which is currently scheduled for June 10-12. But given that we don’t even know if the major league season will begin by then, it’s hard to say definitively if the draft would take place as scheduled.

Among the suggestions team executives offered to Jorge Castillo and Maria Torres of the LA Times was shortening the draft from 40 to 30 rounds, and pushing it back:

“For me, personally, it makes sense to push the draft back until at least July,” a high-ranking executive with one major league club said.

Links & news

Rhett Bollinger posted his biggest takeaways from Angels spring training camp in Tempe on MLB.com. Among them was Joe Maddon keeping things loose:

Every morning workout began with a fun activity with quality assurance coach Tim Buss, who is otherwise known as the “vice president of stuff” by Maddon. It included everything from closest to the pin with fungo bats, golf clubs and even games like spikeball.

Major League Baseball and the players association on Monday announced a joint donation of $1 million for emergency food services. Feeding America and Meals on Wheels each get $500,000 to help fight hunger stemming from school closures and quarantines from the coronavirus pandemic.

“In this time of international crisis, players are eager to do their part both individually and collectively to ease the significant burdens placed on the most vulnerable people in our communities,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said. “This contribution represents one of those efforts.”

Former A’s and Mets general manager Sandy Alderson thinks spring training facilities should be shut down during the coronavirus hiatus, from Mike Puma at the New York Post: