Chicago Cubs: What may happen if baseball comes back

If the Cubs, MLB and a majority of the players choose to come back and play come July, what would the outlook of the season be?

With Covid-19 still running around as a major problem with no vaccine, the Chicago Cubs and MLB is looking for ways to start up baseball by July. And while that is their main focus some players and others don’t think it is a good idea.

But the MLB keeps on moving forward and during this week the MLB put out a 67-page proposal on how they plan to start the season. Financial terms have yet to be decided on, even though they already came to some sort of agreement in March when the season was first postponed.

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But the big factor in the season coming back full force is the testing and safety guidelines. Some players see this as a major factor in if they play this season or not. And the union wants any agreement to include a way that if the players don’t feel safe, well, they shouldn’t be forced to play and should still be protected. Chicago Cubs ace pitcher Yu Darvish has been very public with his stance on everything that is going on.

The Cubs have already made financial decisions this week by deciding to impose pay cuts on Tuesday. These pay cuts ranged from 10%-35% and were for the Chicago Cubs’ highest-paid employees, including David Ross, Crane Kenney, and Theo Epstein. This strings back to Tom Ricketts, who made the decision based on how much the Cubs will lose this season even if half of the season is played with no fans.

As this moves forward towards a possible season in July, more and more players voice their opinions. Mike Trout, who has a child due in August has said that his main concern during this time is taking care of his pregnant wife, which would be hard if he was following the MLB’s first proposed safety guidelines.

There are also players who are more at risk than others as well, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester and first-baseman Anthony Rizzo are both cancer survivors. And new father Kris Bryant and Albert Almora’s agent Scott Boras has stated: “he has received no pushback from his client base on returning to play since some of MLB’s plans were leaked”.

Bringing back baseball at this time would hurt the Cubs in many ways. They wouldn’t be able to compete against a team that has everyone playing for them. If the season starts in July as they plan on it the list of Cubs who are unlikely to participate in the season based on statements from them and certain people around them include: Rizzo, Darvish, Lester, Bryant, and Almora.

Is it worth it even if they all come and play? The risk of coming back is definitely larger than the reward.