Detroit Tigers: What does a cancelled 2020 season mean if it happens?
By Tyler Kotila
There is concern that the 2020 Detroit Tigers season may not happen with the current dispute.
The way things are trending in Major League Baseball, the Detroit Tigers may not take the field in 2020 for a regular season. Surely, the hope is that Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association will agree, but the two sides are still far apart.
In recent news, MLBPA officials have rejected the leagues’ proposal to get a season underway with issues mostly on the financial aspects of it. The two sides are in dispute, and some owners have openly stated that they are willing to forgo the 2020 season.
If the season is cancelled and the Tigers do not play at all, the question has to be asked: what happens with the Tigers? There is a lot of things that come to mind, and initial thoughts only draw out a few things, when in reality, there will be a lot of impacts if the season is cancelled.
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First and foremost, the thing that sticks out is Jordan Zimmermann and his contract, at the bare minimum it seems that players are going to receive service time for the 2020 season, agreements had been made to pay a pro-rated salary. Still, Major League Baseball owners are not on board.
If the season does not take place and Zimmermann’s contract eats up his service time and final year of salary, he would be a free agent, and the Tigers would not have to suffer with him on the mound anymore since he would be off into free agency.
Beyond Zimmermann, a cancelled season would affect more than just the big leaguers, but all of the prospects who will lose a full year of development and could brutalize some of those fringy prospects careers.
For example, someone like Anthony Castro seemed that he was going to be headed towards a breakout season and finally come out the gates strong and use 2020 to show the development. Without a 2020 season, his chances may be cut short since it has taken him so long to advance through the minor leagues.
The minor leagues are already in danger, and it is rumored their season is bound to be canceled, and this would decimate the minor leagues. If the Tigers season is also cancelled it would work against the Tigers draft class, though it will only be six players and undrafted free agents.
With the 2020 MLB Draft inching closer and the two sides far from an agreement, it seems that they will have a draft class stuck in a pending state. It means there will be players not knowing where these players will be sent without the minors or even big leagues underway.
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If the Detroit Tigers do not play a 2020 season, there are plenty of things that will happen, and the things mentioned above are only a start, so fans should keep hoping for an end in the dispute.