When Major League Baseball suspended operations in March due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the hope was players would make a quick return to the field and the regular season would only be delayed two weeks.
The Los Angeles Dodgers anticipated the majority of their players remaining in Arizona to continue utilizing Camelback Ranch, and the team was also making arrangements to have Dodger Stadium available for those who elected to return to Southern California.
However, those plans changed when MLB shuttered Spring Training facilities. As the league and Players Association are in dialogue over details of a potential 2020 regular season, some teams have begun re-opening their facilities.
The Dodgers have now followed suit at Camelback Ranch and Dodger Stadium, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Dodgers management has opened Dodger Stadium and Camelback Ranch to players for medical and rehab purposes while strictly following MLB, local, state and CDC recommendations.
Chris Taylor previously revealed he was among a group of Dodgers who were working out at Dodger Stadium. He emphasized players were complying with health and safety protocols and only a few were granted access per each block of hours.
On the injury front, the Dodgers don’t appear to have players who require any sort of treatment. Dustin May, Joc Pederson and Jimmy Nelson were limited throughout camp, though Pederson did manage to play in a Minor League game just before camp was shut down.
Last month, May said he had fully recovered from a side muscle issue. And because other pitchers had largely halted or scaled back their throwing programs in the face of uncertainty with respect to a timeline for the season, May had made up ground and was essentially even with them.
Pederson was expected to make a full recovery in time for the original Opening Day (March 26), but May and Nelson were not. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts outlined a plan for May to begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he could start more regularly.
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