It has been described by those who have read it as "overwhelming" and "intimidating" and "too much" and "what's necessary."
It is both exhaustively thorough and occasionally vague. It is assuring and alarming.
It mandates caution and points the way to calamity.
Major League Baseball's operations manual addressing procedures for the 2020 season in light of COVID-19 was 101 pages long when it was delivered to teams earlier this week and is evolving pretty much by the day with addendums and appendixes. Some details about how this season will go down are still being worked through, as questions and concerns arise from clubs. There is language throughout that says various people and/or committees can address certain individual situations.
There is nothing in the manual that addresses what happens if a large number of players test positive or stipulates what might be considered a large number. A league source said an agreement between the league and the Players Association gives MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred the right to suspend the season if the "integrity of competition" is jeopardized.
The detailed protocols give reason to believe players and staff will be highly protected against contracting the virus while at the ballpark. But because the league is not quarantining participants and those at ballparks will also be going home and elsewhere, there is ample opportunity for exposure. And the manual outlines steps that make it not all that far-fetched that half a team (or more) could have to be quarantined at the same time for at least a short time.
The manual primarily pertains to what it refers to as "Covered Individuals," which are players and up to 66 other members of the organization who are part of Tier 1 or Tier 2 designations (more on that later).
In addition to the frequent testing and symptom monitoring at ballparks, Covered Individuals (CI) will be given an oral digital thermometer to take their temperature twice in succession around the same time each day as part of a "Home Screen" that includes answering questions on a mobile app regarding potential exposure to COVID-19. This must be done every day of summer camp and the season, even when the CI is not going to a team facility.
A CI who registers a temperature of 100.4 or higher must self-isolate, which means they cannot go to the ballpark, and will be given a COVID-19 test. At that time, contact tracing is to be conducted and all other team employees deemed to have come in contact with the symptomatic player are to be tested and monitored for symptoms and to self-isolate until test results are known (approximately 24 hours).
Additionally, all areas of a facility in which the symptomatic player had recent contact are to be disinfected (beyond the regular cleanings called for in the manual).
Two negative tests given 24 hours apart are necessary before the symptomatic person will be allowed at the team facility. The person must also be symptom-free and receive physician approval to return.
A player who tests positive must be fever-free for 72 hours, test negative twice in 24 hours, complete an antibody test and be deemed no longer a threat to spread COVID-19 by the team physician and a "Joint Committee" consisting of one medical and one non-medical representative of both MLB and the MLBPA.
A player can be placed on the COVID-19 Related Injured List without testing positive. He could be placed there because of a confirmed exposure or if he displays symptoms "requiring self-isolation for further assessment."
