The Opener: Spring Training, Extensions, 60-Day IL

Baseball is back! Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into spring training:

1. Pitchers and catchers begin reporting:

The Cubs kicked off spring training officially yesterday when their pitchers and catchers reported to camp. With yesterday’s report date came a number of interesting comments from club officials, including president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell, about the state of the roster headed into the season and whether or not there may be more left to do as spring training begins. As the rest of the league begins to filter into camp throughout the week, starting with the Dodgers tomorrow, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more illuminating comments from other teams’ officials that help set the tone for the coming spring.

2. Extension season begins?

With the start of spring training also begins the start of extension season around baseball. While extensions can and do happen at any point in the calendar, spring training is generally regarded as the most natural time for those negotiations to occur and is frequently utilized as a window to hammer out those deals where club budgets are mostly set and players have not yet turned their attention fully to the day-to-day grind of the regular season. Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will get the most attention over the coming days after he set a deadline for contract talks with Toronto that is now just over a week away. The Rockies are reportedly weighing the possibility of extending center fielder Brenton Doyle, and the Phillies and J.T. Realmuto could discuss an extension sometime this spring as well. There will be dozens of negotiations around the league, and at least a few extensions are completed every spring. Last February/March brought long-term deals for Bobby Witt Jr., Jose Altuve, Mitch Keller, Zack Wheeler, Brayan Bello, Ezequiel Tovar, Will Smith and Ceddanne Rafaela, as shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker.

3. 60-Day injured list opens:

When each team’s pitchers and catchers first report to spring training, their club will also unlock access to the 60-day injured list. That “60-day” term is relative to Opening Day, not the point at which the player is placed on the IL (though teams can backdate the initial placement up the to maximum three days  allowed by league rules). Players on the 60-day injured list do not count toward a 40-man roster. That’s a hugely valuable roster construction tool for teams with full 40-man rosters. In the days/weeks ahead, several teams will move a player to the 60-day IL to finalize agreed-upon deals that have not yet become official (e.g. the Dodgers’ reunion with Enrique Hernandez). The presence of some 60-day IL candidates on a team’s roster can also allow that club to get more aggressive with waiver claims or signing remaining free agents. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently laid out a comprehensive list of likely 60-day IL candidates for each team, though of course it’s always possible more long-term injuries could pop up as players filter back into camp for the start of spring training.