Minor League Baseball has announced that the league will delay the start of its season due to the outbreak of coronavirus. The announcement came shortly after a similar one from Major League Baseball, which said it will suspend baseball operations for at least the next four weeks. MiLB announced that they made the decision after consulting with medical professionals and MLB officials and was not specific about when the season could begin.
Here is the full statement, via MiLB:
"In light of the current coronavirus outbreak, and after consultation with medical professionals and our partners at Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball will delay the start of the 2020 Championship Season. We will continue to monitor the developments and will announce additional information about the 2020 season at a later date. We will work with Major League Baseball and our community partners to resume play as soon as it is safe to do so. The health and safety of Minor League Baseball fans, players and executives is our top priority, and our thoughts are with those around the world who have been affected by this outbreak."
Minor League clubs at the Triple-A, Double-A and Class A levels were set to begin their 2020 season during the first week of April.
CBS News has the latest updates about the virus, which has affected various sports globally and in the United States and has at present caused more than 4,000 fatalities worldwide. Here at CBS Sports we have a running updates on how sports leagues are responding to coronavirus.