Minor league season still up in the air as big leaguers prepare to return to training

The Dayton Dragons last updated their fans in early June, and the news at that point was, “We still do not know.”

For fans of the Dragons, the wait continues. Reds President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams said Wednesday in a conference call with local media, it would be pretty challenging to pull of a minor-league season at this point, considering the calendar.

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“My understanding is Major League Baseball and the owners wanted to get the regular season resolved,” Williams said, “and now they’ll turn their attention to either the minor league season or in the absence of a minor league season, the continued development of minor league players. Anything and everything is on the table here. My reading of the tea leaves is that picking up a minor league season like we are trying to pick up a major league season is probably a lot less likely, but that final decision will be made above my pay grade.

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“I do believe if we don’t have one, there will be a lot of attention paid to trying to develop those players in some form or fashion, whether that’s getting them games or practices. Whether that involves minor-league markets, we’ll have to see.”