Shortened MLB draft will create a roster logjam for college teams

Their sport won’t return to action until next February, but repercussions from the coronavirus crisis already have college baseball coaches bracing for a potentially seismic impact. “In the big picture, it’s something that we’ve never calculated or prepared for,” UCLA coach John Savage said: “It’s so fluid, we’re changing our roster and the looks of it literally day to day. If you don’t make some relief legislatively, there are going to be kids run off of rosters through no fault of their own.” — Tracy Smith, Arizona State baseball coach “Can you imagine your son getting a call in July — after they’ve been committed to a school for three years and signed a national letter of intent back in November — that not only do they not have a scholarship but they don’t have a spot on that team?” said Craig Keilitz, executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Assn., which issued recommendations that the NCAA temporarily waive the 35-man roster cap and increase the maximum number of scholarship-eligible players from 27 to 32. “If says, ‘We’re not going to do anything,’ you’re going to see a massive amount of kids enter the NCAA portal on the suggestion of coaches,” Smith said. “That’s what I fear.” College baseball could benefit in the long run from a reduced draft and expected minor league contraction.