Note: This article was written prior to the schedule release, with which it was presumed each team would play ten games versus each divisional opponent and four games versus each corresponding divisional opponent. In some instances, that is not the case.
We are just three weeks away from the start of the 60-game slate for the 2020 Major League Baseball season, but this season is set to look very different.
Among all the rule changes, the most notable difference will be that, due to dramatic rises in COVID-19 cases in many areas of the country, there will likely be no fans in attendance during these games.
Due to the adjusted schedule, teams will play fellow divisional opponents and teams from the opposite league's corresponding division (Ex: AL East vs NL East).
Many players will return to where they spent a good portion of their career, but due to potentially no attendance, they will not receive any standing ovations or tribute videos.
Although rosters will be trimmed to 26 before Opening Day, here is a list of some notable players who could be returning to their old homes for the first time in 2020, albeit without fans:
Dellin Betances (RP, New York Mets)
Returning to: New York Yankees
Betances was drafted by the Yankees in 2006 and made his MLB Debut in 2011. Across parts of eight seasons in the Bronx, he posted a 2.36 ERA with 621 strikeouts in 381.2 innings pitched, earning four consecutive AL All-Star nods from 2014 to 2017. In 2019, Betances pitched in just one game after suffering from both a shoulder impingement and an Achilles tear. He signed with the cross-town Mets on Christmas Eve
Madison Bumgarner (SP, Arizona Diamondbacks)
Returning to: San Francisco Giants
Bumgarner was drafted by the Giants with the 10th overall selection in the 2007 MLB Draft and made his MLB debut the following season. Throughout 11 seasons in the Bay Area, he recorded a 3.13 ERA with 1,794 strikeouts in 1,846 innings pitched, earning the World Series in MVP in 2014 and winning three World Series championships (2010, 2012, 2014). In 2019, Bumgarner pitched to a 3.90 ERA with 203 strikeouts in 207.2 innings pitched. He signed with the division rival Diamondbacks on December 17.
Kole Calhoun (RF, Arizona Diamondbacks)
Returning to: Los Angeles Angels
Calhoun was drafted by the Angels in 2010 and made his MLB debut in 2012. Over eight seasons in Anaheim, Calhoun hit to a .249 mark with 140 home runs and 451 runs batted in, inning a Gold Glove for his defense in 2015. In 2019, Calhoun hit .232 with 33 home runs and 74 runs batted in. He signed with the Diamondbacks on December 30.
Nick Castellanos (RF, Cincinnati Reds)
Returning to: Detroit Tigers
Castellanos was drafted by the Tigers in 2010 and made his MLB debut in 2013. Across parts of six seasons in Detroit, Castellanos posted a .274 batting average with 131 home runs and 497 runs batted in. In 2019, he hit .273 with 11 home runs and 37 runs batted in with Detroit before being traded to the Chicago Cubs at the July 31 Trade Deadline. In just 43 games with the Cubs, Castellanos went on a tear, hitting .321 with with 16 home runs and 36 runs batted in, posting a final line of .289 with 27 home runs and 73 runs batted in. He signed with the Reds on January 27.
Francisco Cervelli (C, Miami Marlins)
Returning to: New York Yankees
Cervelli made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2008. Over parts of seven seasons in the Bronx, Cervelli recorded a .277 batting average with 10 home runs and 92 runs batted in. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the 2015 season, and he spent parts of the next five seasons in Pittsburgh, posting a career high 57 runs batted in during the 2018 campaign. In August of 2019, Cervelli was released and subsequently signed by the Atlanta Braves, where he appeared in 14 games. He signed with the Marlins on January 9.
Travis d'Arnaud (C, Atlanta Braves)
Returning to: New York Mets
d'Arnaud, along with pitcher Noah Syndergaard, were the prized pieces of a December 2012 trade that sent 2012 Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays. d'Arnaud made his MLB debut the following season. Across parts of seven seasons in Flushing-Queens, he posted a .242 batting average with 47 home runs and 164 runs batted in. In 2019, d'Arnaud appeared in 10 games with the Mets before being released and signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. d'Arnaud would see action in just one game with the Dodgers before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, where he tied his career-high in home runs with 16 and set his career-high in runs batted in with 62. He signed with the Braves on November 24.
Didi Gregorius (SS, Philadelphia Phillies)
Returning to: New York Yankees
Gregorius saw the field with both the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks before being traded to the Yankees prior to the 2015 season. In five seasons in the Bronx, he batted to a .269 mark with 97 home runs and 360 runs batted in. In 2019, Gregorius was limited to 82 games, hitting .238 with 16 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He signed with the Phillies on December 31.
Zack Greinke (SP, Houston Astros)
Returning to: Arizona Diamondbacks
Greinke pitched for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers before signing a lucrative contract with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2016 season. In parts of four seasons with Arizona, Greinke pitched to a 3.29 ERA with 870 strikeouts in 923.1 innings pitched, earning three consecutive NL All-Star appearances from 2017 to 2019. In 2019, Greinke pitched to a 2.90 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 146 innings pitched before being traded to Houston at the July 31 Trade Deadline.
Jason Kipnis (2B, Chicago Cubs)
Returning to: Cleveland Indians
Kipnis was drafted by the Indians in 2009 and made his MLB debut in 2011. In nine seasons in Cleveland, Kipnis posted a .261 batting average with 123 home runs and 529 runs batted in, earning AL All-Star appearances in 2013 and 2015. In 2019, Kipnis hit .245 with 17 home runs and 65 runs batted in. He signed with the Cubs on February 18.
Jordy Mercer (SS, Detroit Tigers)
Returning to: Pittsburgh Pirates
Mercer was drafted by the Pirates in 2008 and made his MLB debut in 2012. Across seven seasons in Pittsburgh, Mercer recorded a .256 batting average with 55 home runs and 277 runs batted in. He signed with the Tigers following the 2018 season, posting a .270 batting average with nine home runs and 22 runs batted in during the 2019 campaign. Detroit visited Pittsburgh in June of 2019, but Mercer was on the injured list at the time.
Mike Moustakas (2B, Cincinnati Reds)
Returning to: Kansas City Royals
Moustakas was drafted by the Royals with the 2nd overall selection in the 2007 MLB Draft and made his MLB debut in 2011. Over parts of eight seasons in Kansas City, Moustakas hit .251 with 139 home runs and 364 runs batted in, earning a World Series ring (2015), two AL All-Star appearances (2015, 2017) and the 2017 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Moustakas was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the July 31 Trade Deadline in 2018, where he would spend the remainder of the 2018 season and the entire 2019 season. In 2019, Moustakas batted .254 with 35 home runs and 87 runs batted in. He signed with the Reds on December 5.
Travis Shaw (1B, Toronto Blue Jays)
Returning to: Boston Red Sox
Shaw was drafted by the Red Sox in 2011 and made his MLB debut in 2015. Across two seasons in Boston, Shaw posted a .251 batting average with 29 home runs and 107 runs batted in. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the 2017 season, and he would spend the next three seasons in Milwaukee, posting a career year with a .273 batting average, 32 home runs and 101 runs batted in during the 2017 campaign. His 2018 season saw great numbers as well, as he hit another 31 home runs and drove in 86 more runs. Shaw, who signed with Toronto on December 30, is looking to bounce back after a 2019 season in which he hit just .157 with seven home runs and 16 runs batted in.
Jorge Soler (RF, Kansas City Royals)
Returning to: Chicago Cubs
Soler made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2014. Over parts of three seasons in Wrigleyville, he hit .258 with 27 home runs and 98 runs batted in, earning a World Series ring in 2016. Soler was traded to Kansas City prior to the 2017 season. In 2019, he posted a .265 batting average, setting career-highs in both home runs (48) runs batted in (117).
Zack Wheeler (SP, Philadelphia Phillies)
Returning to: New York Mets
Wheeler, a coveted prospect, was the Mets' return from a pre-July 31 Trade Deadline deal in 2011 that sent Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants. Wheeler made his MLB debut in 2013. Over five seasons in Flushing-Queens, Wheeler posted a 3.77 ERA with 726 strikeouts in 749.1 innings. Wheeler missed the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons after recovering from Tommy John surgery. In 2019, Wheeler pitched to a 3.96 ERA with 195 strikeouts in 195.1 innings pitched. He signed with the Phillies on December 9.
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