Washington Nationals vs New York Yankees planned for 2020 MLB Opening Day according to reports...

According to multiple reports this afternoon, the Washington Nationals are scheduled to host the New York Yankees in the season opener on July 23rd if the new season actually starts as planned.

New York Post writers Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand reported this afternoon that the defending World Series champs and the universally (outside of New York) despised Yankees will meet up in the nation’s capital in Game 1 of 162 60.

While noting that, “MLB has not finalized the product yet as teams review the variables and the league continues to navigate what it perceives are its best alternatives to play amid the coronavirus pandemic,” the NY Post writers suggest that if MLB can pull it off, and get their season started on time, they want the Nationals and the Yankees in prime time on Opening Day.

If all goes as planned, the report suggests, the opener could feature a matchup of aces, with Max Scherzer and new Yankees’ righty Gerrit Cole, but as the reporters note, there is a month to go before the (rumored) first game, and over the last week, “coronavirus cases are spiking in multiple key states for playing the sport such as Arizona, California, Florida and Texas,” which could significantly alter the plans.

MLB released their plan for a 2020 season this past week, with Commissioner Rob Manfred imposing a 60-game schedule after the negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA failed to produce an agreed-upon plan.

Earlier today, the Nationals announced their plan to have players who aren’t currently in the nation’s capital travel to D.C. for the start of Spring Training 2.0 on July 3rd, with reports on the plan suggesting they’re being asked to arrive by July 1st so that they can be tested and then begin to ramp up quickly with a three-week-ish process of preparing to play baseball again.

Nationals vs Yankees in an fan-free Nationals Park on July 23rd? Are you ready for baseball’s return? Do you think it will happen?