Dodgers revised 2021 spring training schedule

On Friday, Major League Baseball announced a revised schedule for 2021 spring training, in accordance with the health and safety protocols agreed to earlier in the week. The Dodgers, like all MLB teams, will now begin their spring schedule on Sunday, Feb. 28, one day later than previously planned.

The biggest changes come in the Grapefruit League, with teams much more spread out across Florida now playing a mostly regional schedule. There are also changes to the Cactus League, though not as extreme. There aren’t any split-squad games on this year’s spring schedule.

As part of the health and safety protocols, there are several revised rules for spring training:

• Pitchers will be able to reenter games if a manager decides to do so.
• For games through March 13, the defensive manager can end an inning before a third out at his discretion, as long as the pitcher has thrown at least 20 pitches.
• Through March 13, games can be shortened to seven or five innings if both managers agree to do so. For spring games starting March 14, both managers can agree to shorten games to seven innings.
• The three-batter minimum rule for pitchers will be in effect for games starting March 14.

Cactus League teams will play 28 games in 30 days, through March 29, with some teams also playing on March 30. The Dodgers are one of those teams, who wrap up the Arizona portion of the schedule on March 27 before heading home for the Freeway Series, on March 28 in Anaheim and March 29-30 at Dodger Stadium.

In a quirk, the Dodgers and Angels don’t play each other while in Arizona this year. The Dodgers do play the other 13 Cactus League teams, including their new opener in Mesa against the A’s on Feb. 28.