MLB Claiming They'll Add Missed Games Onto End of Season is Incredibly Optimistic

MLB announced on Thursday that Opening Day will be pushed back by two weeks, and with that revelation came immediate speculation as to what would happen to the suspended games.

Now, we have the answer. The league intends to tack on any missed games to the end of the season.

MLB still is hoping to play 162 games, playing the postponed games at the back end of the schedule, but obviously subject to change.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 13, 2020

That's a nice thought, but it doesn't seem terribly likely.

First and foremost, planning on just playing the suspended games anyway more or less assumes that the coronavirus outbreak won't push the league to further suspend games. The virus is still spreading, and it seems like a foregone conclusion that more cancellations will be necessary.

Anything more than two weeks' worth of games starts to get dicey for baseball. Playing out the full 162 and the playoffs with the current two-week delay would likely push the World Series well into November.

Breaking: MLB has suspended all operations indefinitely, per @JeffPassan pic.twitter.com/WdxbdEPZMM
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 12, 2020

Adding onto that would have the league playing games close to Thanksgiving, if not past it. At that point, the league would be competing with the NFL for viewership, and the players would likely be competing against oncoming wintry weather.

While it's optimistic of the league office to think that they'll be able to make up any and all missed games, it's also incredibly unrealistic as things currently stand.