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Hendriks open to playing full season with expanded rosters following delay

Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Oakland Athletics reliever Liam Hendriks is ready to play a 162-game campaign despite the current Major League Baseball stoppage and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The right-handed closer said he and other players are open to the idea of playing more doubleheaders to make that happen.

"As long as they give us the ability to expand the roster a little bit to make sure the guys aren't getting overrun, I'd be for it,” Hendriks said, according to Brodie Brazil of NBC Sports. "Position players, I'm not sure. We've got a couple guys who play every game, no matter what, that may affect them a little bit.

"Everyone hopefully can stay safe. That's the biggest thing right now, staying safe. And hopefully we can eradicate this thing in a few weeks and get back to baseball in May."

The earliest the league could start the 2020 season is mid-May due to CDC recommendations. However, Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said Sunday that teams would need at least another four-week camp to ramp up for the campaign.

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