The dream of playing baseball at Wrigley Field this summer isn’t dead yet.

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot commented on the state of America’s Pastime Tuesday afternoon, saying:

“Can I envision a world where baseball might return to Chicago this summer? Yes. Is it likely to be without fans? Probably.”

Even if it’s nothing concrete and the vision of 40,000 screaming fans at the corner of Clark and Addison is probably impossible to attain this year, that’s still a sigh of relief for Cubdom. Games at Wrigley Field or Guaranteed Rate were never ruled out, but it was in serious doubt given the coronavirus pandemic.

Several plans have been speculated on regarding MLB’s regular season, including having all 30 teams down in Arizona, playing at spring training ballparks and Chase Field (the Diamondbacks home park) and quarantined in hotels away from their families.

Another idea floated out there is a three-state plan that would see teams split between Arizona, Florida and Texas.

The most recent idea was reported by USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale Tuesday afternoon indicating the league could shift to only three divisions broken down by geography, pitting the Cubs and White Sox in the same “Central” division as the Cardinals, Twins and six other teams.

It’s only late April and Governor JB Pritzker is extending the stay-at-home order in Illinois through the end of May, so a lot could change in the next few weeks.

But the fact we’re even discussing games at Wrigley Field is a little dose of optimism as the weather starts to warm, trees and flowers are blossoming and spring officially descends upon Chicago.

On Tuesday’s Cubs 360, the entire panel expressed the same optimism that there will be a shortened 2020 MLB season, including some games at The Friendly Confines.

“I’ve become more bullish on the idea that we will have Major League Baseball in some form or fashion this year,” Cubs color analyst Jim Deshaies said. “…My best guess — and this is strictly a guess — is that sooner or later, we will be playing some home games at Wrigley Field. In a perfect world, we’d have fans, but that’s not likely to happen, so I’m guessing we’ll have empty ballparks.”

Marquee Sports Network sideline reporter Taylor McGregor and former Cubs first baseman and current analyst Carlos Peña both echoed Deshaies’ sentiments.

“I am also optimistic,” Peña said. “I think baseball will be played. When? We do not know. There are so many variables and so many questions that need to be answered. In so many ways, we’re being reactive and playing defense and rightfully so. At the end of the day, the most important thing is keeping everybody healthy and keeping everybody safe.

“There’s been ideas floating around, like we’re gonna let the fans in and let’s make sure they stay two seats away from each other. The problem with that is we are depending on people’s discipline and I think as a league, as an industry, we have a responsibility to keep our fans safe. So why put them in a situation where they wouldn’t be or where they would be risking themselves? Empty stadiums, to me, make the most sense.”

Whenever baseball returns, the 14-year MLB veteran is excited to see how the league gets creative in presenting and marketing the game to fans during a tough time for everybody.

Whether it’s the aforementioned plan to shake up the divisions or introducing more playoff teams to the format, MLB really has a chance to put forth a compelling product this summer and fall (assuming everybody is healthy).

“Instead of looking at this as a big problem,” Peña said, “I think the league really has an opportunity to come through and blossom and show the fans that baseball can be the heartbeat of the country and give them a much needed lifeline, hopefully sooner than later.”

Cubs 360 airs each weekday at 6 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network.