On Friday, the MLB sent over yet another proposal to the Players Association about the intentions of the 2020 season. Once again, it didn’t take very long for players to reject the offer.
The proposal entailed a 72-game season with a start date of July 14th and an end date of September 27th. With coronavirus concerns, the league doesn’t want to end the regular season any later than that. The players want to play the regular season into October, but that likely won’t happen.
As you could probably imagine, the players rejected the offer due to the lack of full prorated salaries. In this proposal, players would receive 70% of prorated salaries if no postseason due to coronavirus, and 80% of prorated salaries if there is a postseason. The postseason would include 16 teams if played. The first round would be a best-of-three, followed by the traditional Divisional Series, Championship Series, and World Series.
Time is quickly running out for the two sides to strike a deal. If a deal isn’t made within a few days, it could risk Commissioner Rob Manfred intervening and implementing a shortened season. A shortened season could be anywhere between 48-to-60 games, as long as prorated salaries are being honored.
If Manfred does indeed have to intervene, things could get even uglier. According to Bob Nightengale, a season with less than 60-games could see the Players Association file a grievance to the league.
The negotiations are steering fans away from baseball and hurting the sport. Owners need to realize this and come up with a reasonable deal for the players. This could really hurt the sport in the long run, no matter how the 2020 season is played.