On Monday, the MLB submitted yet another proposal to the players union about the status of the 2020 season. This proposal called for a 76 game season with 75% prorated salaries, as reported by Karl Ravech. The regular season would start around July 10th and end on September 27th. Included would be playoff pool money and no draft compensation picks for signed players this offseason.
Compared to a 50 game season with prorated salaries, players would be getting around 19% more money in this proposal. However, players seem to be pretty set on full prorated salaries. As Jon Heyman reported, “Players are not thrilled with it. Not at all,”.
But, if the players see any potential in it, they can choose to send a counter-proposal. If they don’t feel like doing anything with it, we may have no choice but to have the commissioner mandate a 50 game season. As much as players would like to see a schedule as close to 81 games as possible, the prorated salaries seem to be a priority to them. Players believe this new proposal is a step backward.
Another thing that the MLB is set in stone about is ending the regular season before October. Players are fully willing to play the regular season through October, but the owners fear losing more money. Having the postseason in November could interfere with other sports, and increases the chances of it being canceled from a second coronavirus wave. But, even if the postseason is in October, you still interfere with the rescheduled NBA Finals.
The situation with the players union and the MLB is getting messier and messier by the day. But hopefully, the players will submit a counter-proposal, and it will be something that interests the league. Time is ticking away.