The Major League Baseball Players Association delivered a return-to-play proposal to MLB on Sunday that includes a 114-game season, deferred salaries in the event of a canceled postseason and the option for all players to opt out of a potential 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns, sources familiar with the details told ESPN.
The proposal, which was the first from the union and came on the heels of an MLB plan that was loudly rejected by the players, comes at a seminal moment as baseball tries to become the first major American professional sport to return. Although the players expect the league to reject it, they hope it will serve as a bridge to a potential deal this week.
The 114-game season, which under the union’s proposal would run from June 30 to Oct. 31, is expected to be immediately dismissed by the league; MLB has proposed an 82-game season and suggested that the more games teams play this year, the more money they lose. The union remains steadfast that players should receive their full prorated salaries, while MLB’s plan included significant pay cuts that affected the highest-paid players the most but covered all levels.
The inclusion of potential deferrals in Sunday’s proposal was an acknowledgement by the players that amid the coronavirus pandemic and unrest around the country, cash-flow issues could prove problematic for owners. The deferrals would occur only if the playoffs were canceled, a concern the league has voiced, and would total $100 million. They would apply to players whose contracts call for $10 million-plus salaries and include interest to make them whole.
Deferrals could be part of any counter from the league, which had not officially responded to the union’s proposal Sunday. With the desire to start a season by the first week of July, both parties recognize that time is of the essence for a deal.
While MLB’s 67-page health-and-safety protocol draft included the ability for high-risk players — those with preexisting conditions or family members more susceptible to COVID-19 — to opt out of the season, the union’s proposal suggests that players can do so and receive salary. Players not deemed high risk would be able to opt out but would not receive salary.
See here for the background. I would recommend you read these Twitter threads about collective bargaining by Eugene Freedman for a better understanding of what the players are doing. As he describes there and in the latest Effectively Wild, the owners’ proposal to cut salaries and the players’ offer of a longer season are both basically non-starters unless the other side agrees to reopen the matter. Now that they have both asserted that they won’t open those matters, the real negotiations about health and safety can begin. At least, that’s the hope. If there’s going to be progress on this, it will probably happen this week, but you never know. Fangraphs has more.
UPDATE: Lookie here:
An important clarification to this news: MLB will continue discussing alternatives to the shorter season with players but believes that its March agreement with players allows it to mandate a shorter season and is prepared to use that option in the absence of a deal with MLBPA.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) 4:37 PM – 01 June 2020
Now, maybe, we are getting somewhere.
Looks like it could be time for some triple headers.
Pandemics and triple headers…every 100 years or so in the USA.
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