MLB rejects proposal from Player’s Association for 114-game season

In a report on The Athletic by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, the MLB has rejected a proposal from the Player’s Association on a 114-game season while simultaneously stating they will not propose a counter offer. At his moment, both sides seem to be in a deadlock.

“The league, according to sources, also informed the MLBPA it has started talks with its owners about playing a shorter season without fans, and that it is ready to discuss additional ideas with the union on that subject,” says Rosenthal and Drellich. “The impasse over player pay, however, shows no signs of abating.”

After the players agreed to take a pro-rated pay cut in March, they are staying put and refusing to negotiate against themselves to take a second pay cut.

The MLB is supposedly entertaining the idea for a shorter, 50-game season but at the moment it’s no more than heresay.

“Though the language in the March agreement between the parties is subject to interpretation, MLBat believes the wording enables commissioner Rob Manfred to determine the length of the season as long as the league pays the players the prorated salaries outlined by the deal.”

There is a chance for the MLB and Player’s Association to come to an agreement on an amount of games right in the middle of 114 and 50, which would be 82. Unfortunately, the league may end up standing firm on their position, which is essentially not wanting to do anything that would cause them to lose more money. Simply put, if there is a chance the league only plays 50 games, they’re going to go all-in on that amount instead of losing more revenue to play 32 more.

Time is slowly ticking away and with talks looking like they’re about to come to a standstill, the future of baseball in 2020 isn’t looking too bright.